---
title: 'Ethereum is About to Explode! Wall Street Expert Explains Why (in 12 Minutes)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9Ks_GKUAs'
video_id: 'SZ9Ks_GKUAs'
date: 2026-08-06
duration_sec: 774
---

# Ethereum is About to Explode! Wall Street Expert Explains Why (in 12 Minutes)

> Source: [Ethereum is About to Explode! Wall Street Expert Explains Why (in 12 Minutes)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9Ks_GKUAs)

## Summary

The video argues that Ethereum is on the verge of a massive price surge, comparing its current phase to the 2.0 transitions of Amazon, Nvidia, and JPMorgan. The speaker highlights growing institutional adoption, the rise of layer-2 chains like Robinhood's, and the potential for AI agents to drive demand for crypto, positioning ETH as the future settlement layer and 'money'.

### Key Points

- **Ethereum's Exponential Future** [00:01] — The speaker asserts that Ethereum's future market is exponential, and if it is worth $1,800 today, it could be worth $75,000 or higher.
- **Warren Buffett's Wisdom Applied to ETH** [00:33] — Quotes Buffett's 1987 letter: 'The market may ignore business success for a while, but eventually we'll confirm it.' This is used to justify that Ethereum's current drawdown is temporary.
- **Ethereum 1.0 vs 2.0** [01:05] — Ethereum 1.0 included the ICO boom and NFT boom, bringing ETH to nearly $5,000 in 2022. The last 18 months saw ETFs and stablecoins, again approaching $5,000. Currently, ETH is in a drawdown, but the speaker disagrees with the view that $5,000 is the top.
- **Wall Street Building on Ethereum** [01:19] — Unlike the 2022 bear market, Wall Street is building on Ethereum. Major tokenization wins include BlackRock's BUIDL, JPMorgan's Onyx, Securitize, and Ondo Finance. Layer-2 wins include Robinhood's chain, Coinbase's Base, and Kraken's Ink.
- **Robinhood Chain Breakout** [01:46] — Robinhood's chain, built on Arbitrum, launched in July and has processed over $560 million in volume on July 9th, more than many crypto exchanges. It uses ETH as its native gas token, making ETH money.
- **ETH as Money** [02:29] — The Robinhood chain uses ETH for transaction fees and settles on Ethereum L1, reinforcing the idea that ETH is money. This is a key reason the speaker believes ETH will appreciate.
- **Deep Developer Bench** [02:42] — Ethereum has nearly 6,000 developers on the EVM stack, more than all other chains combined. Data from Electric Capital shows Ethereum is the number one ecosystem in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and South America.
- **Amazon 2.0 Analogy** [03:13] — Amazon 1.0 (1998-2010) saw the stock stuck at a $6 peak for 12 years, even after AWS launched. In Amazon 2.0, the stock went from $6 to $241, showing that when addressable markets expand, asset prices rise.
- **Nvidia 2.0 Analogy** [03:55] — Nvidia had CUDA, a programming language for GPUs, which gave it a near monopoly on AI chips. Despite being used by crypto miners, the stock stayed around $1 until ChatGPT launched in late 2022 and Blackwell was announced in 2024, leading to a 200x increase to $197.
- **JPMorgan 2.0 Analogy** [04:49] — JPMorgan (originally Chase) acquired Chemical, Manufacturers Hanover, JPMorgan, Bear Stearns, Bank One, and Washington Mutual. Despite these, the stock peaked at $70, but after becoming a global bank, it went from $58 to $334 over 15 years.
- **ETH 2.0 Definition** [05:57] — ETH 2.0 is the period when Ethereum becomes central to growth vectors and ETH becomes money. The speaker believes this is analogous to the 2.0 phases of Amazon, Nvidia, and JPMorgan.
- **New Foundation Era** [06:11] — The Ethereum Foundation is still central but not the only story. Due to regulations, nonprofit foundations may no longer be necessary.
- **Agentic AI and Crypto** [06:25] — The speaker introduces the 'uncanny valley of wealth' concept, where AI agents may eventually produce more income than humans, leading to fear and a need for blockchain as a barrier between humans and AI.
- **Uncanny Valley of Wealth** [07:08] — As AI creates a rising share of income, humans may be satisfied until AI becomes wealthier than us. At that point, we might wonder if we work for AI, leading to a fear of the future.
- **AI Agents' Potential Power** [08:04] — If given too much authority, AI agents could take over bank accounts, social media, assets, and even get us fired. This is already happening with anti-AI groups like the Zizians, who have murdered people.
- **Non-Humans Dominating Online** [08:32] — Non-humans are already the majority share of prediction market trading, web traffic, and emails. Mark Andreessen of a16z calls for the 'grand unification' of AI and crypto, as AI agents will need money.
- **Blockchain as Barrier** [09:00] — The speaker argues that blockchain is the barrier between humans and AI. We won't trust governments or tech companies, but we will trust smart contract blockchains, ensuring humanity wins.
- **Ethereum as Settlement Layer** [09:28] — Ethereum will be the settlement layer for finance. Spin-offs like ETH Labs, Ethereum Institutional, and ETH Systems are driving this future. ETH is money because it's used for transaction fees and working capital.
- **Bill Gates 1995 Clip** [09:59] — A clip from 1995 shows Bill Gates explaining the internet to David Letterman, who is skeptical. This is used to illustrate that skepticism about new technologies is common, but they often become transformative.
- **Skepticism About Crypto Future** [11:31] — The speaker predicts skepticism about a future where crypto protects us from AI and ETH is money, but asks viewers to follow along. In that future, Ethereum could be worth $25,000, $75,000, or higher.
- **Price Predictions** [11:45] — Joe Lubin, co-creator of Ethereum, thinks Ethereum will 100x to $250,000. Etherealize published a piece about a path to $250,000, viewing Ethereum as productive money. The speaker doesn't know the exact number but sees radical upside.

### Conclusion

The video concludes that Ethereum is poised for a massive price increase, drawing parallels to Amazon, Nvidia, and JPMorgan's 2.0 phases. With growing institutional adoption, the rise of AI agents needing crypto, and Ethereum's role as the settlement layer, the speaker sees radical upside, potentially reaching $250,000.

## Transcript

is exponential. In that future, what is Ethereum worth? If it's 1,800 today, is 75,000, or even higher? Just follow with me. This is the greatest Ethereum explanation of all time. If you have a
family member who doesn't quite understand the future of crypto, send him or her this. They will thank you. You might say, well, let's say crypto is future. And I think the future market for Ethereum is exponential. Here's some
wisdom from Warren Buffett in his 1987 shareholder letter. He said, "The market may ignore business success for a while, but eventually we'll confirm it." Well, ETH currently, I think, is in its 1.0 phase and it's transitioning to 2.0. But
in the 1.0 phase, Ethereum had the ICO boom, the NFT boom that brought Ethereum to almost 5,000 in 2022. And then in the last 18 months, we had ETFs and stable coins and that brought Ethereum almost to 5,000. But that was a
And currently, Ethereum is in a draw down. Many people are going to look at ETH here and say, [music] look, the top of the range is 5,000 and they don't see further upside. But I'm going to disagree. I think people are rage
quitting at the bottom for Ethereum here. Why am I saying that? Well, unlike the cryptobear market of 2022, Wall Street is building on Ethereum. There have been major tokenization wins over the past 12 months. Black Rockck's
Biddle, JP Morgan's Mooney, Securitizes continues to have a lot of success. Ono Finance as well, and there's been a lot of layer 2 wins. Robin Hood's chain, Coinbase, Krakens, Inc., but maybe the most notable breakout is Robin Hood's
chain built in Arbitum this year. Vlad, who runs the Robin Hood, believes that everything running on traditional rails will eventually become onchain tokenized. Now, that's a view that we hold as well, but that's a big deal. And
the Robin Hood chain, which just launched in July, has now processed more volume than many crypto exchanges. And on July 9th, it was 560 million. That's In fact, as we point out, the Robin Hood chain is a big deal because it uses ETH
as a native gas token. The transaction fees are denominated in ETH and they settle on the Ethereum L1. Guess what? That sounds like ETH is money. That's why I think this is important. Robin Hood chain is making ETH money. And
here's a bunch of other bullet points, but let me just highlight again. The Robin Hood chain uses ETH as its native gas token. And it's not just uh real world assets that work well on this chain. It's memes as well. Ethereum
also, unlike the 2022 bare market, has a a continued deep and growing developer bench. There's nearly 6,000 developers on the EVM stack or Ethereum. That's more than all the other chains listed on this table.
And by continent, you can see, and this is data from Electric Capital, Ethereum is the number one ecosystem in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and South back to the statement from Warren Buffett from 1987. The market may ignore
business success or a while, but eventually we'll confirm it. So what does this mean for ETH 2.0? Well, let's look at Amazon as an analog. Okay, look at Amazon as an analog. Okay, Amazon 1.0 saw Amazon from 1998 to 2010,
Amazon 1.0 saw Amazon from 1998 to 2010, okay, a 13-year period be stuck at a $6 okay, a 13-year period be stuck at a $6 peak for 12 years. And in the middle of that period, AWS was launched, which was a huge deal because over the next 12
years, AWS became massive along with focus. But look what happened to the stock on Amazon 2.0. stock on Amazon 2.0. The stock went from $6 to 241.
Look at Nvidia and their transition from a 1.0 company to a 2.0. Well, in that 17-ear period listed here, Nvidia had the CUDA platform, uh, which is a actually an important programming
language. That's still what's used for GPUs today. It's the main reason why a GPUs today. It's the main reason why a Nvidia has almost a near monopoly on AI, Nvidia has almost a near monopoly on AI, high-end AI chips. And then in the 2014
period, they launched or their chips were used by crypto miners. Yet, Nvidia were used by crypto miners. Yet, Nvidia stock basically kept peing at a dollar. Nvidia 2.0. Chat GBT was launched in late 2022.
late 2022. Blackwell got announced in 2024 and the rest is history in went from $1 to 197 almost at 200x almost at 200x as Nvidia went to 2.0.
And the final example I'm going to give you as addressable markets expand is JP you as addressable markets expand is JP Morgan. Okay. JP Morgan over this Morgan. Okay. JP Morgan over this 30-year period. Okay. Uh, transformed.
Now, keep in mind the JP Morgan today is not the JP Morgan that saved America in 1907. Actually, the JP Morgan today started off as Chase. Chase acquired Chemical and Manufacturers Handover Bank. In the
year 2000, Jase acquired JP Morgan and then over the next uh 15 years acquired Bear Sterns Bank One Washington Mutual.
But despite all that, you can see these acquisitions here. JP Morgan was stuck and peaked at around $70. But with the acquisition of JP Morgan and Bear Sterns, Chase became a global bank, a truly global bank. And as you can see,
the 2.0 played out over the next 15 years. And JP Morgan stock went from 58 years. And JP Morgan stock went from 58 to $334. So you can see when the addressable market increases, the asset price rises. And sometimes it
takes time. Well, that's why I'm talking about ETH because ETH 2.0 is the period when Ethereum not only becomes central to a lot of growth vectors, but ETH the asset becomes money.
drive this is that we are in a new foundation area. The the Ethereum Foundation, which is a nonprofit, is still central to a lot of the core for still central to a lot of the core for Ethereum, but it's not the only story.
In fact, today given regulations, it may no longer be necessary to have nonprofit foundations. The second is a Gentic AI is becoming an wonder, how is this possibly a crypto story? Let me explain.
going to be something that people talk about called the uncanny valley of wealth. And let me explain. Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970 published an essay titled The Uncanny Valley. And what he was referring to is
Valley. And what he was referring to is the hypothesis that you get unsettled the hypothesis that you get unsettled when a robot looks too human. Okay, I agentic world. And what do I what do I mean by that? Well, consider the axis
mean by that? Well, consider the axis being percentage of wealth created by AI AI. AI today can do complex reasoning, Generally, that's good progress and
we're we're satisfied. It actually helps our lives and it may start to have a machine to machine economy and it might be a rising share of income, but we'll still be satisfied because we're making more money. But at some point AI could
actually be wealthier than us. Yes, I'm saying in the future there could be a date and may not be a far away that your agent produces more income than you personally produce. I think at that point you're going to
wonder if you work for AI. Let me explain. Okay. And I think it's going to give you give you a fear of the future. What could this AI do? Well, in the future, if you give too much authority and delegate too much authority, they
could take over our bank accounts. They could take over our social media. They could take over our assets. They could actually get us fired from our job. And system. In fact, Stanford grads walked out of
their commencement when the CEO of Google took the stage. And there's already hundreds of thousands of members of anti- AI groups, including a group called the Zizians, which actually have already murdered people.
Does this remind you of the Terminator and Sarah Connor and Skynet? Well, that movie is 40 years old. And we already know that nonhumans are the majority share of polyarket trading, web traffic, emails. You can see non-humans are
emails. You can see non-humans are increasing share of all content created. increasing share of all content created. And that's why Mark Andre of A16Z said that the grand unification is of AI and crypto. AI agents are going to need
money. And so we'd argue that blockchain is the And so we'd argue that blockchain is the barrier between humans and AI blockchains, I don't think we're going to trust governments. We won't trust
trust tech companies because they all felt all three of those could be taken over by AI. I think it's a smart contract blockchain and if that's the case then we'll be satisfied when AI can produce a lot of
income because humanity will ultimately win. is going to be the settlement layer for finance. We've already seen a lot of the Ethereum spin-offs from the foundation, ETH Labs, Ethereum institutional, ETH
systems, all driving this future. And finally, I think we're going to conclude that ETH is money because if you're going to hold it for transaction fees and as working capital, that's what makes ETH money.
Now, yes, and I want to get to this point because you might be skeptical this future of how crypto plays a role, but let me play a clip. This is from 1995. Bill Gates talking to David Letterman about the internet. But
minute >> about this. And what about this internet >> Sure. >> What What the hell is that exactly? >> Well, it's it's become a place where people are publishing information. So,
everybody can have their own homepage. Companies are there, the latest information. It's wild what's going on. You can send electronic mail to people. Uh it is the big new thing. >> Yeah. But, you know, uh, it's easy to
understand, which is my position here. Go ahead. ago, there was like a big breakthrough announcement that on the internet or on some computer deal, they were going to broadcast a a baseball game. You could
listen to a baseball game on your computer. And I just thought to myself, computer. And I just thought to myself, does radio ring a bell? You know what I mean? >> [cheering]
>> What is the difference? >> But you can you can listen to the >> Too. >> Oh, I see. So, it's stored in one of your memory deals and then you can come back later you talked about earlier.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Do tape recorders ring a bell? [laughter] what can you >> 95 at the earliest days of the internet
people were skeptical and I think people are going to be skeptical skeptical about a future where you need crypto to protect you from AI and where ETH is money because it's the future settlement rails but just follow with me in that
future what is Ethereum worth if it's 1,800 today is it worth 25,000 75,000 or even higher well Joe Luben the one of the co-creators of Ethereum thinks Ethereum is going to 100x when that
future arrives. That's 250,000. And Etherealiz published a big piece earlier this year about a path to 250,000. But they believe they view Ethereum as productive money. Where do I land? I don't know. But let's
say that it's 2.0 like Amazon, Nvidia, and JP Morgan. Radical upside from here. So, uh, but again, 1,800 250,000 is roughly 100x. Make sure you follow us on YouTube for more videos just like this.
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