Ethereum’s growth in 2026 will be led by neobanks, says Ether.Fi CEO.
TLDR
Digital asset treasuries moved faster than ETFs to ether.fi, driving ether from $1,472 to $4,832.
Crypto neobanks offer clearer adoption paths by directly exposing users to onchain activity and production.
Ether.fi CEO expects 2026 growth from user-friendly products combining stable coin, yield and protection
In the year In 2025, an institutional passenger established a foundation for mainstream financial services on Ethereum
According to Mike Silagaze, CEO of Ether.Fi, Ethereum's expansion in 2026 will come from crypto-native neobanks rather than speculative trading.
The executive told CoinDesk that institutional adoption by 2025 lays the critical infrastructure for mainstream financial services.
Silagadze expects stable coin, product generation and self-sustaining user-friendly products to accelerate widespread adoption in the network.
Institutional adoption marks 2025 as a tipping point.
Ether.Fi's CEO has described 2025 as a critical year for Ethereum's institutional onboarding. Digital asset treasuries have emerged as faster-moving vehicles compared to traditional ETFs, which face limitations in carrying capacity.
“A bunch of them have already started deploying to ether.fi,” says Silagaze, describing these early institutional adopters as “hemorrhaging heavily.”
According to the CEO, digital asset repositories “will definitely have a positive impact on the price of Ether” throughout the year.
The cryptocurrency hit a low of $1,472 in April 2025 before peak institutional demand rose to $4,832.
This price movement reflected growing confidence among institutional players entering the Ethereum ecosystem through alternative investment vehicles.
An institutional wave represents more than a short-term price action, Silagaze said. These developments have laid an important foundation for the expected growth phase of 2026.
Meanwhile, ether.fi has moved beyond its initial rebooking platform to develop a comprehensive suite of neobanking products that integrate product opportunities with self-service solutions.
Neobanks position Ethereum for mainstream adoption
“The whole crypto neobank movement seems to be a rapidly growing trend, with many companies entering the space and seeing growth there,” Silgaze explained.
A number of platforms are building popular financial products on blockchain infrastructure, providing more benefits than traditional ETFs by exposing users directly to onchain activity.
These developments position neobanks as clear avenues for sustainable adoption as stablecoins sink deeper into global finance.
The CEO believes that these platforms will attract end users through practical and accessible services rather than speculative applications. This approach stands in stark contrast to the gambling-driven products that currently dominate part of the crypto landscape.
“I really believe the adoption will come from many of the neobank-type players,” Silgaze said.
Ethereum's success in 2026 depends on delivering practical utility at scale, the executive argued. The focus should shift to “more real-world use cases,” from tokenized shares to accessible banking services.
As NeoBank's platforms combine the benefits of blockchain with intuitive user experiences to demonstrate tangible value in everyday financial services, Silagaze said increased user activity will naturally follow.
