Ethereum strengthens its settlement layer position: low fees in L2 and a new demand architecture

Ethereum is steadily moving from the "expensive and slow" narrative to a practical platform for mass settlement. With the introduction of proto-danksharding, data flows have moved to L2, where transactions are processed at minimal cost and transaction finalization has accelerated. For businesses, this means more predictable costs and the ability to move complex processes - from billing to micropayments - to smart contracts without fear of sudden price spikes.

The revenue structure of the protocol is changing. The share of L2 revenue is growing at the expense of blob data, which offloads the base layer and makes commissions more stable. Validators get a diversified stream: base commissions, tips, MEVs and staking revenue. This composition reduces cyclicality and better aligns with the logic of long-term investors who value cashflow, not just exchange rate fluctuations.

Demand for the blockchain space is starting to form not through speculative turnover, but through useful scenarios: settlements for digital goods, corporate loyalty programs, game settlement, and payment buses for fintech. In conjunction with account abstraction, onboarding is simplified - users interact with wallets as with ordinary applications, while businesses have access to sponsored commissions and flexible access policies.

Strengthening the role of L2 does not dilute the value of the underlying layer. On the contrary, the network acts as the arbiter of final settlement, and consensus protects assets with maximum reliability. Fragmentation is a key risk, but bridging standards and uniform message formats reduce friction between Layer 2 solutions. Critically, security is inherited from the bottom up, rather than hermetically sealed in each domain.

The stacking pool continues to grow, although the dynamics have become more restrained. The balance of inputs and outputs looks healthy and the queue for validators is not overheated. Reinvestment of rewards and the emergence of institutional custodial solutions form the basis of stable demand for ETH. A new role for the asset is emerging - a "collateral for computing" where ETH provides performance guarantees in distributed services.

Restaking adds a layer of yield on top of the underlying staking. For enterprise IT, this opens up a niche of trusted infrastructure: oracles, slashing conditions, data services that are paid for not only with project tokens, but also through more complex subscription models. The role of risk management in such systems is increasing, and contract monitoring and auditing requirements are becoming the de facto standard.

The investment circuit is widening with interest in spot ETFs. For institutional investors, this is a transparent way of exposure to ETH with clear operational logic. It's not just inflows that matter, but also the discipline of rebalancing that makes flows predictable. Even moderate allocations in portfolios with beta strategies create constant demand for the underlying ecosystem asset.

Tokenization is growing on the application side: bonds, invoices, fund units, tickets and other instruments where programmability of settlement is needed. The RWA segment turns the network into a universal rights registry, and the combination with L2 gives scalability without compromising on speed. Companies that build "middleware" - a layer of integration between traditional accounting systems and smart contracts - are the winners here.

The technical picture for ETH looks mature: volatility has declined and localized dips are being bought out faster thanks to the depth of the derivatives market and leverage discipline. Ranges have become cleaner and risk management is again delivering more than the excitement of short momentum. For corporate treasuries, a staggered allocation strategy is prudent given the seasonality of protocol upgrades and application activity in L2.

The focus of the coming months is to improve UX, standardize bridges, save gas through compiler optimizations, and continue to prepare for the next phases of scaling. Where expensive on-chain logic used to be required, a hybrid approach is gradually winning: computation in off-chain services, verification on the network, and monetary obligations fixed in smart contracts. It is precisely such designs that create a competitive advantage for those who know how to count the cost of infrastructure down to the cent, rather than chasing loud announcements.