Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) could surge 10x in 2026 as adoption expands across multiple use cases and institutional investors, according to Sharplink co-CEO Joseph Chalom.
According to Ethereum Treasury data, Sharplink Gaming is Ethereum Treasury’s second largest listed company, holding 797,704 ETH (ETH) worth approximately $2.33 billion at the time of issuance.
With the market capitalization of stablecoins currently around $308.46 billion, Chalom predicted on Friday’s X-Post that “the stablecoin market will reach $500 billion by the end of next year.” An increase to $500 billion would represent an increase of approximately 62%.
Since more than half (54%) of the stablecoin’s total activity takes place on Ethereum, such an increase could contribute to an increase in the network’s TVL.
Tokenized RWA market to reach $300 billion in 2026: Chalom
Chalom also expects tokenized real-world assets (RWA) to see significant growth, with the market expected to reach $300 billion by 2026. “Tokenized assets will grow 10x in terms of assets under management in 2026, moving from the tokenization of individual funds, stocks and bonds to complete fund complexes,” Shalom said.
He pointed to increased interest over the past year from financial services companies such as JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton and BlackRock as the main driver.
An increase in TVL is often seen as a sign of growing interest in a network, which can increase market sentiment and impact asset prices. According to DeFiLlama, Ethereum’s TVL is approximately $68.2 billion at the time of publication of this article.
However, cryptocurrency analyst Benjamin Cowen said on Tuesday that Ether is unlikely to hit new highs next year given Bitcoin’s current situation. At the time of publication, Ether is trading at $2,924, down 3.12% in the past 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap.
Sovereign funds pay attention to increase in Ethereum holdings
Chalom expects Ethereum holdings and tokenization activity by sovereign wealth funds to increase five to 10 times over the next year.
Related: Ethereum in 2026: Gramsterdam and Hegota forks, L1 scaling, and more
“In 2026, this trend will grow significantly as competitive dynamics take hold. When no one from this pool of allocators wanted to dabble in cryptocurrencies, it was safe to remain on the sidelines,” Chalom said.
Chalom also predicted that on-chain AI agents and prediction markets will “go mainstream,” which will further increase ecosystem activity and value.
magazine:The big question: Can Bitcoin survive a 10-year blackout?
