• Ethereum remains dominant in DeFi with over $70B in TVL, far ahead of Solana and BNB Chain.
• Institutional adoption grows as public companies establish ETH treasuries, led by BitMine under Tom Lee.
• Fusaka upgrade, launching December 3, 2025, is set to enhance scaling, reduce node costs, and optimize L2 data handling.

2025 has been a year of contrasts for Ethereum. While Bitcoin captured headlines with repeated all-time highs, fueled by ETF inflows and a clear digital-gold narrative, Ethereum’s performance has lagged behind. 

Yet in the decentralized finance space, Ethereum’s dominance is undeniable. As of November 2025, Ethereum commands over $70 billion in total value locked (TVL), leaving rivals Solana and BNB Chain far behind at $9.3 billion and $7.18 billion, respectively.

At its peak, Ethereum secured nearly $100 billion in DeFi value, reinforcing its role as the backbone of smart contracts and decentralized applications.

Also Read: Ethereum (ETH) Price Gains Momentum After $63M Whale Purchase

Rising Institutional Interest and Treasury Companies

One major shift this year has been the rise of Ethereum Treasury Companies (DATs). Now public companies hold Ethereum either as part of their core business model or even purchase more and stake it.

Leading this trend comes BitMine Immersion Technologies, headed by Tom Lee of traditional finance. It holds 3.51 million ETH valued at approximately $10.66 billion.

Second comes SharpLink Gaming, headed by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, with 859,000 ETH valued at $2.61 billion; third comes The Ether Machine and ETHZilla with considerable holdings too.

Tom Lee’s public support for Ethereum has brought more institutional money into Ethereum’s fold. His idea of ETH becoming the base level for stable coins and other tokens could lead to an increase in value at a more normalized market value.

By increasing value with every purchase, staking, and announcement, BitMine has been able to create narratives that keep influencing ETH holders’ expectations.

Fusaka Upgrade: Scaling Ethereum’s Future

Looking ahead, Ethereum has scheduled the “Fusaka” upgrade on December 3, 2025. It will introduce major technical improvements.

The main ones consist of PeerDAS to reduce the amount of bandwidth required per node, increased blob sizes for publishing Layer-2 data at lower costs, increased gas limits so more transactions can fit into a single block, Verkle Trees for faster state validations, and multiple EVM optimizations.

Fusaka reduces costs for validators when spending on operations, increases the level of decentralization on networks, and improves speed on Layer 2 networks.

Since it enhances Ethereum’s position within transaction value settlement and data storage, this upgrade tackles concerns related to L2 value capture so that networks can now support different modulations within their ecosystem.

Also Read: Ethereum’s 5-Year Bull Pennant Nears Breakout: $3,200 Target in Sight