Ethereum’s 2026 outlook appears to have split Wall Street giants BlackRock and JPMorgan. While the $14 trillion asset manager BlackRock notes that tokenization might benefit the network, JPMorgan notes that Ethereum is still not out of the woods yet. The diverging opinions come amid a surge in network activity, despite the ETH price stalling amid a bearish trend across the broader market.
BlackRock Says Tokenization Will Benefit Ethereum
Earlier this week, BlackRock stated that Ethereum is set to dominate the tokenization industry. The asset manager noted that the network could emerge as the gateway for traditional companies looking to dip their toes into blockchain.
According to the head of equity ETFs at the asset management firm, Jay Jacobs, if the number of firms using the Ethereum network to tokenize real-world assets increases, ETH could be on a bullish trajectory.
BlackRock also notes that as demand for tokenization increases, trading activity on the network will increase, and so will the issuance of various assets, such as stablecoins.
The report comes nearly two years after the asset manager launched its first tokenized fund on Ethereum, known as the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). The fund currently has a stablecoin market cap of more than $221 billion.
Despite BlackRock’s bullish take, the firm’s iShares Ethereum Trust has been bleeding for the last three consecutive days. During this time, the ETF has seen more than $387 million in outflows, a trend that has coincided with a nearly 12% drop in ETH prices over the last week.
JPMorgan Remains Cautious on Ethereum
JPMorgan has taken a cautious outlook on Ethereum, saying that the recent uptick in network activity might not be sustained. According to the banking giant, the factors that previously hampered network usage might still be at play, which could trigger a bearish correction in the future.
Analysts at the bank added that the recent surge in activity might be due to the Fusaka upgrade that went live towards the end of 2025. However, historical data shows that these upgrades only improve network activity for a short time before stalling.
JPMorgan also notes that user migration from the mainnet to layer two networks could stall activity, making it challenging for the ETH price to sustain an upward trajectory.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/ethereum-outlook-splits-wall-street-as-blackrock-bets-on-tokenization-while-jpmorgan-remains-cautious/
