Every week we provide insights into popular assets and hot topics in crypto, so you can easily learn more about the crypto market in bite-sized pieces.
In this Crypto in Focus, we take a closer look at Ethereum - what’s happening now that spot ETH ETFs are live, and why the broader Ethereum ecosystem still matters.
Ethereum in the spotlight 🔦
Spot Ethereum ETFs are already trading in the U.S., marking a major milestone for the ecosystem and making ETH exposure more accessible to traditional investors. The ETF launch attracted meaningful trading volume and inflows across multiple issuer products.
How to think about Ethereum
If Bitcoin is often pitched as “digital gold,” a common way to explain Ethereum is as the blockchain app platform - the infrastructure layer where developers build decentralized applications (dApps), from DeFi and NFT marketplaces to payments, gaming and more. This platform-style utility is what differentiates ETH from Bitcoin and helps justify broad ecosystem value. (See major ETF sponsors’ fund pages for how they present ETH exposure.)
Key projects in the Ethereum ecosystem
You can gain exposure to Ethereum either by holding ETH itself (or ETF shares) or by using tokens from the many dApps built on top of it. A few of the largest and most influential projects include:
- Aave (AAVE) - a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol that automates loans via smart contracts; it holds tens of billions in user deposits / total value locked and is one of DeFi’s largest credit markets.
- Uniswap (UNI) - the leading automated market-maker (AMM) DEX that enables permissionless token markets and has seen very large monthly trading volumes, measured in the tens of billions.
- Stablecoins (USDC, etc.) - dollar-pegged tokens that make on-chain payments and liquidity efficient; there are well over $200 billion in USD-pegged stablecoins in circulation today.
(These projects and tokens are commonly available on mainstream crypto platforms and many are listed in retail apps.)
Why ETFs matter - and why the ecosystem still matters more
The arrival of spot ETH ETFs lowers the friction for institutional and retail allocations to ETH and increases mainstream visibility — that’s important for adoption and flows.
But ETFs are only one way to access the story. The real, longer-term value proposition comes from the ecosystem built on Ethereum: DeFi protocols, DEXs, stablecoins, and the developer community that produces them. For investors who want more than passive price exposure, ecosystem tokens and on-chain activity remain central.
A quick risk reminder
Cryptocurrencies are high-risk, high-volatility assets. ETFs change accessibility and structure, but they don’t remove market risk — always consider position sizing, diversification and risk management.
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