# Ethereum is *the* Project *Author: Bankless* *Published: Sep 6, 2025* *Source: https://www.bankless.com/ethereum-is-the-project-2* --- [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2025/09/Group-666.png)](https://www.bankless.com/sponsor/mantle-1706216729?ref=read/ethereum-is-the-project&email=true) Ethereum is *the* Project Published on Sept 6, 2025 [ View in Browser ](https://www.bankless.com/ethereum-weekly) **gm Bankless Nation,** *Ethereum has always been special.* Today's essay from David Hoffman digs into where Ethereum can take humanity and how opportunistic 'unbundlers' can shift its impact. In this week's issue, we're also showcasing links to some of the coolest developments in the Ethereum ecosystem and a Weekly Rollup episode where RSA and David talk ETH price performance following ATHs. 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OPINION Ethereum is *the* Project Author: [ David Hoffman](https://www.bankless.com/author/david-hoffman) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2025/09/image---2025-09-06T104052.920.png)](https://www.bankless.com/read/ethereum-is-the-project) I came across a stupid but interesting tweet the other day.  [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2025/09/Xnapper-2025-09-06-10.41.22.png)](https://x.com/RoundtableSpace/status/1963206590204457265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1963206590204457265%7Ctwgr%5Ed37057bc1b8bba48585cd8a8e3f5bb0e4fdb82e6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bankless.com%2Fread%2Fethereum-is-the-project)The idea is that if we all coordinate around the same asset, buy it, and increase its price to infinity, then we can all leverage it as collateral to take out loans. Infinite money glitch! The replies to this tweet I also enjoyed.* “It’s called Bitcoin.” “That’s what Bitcoin is.” * The subtext being that Bitcoin is the first asset by the people, for the people, where we can all buy it, never sell it, and then live off its fruits. The power of why this would ever work is because of Bitcoin’s Schelling point as an asset. Bitcoin is the asset you never sell. Bitcoin isn’t just an asset – it’s *the *asset.  Obviously this belief only scales so far, but it's a good articulation of what Bitcoin wants to be.  A similar phenomenon happens in Ethereum, but more about the project of Ethereum rather than ETH the asset. To many in Ethereum, myself included, Ethereum isn’t just a project to work on.  Ethereum is *the *project*. * Ethereum is *the *project for humanity to coordinate around. It’s the open source collective of all economically valuable code. It’s the wealth-producing superstructure that we can hand down to our kids, and to our kids' kids. It is the system that allows humanity to come together and coordinate in ways never before possible. It is a means to global peace, wealth, and happiness at a scale never before seen.  If we can get all of humanity onto the same coordination layer, humanity can take a step forward.  These are grandiose ideas, but I believe them wholeheartedly. The outcomes of peace, wealth, and happiness are not a 5-year plan, but a 50-year project. They do not come because of the creation of a few good smart contracts, but as the 2nd and 3rd order effects of 5,000 good smart contracts.  If we can all coordinate around Ethereum as the credibly neutral financial fabric of planet Earth, we could get a lot more done a lot more quickly.  But, like how not everyone can get behind Bitcoin as *the *asset, people unfortunately choose to not get behind Ethereum as *the *project.  In fact, many seem just as focused on [*unbuilding *Ethereum](https://multicoin.capital/2019/05/24/the-unbundling-of-ethereum/) as fast as possible – because if they can invest in the thing that strips away a valuable component from Ethereum’s open-source superstructure, then they can get super rich.  Ethereum unbundling is a political disposition. Just like Bitcoiners like Austrian economics, guns, and meat, Ethereum unbundlers also have similar personality characteristics (as we all do!). Some people inherently choose to “defect” in the prisoner's dilemma.  Whether or not you think the Ethereum community is ‘holier than thou’ and ‘effectively no different from XRP shills’ depends on whether you think Ethereum is *the *project of humanity, or not.  My claim is: if Bitcoin is a special snowflake because of its 21M supply, then Ethereum is a special snowflake because of what it represents: a never-ending project of open source contributions to create humanity's greatest coordination software.  *What is more noble than that? * [Share This Post](https://www.bankless.com/read/ethereum-is-the-project) .  .  . WHAT YOU MISSED Institutions Stack ETH ### **📈 The Asset** - **Blackrock **[is currently buying more ETH than BTC](https://x.com/CryptoGucci/status/1963255093253341356) - **Ethereum validator entry queue** [hit a two-year high](https://x.com/solidintel_x/status/1963526556883513686) - **ETH treasuries and ETFs** [acquired $1.13B ETH last week](https://x.com/fabdarice/status/1963078052814213213) - **Etherealize **[raised $40M toward bringing Wall St. onchain](https://x.com/Etherealize_io/status/1963231321561399488) - **Ether Machine** [purchased another 150,000 ETH](https://x.com/TheEtherMachine/status/1962840551528464685) - **ETH Strategy **[introduced its ETH Perpetual Note (ESPN)](https://x.com/eth_strategy/status/1962988913456513446) - **Ethereum** [set a new ATH in monthly transactions: 51.8M](https://x.com/eth_everstake/status/1963642868825751779) - **ETHZilla** [to deploy $100M into EtherFi](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ethzilla-plans-to-deploy-100-million-in-eth-to-etherfi-for-restaking-initiatives-302543423.html) - **ETH **[outpaced BTC in spot CEX trading volume for 1st time in 5 years](https://x.com/hildobby/status/1963292206116344258) ### **🏛️ The Protocol** - **All Core Devs Consensus Call #164 **[covered Fusaka progress, bug fixes, and potential gas-cost changes](https://www.youtube.com/live/wF0gWBHZdu8) - **Reth **[faced a state root computation bug](https://x.com/gakonst/status/1962888853682798971) - **The EF **[announced the Holešky testnet will shut down after Fusaka](https://blog.ethereum.org/2025/09/01/holesky-shutdown-announcement) ### **📱 The Apps** - **Ethereum apps **[just set a daily revenue record of $46.9M](https://x.com/marilyn100x/status/1962944271037956454) - **xStocks **[is expanding its tokenized equities to Ethereum](https://x.com/xStocksFi/status/1962875479578259853) - **Aave **[integrated Self Protocol for higher yields to verified human users](https://x.com/SelfProtocol/status/1963245816484970834) - **Arbitrum **[introduced its DeFi Renaissance Incentives Program](https://x.com/arbitrum/status/1963227143288279250) - **Aztec **[unveiled “Renaissance” rebrand for its privacy-first L2](https://x.com/aztecnetwork/status/1963593331352686918) - **Lido** [unveiled “Lido Earn” vaults for new yield strategies](https://x.com/LidoFinance/status/1963244983093280891) - **Linea **[opened its $LINEA eligibility checker](https://x.com/LineaBuild/status/1963166921739653184) - **Memory **[unveiled its $MEM data token on Base](https://x.com/MemoryProtocol/status/1963271344579281094) - **Noice **[launched ETH tipping via likes](https://x.com/HeetTike/status/1963292272189169681) - **Ondo **[launched Ondo Global Markets ft. +100 tokenized stocks and ETFs](https://x.com/OndoFinance/status/1963236536104722798) - **Pods **[introduced Pods Clips, a marketplace for short-form videos](https://x.com/podsdotmedia/status/1963276016488415672) - **Raster**, [a new digital art marketplace, launched](https://x.com/raster_art/status/1963260950233907335) - **Ross **[is ramping up Based Swap under the zAMM umbrella](https://x.com/z0r0zzz/status/1963155532375826927) - **Twyne **[launched its credit delegation protocol on Ethereum](https://x.com/twynexyz/status/1962900938017927430) - **USDT** [supply on Ethereum has increased by $10B since May](https://x.com/tokenterminal/status/1963658878958088662) ### **🐸 The Culture** - **EF Ecosystem Support Program **[shifted to targeted funding, pausing open grants temporarily after](https://x.com/EF_ESP/status/1961431275081986270) [granting $144M since 2020](https://x.com/1532369970235068416/status/1961478259184374179) - **Web3Privacy **[dropped a 15-min course: DeFiPunk 101](https://x.com/web3privacy/status/1962491238793253080) - **Ethereum **[has a +75% share of the $300B RWAs market](https://x.com/NTmoney/status/1963564228381741092) - **Christine Kim** [interviewed Nethermind’s Ben Adams](https://x.com/1004371029307912192/status/1963615066034430312) ### **💽 The Tech** - **Celo** [cut its security budget 99.8% after becoming an Ethereum L2](https://x.com/jchaskin22/status/1963661821178503636) - **MegaETH **[published a primer on its SALT database approach](https://x.com/megaeth_labs/status/1962902246573879530) - **Boundless** [expanded its decentralized zkSNARK proving network to Base](https://x.com/boundless_xyz/status/1963602196278194624) - **Ethereum Community Foundation **[introduced Burned ETH (BETH)](https://x.com/ethcforg/status/1961142384722633046) .  .  . WEEKLY ROLLUP Will ETH Go Higher? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2025/09/image---2025-09-06T104911.383.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM4oJlnLAoQ)In this week's Rollup, Ryan and David discuss Ethereum's rise past $4,780 and the action since. They explore Ethereum's treasury dynamics, the debut of the World Liberty Financial Token, and potential Bitcoin and Ethereum listings on major exchanges. The episode also covers advancements in tokenized securities, competition in prediction markets, and the quirky rise of tokenized Pokémon cards. Join us for a concise look at the latest in crypto! *Tune into this week's Rollup*!* 👇* [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM4oJlnLAoQ) --- --- *\* Bankless team holds crypto assets and advise crypto projects. [Aztec](https://www.bankless.com/aztec) and [Pods](https://www.bankless.com/pods) are included in our disclosures. See our complete investment disclosures [here](https://www.bankless.com/disclosures)*