Ethereum News Today: Ethereum's Role as Trust Infrastructure Could Drive ETH to $15,800 by 2028

As Ethereum approaches its 10th anniversary, blockchain company Consensys is proposing a new perspective on the network’s role in the global economy, positioning it as critical infrastructure for what it calls a “trustware” era. According to Consensys, Ethereum is evolving beyond a smart contract platform into a foundational layer for verifiable, programmable trust in financial systems and beyond.

Consensys highlights Ethereum’s growing share of tokenized assets, stablecoins, and decentralized finance as early indicators of this shift. The company further predicts that demand for Ether (ETH) could rise sharply in the coming years. Jason Linehan, chief strategy officer at Consensys, discussed the network’s “cost-to-corrupt” model, a framework he believes could drive ETH to new highs.

Trust is a fundamental aspect of nearly every economic interaction, and according to Consensys, the global economy spends over $9.3 trillion annually on trust infrastructure, including insurance, legal systems, auditors, compliance, notaries, and intermediaries. The digital era has introduced a new form of trust—borderless, transparent, and enforced by code, allowing strangers to transact with mathematical certainty. Consensys refers to this as “trustware.”

“Trustware is a new way to talk about the incredible value that Ethereum is already bringing to the economy,” Linehan stated. “Value that has been built block by block over the past 10 years through the effort of organizations like the Ethereum Foundation, Consensys, and the global Ethereum developer community.” As traditional financial institutions recognize the efficiency and value of this type of trust infrastructure, Consensys argues that demand for Ethereum will rise accordingly, driving long-term growth in the value of ETH.

The cost-to-corrupt model is a valuation framework that links the market value of ETH to the security required to protect the economic activity on Ethereum. It operates on the premise that the more value Ethereum secures, in the form of stablecoins and other DeFi assets, the more expensive it must be to attack the network. Using this model, Consensys predicts the price of ETH to hit $4,900 by the end of 2025 and $15,800 by 2028. Linehan noted that the model assumes $1 trillion value in stablecoins, $500 billion in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and $300 billion in total value locked (TVL) by 2028, figures he considers conservative.

“There are credible projections of $2 trillion in stablecoins and up to $16 trillion in RWAs by 2028 or 2030,” he said, noting Ethereum’s current dominance in both asset classes. The report also suggests that investors in ETH are still in the early stages. Currently, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies represents 0.3% of global wealth, while stablecoin volume is 0.1% of foreign exchange.

As of May 31, Ethereum had secured $220 billion in High-Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) onchain, significantly outpacing Solana’s $20.3 billion and Avalanche’s $3.7 billion, despite these networks' growth over the past years. “The future will not look like the past… it’s going to be an economy like we’ve never seen, and it will blow the doors off of what we have today. Ethereum makes it possible,” said Linehan.

As Ethereum nears its 10th anniversary, it boasts 21 network upgrades and a legacy of foundational innovations, including smart contracts, NFTs, tokens, DeFi, DAOs, oracles, rollups, stablecoins, proof-of-stake, and RWAs—all pioneered on its platform. Its architecture is powered by 1,056,000 validators across 84 countries. Consensys says that while other blockchains may attract specific sectors, like gaming and memecoins, where trustware is less critical, Ethereum is still a prime choice for institutional investors managing billions in global capital.

“Agentic finance will mean tokenized RWAs and all other asset classes will be accessed and transacted in thousands of times a second, 24/7/365, by the most sophisticated algorithms we can imagine,” he said.