Ethereum News Today: Tokenized Treasuries Cross $8.6B as Banks Navigate Operational Risks in Collateral Shift

The blockchain landscape in 2025 is marked by rapid innovation, with Ethereum's latest upgrades, surging on-chain fees, and the rise of tokenized assets reshaping the industry. Amid this evolution, questions persist about whether alternative frameworks like Holochain-known for its agent-centric model-could displace traditional blockchains. While no direct mentions of Holochain appear in recent reports, the sector's trajectory offers clues about the viability of decentralized alternatives.

Ethereum, the leading smart-contract platform, is accelerating its technical evolution. Developers confirmed December 3, 2025, as the mainnet launch date for the Fusaka upgrade, a critical step in enhancing scalability and security. The upgrade includes 12 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), notably EIP-7594 (PeerDAS), which allows Layer 2 transactions to be validated through sampled blob data. This innovation aims to reduce computational overhead while maintaining security, addressing a key bottleneck for mass adoption.

Parallel to Ethereum's progress, the on-chain economy is thriving. A 2025 BeInCrypto report projects $19.8 billion in on-chain fees this year, driven by decentralized finance (DeFi) and financial applications. This represents a 35% year-over-year increase and underscores the maturation of blockchain ecosystems from speculative tools to sustainable, usage-driven platforms. DeFi alone accounts for 63% of these fees, with protocols expanding beyond traditional finance into decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) and consumer apps.

Tokenized assets are also gaining traction, particularly in institutional markets. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries have crossed $8.6 billion in value, according to Cointelegraph, as banks and exchanges experiment with collateral use. Unlike traditional repo markets, which apply haircuts of about 2%, tokenized Treasuries face higher operational risks, such as onchain transfer delays. However, industry players like DBS and exchanges are piloting programs to integrate these assets into routine intraday collateral workflows, signaling a shift toward mainstream adoption.

Meanwhile, AI is reshaping blockchain development and security. A SlashData report reveals that 50% of developers have deployed agentic AI in production environments, with tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT dominating coding assistance. Agentic AI's ability to automate tasks-from text generation to AR/VR projects-highlights its potential to streamline blockchain development. Conversely, AI-driven threat intelligence is addressing cybersecurity challenges, with the global market projected to reach $22.97 billion by 2030, according to a GlobeNewswire report.

Institutional adoption of digital assets is another key trend. Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, increased its Ethereum holdings by 11,933 ETH in Q3 2025, signaling a strategic shift toward direct exposure to digital assets. CEO Brian Armstrong emphasized the company's pivot toward a unified financial platform bridging traditional and blockchain assets, including prediction markets and tokenized equities. Despite short-term stock volatility, Coinbase's growing reserves reflect confidence in crypto's long-term value proposition.