When it comes to Ethereum, many people only focus on price fluctuations. But what’s truly worth analyzing is its “attract users first, then charge tolls” strategy—a logic that’s essentially the same as that of internet platforms.

How is this done in the early stages? The emphasis is on Layer2 scaling. Technologies like Rollups, simply put, reduce transaction fees and speed up transactions, drawing in DeFi, NFT projects, and users. Once the ecosystem is established and mainnet TPS increases, it can naturally support strong demand scenarios like payments and large-scale asset settlements. This approach is very similar to how Alipay initially offered free services to attract traffic and later made money through value-added services.

So what underpins ETH’s value? Just look at TVL( (Total Value Locked)). When users get used to a particular ecosystem, the platform can slightly increase fees and users will still accept it—this is called “stickiness.” The more prosperous the ecosystem and the higher the TVL, the more solid ETH’s valuation floor becomes.

Looking ahead 30 years: if stablecoin scale reaches $3 trillion and RWA( (real-world assets on-chain), such as real estate bonds), reaches $20 trillion, then even just from transaction fees Ethereum’s minimum market cap could be benchmarked to the $3 trillion level. Once new scenarios like tokenized US stocks and on-chain physical assets take off, they will directly raise the ceiling for TVL and transaction fees.

What Ethereum is doing now is essentially vying for the role of “monetary settlement layer.” The evolution from a payment tool to a clearing network is the key to long-term value. Ecosystem expansion is not just hype—it directly determines how much capital this chain can support in the decades to come.