Ethereum Co-Founder ‘Not Unhappy’ As JPMorgan, AmEx And Big Tech Build On The Network

Ethereum signals that institutional L2 adoption is accelerating as banks build tokenization rails.

• Ethereum’s official X account on Monday pointed out that institutional adoption of its Blockchain had accelerated, citing tokenized payments and settlement products launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co., other major firms.
• JP Morgan moved the token as a deposit product on Base and Ethereum’s layer-2 networks.
• According to BitMine Chairman Tom Lee, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin isn’t too gung-ho about institutional adoption. 

Ethereum’s official account stated on Monday that institutional adoption of its layer-2 blockchain has accelerated in recent months.

On X, the official Ethereum account said that global banks and financial institutions are increasingly building on Ethereum (ETH), listing firms such as JP Morgan, Fidelity, American Express, and Google that have recently started using blockchain for payments, funds, and tokenized assets. 

The institutional adoption of Ethereum has not appeared to concern the co-founder, Vitalik Buterin. BitMine CEOTom Lee said at the 2026 Annual Shareholder Meeting on Friday that although Buterin has avoided endorsing individual companies, he is not opposed to large financial firms building on Ethereum, saying that big financial giants developing tokenization infrastructure on Ethereum “does not make Vitalik unhappy.” 

Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $3,124, down 2.1% over the past 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Ethereum dropped from ‘neutral’ to ‘bearish’ territory, as chatter levels dropped from ‘high’ to ‘normal’ over the past day. 

JP Morgan And American Express Launch Ethereum-Based Products

JP Morgan expanded its Blockchain activity by moving its tokenised deposit product, JPM coin (JPMD), onto the Base and Ethereum layer-2 networks in November last year. The product is designed to support faster payments, collateral movement, and settlement for institutional clients on a public blockchain. 

According to the post from Ethereum’s official account, this transition would “meet demand from JP Morgan's institutional clients for payments, collateral, and margin settlement on public infrastructure.”

Similarly, American Express launched Amex Passport, a digital travel feature that allows cardholders to create blockchain travel records, in late September last year. The stamps are non-transferable and designed to record the user's travel activity. Ethereum said that travel stamps are submitted as NFTs on Base, a blockchain developed by Coinbase (COIN), and Ethereum’s layer-2 network.

In response to the institutional adoption of Ethereum across banks and big tech companies, a YouTube crypto influencer, Crypto Rover, said in December that “Ethereum is becoming the world’s neutral settlement layer and 2026 would be huge for Ethereum.”

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