Ethereum at 10: Consensys Sees ‘Trustware’ Future Driving ETH to $15.8K

Ethereum at 10: Consensys Sees ‘Trustware’ Future Driving ETH to $15.8K

Ethereum’s cost-to-corrupt framework and evolving role in global finance may anchor the next wave of institutional adoption

As Ethereum celebrates its 10th anniversary, blockchain software company Consensys is offering a bold new vision: Ethereum as the foundation of a “trustware” economy — one where mathematical trust replaces traditional intermediaries.

In a new report shared with Cointelegraph, Consensys projects that this shift could push Ether (ETH) to $15,800 by 2028, driven by Ethereum’s rising dominance in stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and DeFi infrastructure.

“Ethereum is no longer just a smart contract platform — it’s becoming the base layer of programmable trust,” said Jason Linehan, Chief Strategy Officer at Consensys.

Trustware: A $9.3 Trillion Opportunity

Consensys introduces “trustware” as a digital replacement for the $9.3 trillion spent annually on global trust infrastructure — legal systems, insurance, compliance, auditors, and middlemen.

“It’s a new way to talk about the value Ethereum already delivers,” Linehan said, crediting Ethereum’s developer community and organizations like the Ethereum Foundation for building it block by block over the past decade.

Trustware allows transactions to be executed transparently, borderlessly, and without human intermediaries, enforced by code and blockchain consensus.

The ‘Cost-to-Corrupt’ Framework: How ETH Gets Valued

Consensys bases its ETH valuation on a “cost-to-corrupt” model, which links the network’s market value to the cost of attacking it. The more assets Ethereum secures — stablecoins, tokenized securities, and other forms of value — the higher the required cost to corrupt it, and thus, the higher ETH must be priced.

Consensys predicts ETH will hit $4,900 by the end of 2025 and $15,800 by 2028, assuming:

• $1 trillion in stablecoins

• $500 billion in RWAs

• $300 billion in DeFi TVL

Those numbers, Linehan insists, are conservative. He cites other industry forecasts projecting $2 trillion in stablecoins and up to $16 trillion in RWAs by 2028 or 2030 — with Ethereum dominating both sectors.

Ethereum’s Market Position: Still Early Days

As of May 31, 2025, Ethereum had secured $220 billion in high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) on-chain — significantly more than Solana ($20.3B) and Avalanche ($3.7B).

And yet, crypto’s share of global wealth remains small:

• Crypto market cap = 0.3% of global wealth

• Stablecoin volume = 0.1% of FX market

Linehan argues that ETH investors are still early, as Ethereum continues to mature into a core pillar of institutional finance.

The Architecture Behind Ethereum’s Trust Engine

Ethereum now operates with 1,056,000 validators in 84 countries, and has undergone 21 network upgrades. It has pioneered major blockchain innovations:

• Smart contracts

• Proof-of-stake

• Stablecoins

• NFTs, DAOs, rollups, RWAs

While other chains may focus on niches like gaming or memecoins, Ethereum’s infrastructure, according to Consensys, is where serious capital and real-world assets are likely to reside.

“The future economy will run at machine-speed, 24/7, with tokenized assets transacted by autonomous agents,” Linehan said. “Ethereum is built for that world.”