Ethereum’s ‘Trustware’ Era Could Push ETH to $15,800 by 2028

- Consensys positions Ethereum as foundational infrastructure for financial systems in its “trustware” era. - ETH growth projections tied to institutional adoption, stablecoin expansion, and tokenized asset markets. As Ethereum celebrates its 10th anniversary, Consensys has unveiled a bold thesis forecasting the blockchain’s emergence as critical financial infrastructure. The company announced the “trustware” era, a concept that highlights Ethereum’s evolution into a core layer for programmable and verifiable trust within global financial systems. This marks a new chapter in Ethereum’s positioning in decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain-enabled applications. On July 16, 2025, Cointelegraph reported that Consensys, the blockchain technology company driving Ethereum’s development, introduced the "cost-to-corrupt" model. This approach, which links the value of ETH to the security of assets on its network, supports the company’s projections that Ethereum’s price will reach $4,900 by the end of 2025 and possibly $15,800 by 2028. Further growth in stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and DeFi adoption also supports these forecasts. Jason Linehan, Chief Strategy Officer at Consensys, described these predictions as conservative, anticipating that the stablecoin market will grow to $2 trillion and RWAs will scale to $16 trillion by 2028 or 2030. Consensys’s analysis emphasizes Ethereum’s role as a secure financial layer, a position supported by the $220 billion in High-Quality Liquid Assets the network secured on-chain as of May 31, 2025. Over 1 million validators across 84 countries back Ethereum's robust security infrastructure, which further enhances its appeal among institutional investors. As a result, Consensys argues that Ethereum’s design makes it a strong candidate to power trustware in an increasingly digitized global economy, a factor the company expects will drive long-term growth. According to CoinMarketCap, Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $3,240.39 as of July 16, with its 24-hour trading volume up 8.27%.