Neobanks to Drive Ethereum's Growth in 2026, Says Ether.fi CEO
Ethereum's growth in 2026 will be driven more by user-friendly financial products than by speculation, according to Mike Silagadze, CEO of ether.fi. The company is expanding its services from restaking to offering neobank-style crypto-native financial products that combine yield generation, self-custody, and on-chain financial services.
The year 2025 marked a turning point fueled by institutional onboarding, although staking ETFs remained limited, while digital asset treasuries (DATs) moved at a faster pace. DAT deployments into ether.fi contributed to a significant rise in Ether's price, which saw a low of $1,472 in April 2025 and peaked at $4,832 during the DAT trend.
Neobanks are considered a clearer path to sustained Ethereum adoption, with stablecoins embedded in global finance helping expose users to on-chain activity and yield opportunities. Ethereum's success in 2026 will depend on delivering practical utility at scale and promoting real-world use cases such as tokenized stocks and accessible banking services.
Mike Silagadze is scheduled to speak at CoinDesk's Consensus Hong Kong conference in February 2026.
