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

Key Takeaways

• Consensys proposes the concept of “Trustware” – programmable and verifiable trust software
• The “cost of corruption” model predicts ETH will reach $4,900 by end of 2025 and $15,800 by 2028
• The global economy spends $9.3 trillion annually on traditional trust infrastructure
• Ethereum leads with $220 billion in high-quality liquid assets, far exceeding Solana ($20.3 billion) and Avalanche ($3.7 billion)

As Ethereum approaches its tenth anniversary, Consensys is reshaping how we view the network’s role in the global economy through the concept of “Trustware” – the era of trust software.

Trustware: A New Definition of Ethereum’s Value

Consensys argues that Ethereum is evolving beyond a simple smart contract platform to become the foundational layer for programmable and verifiable trust in financial systems—and beyond.

Trust is the foundation of most economic transactions. According to Consensys research, the global economy spends over $9.3 trillion annually on traditional trust infrastructure, including insurance, legal systems, auditing, compliance, notaries, and intermediaries.

The digital era has created a new kind of trust: borderless, transparent, and enforced by code, allowing strangers to transact with mathematical certainty. This is “Trustware”, trust embedded in software.

Jason Linehan, Chief Strategy Officer at Consensys, explains: “Trustware is a new way to describe the extraordinary value that Ethereum has brought and continues to bring to the economy. This value has been built block by block over the past 10 years through the efforts of the Ethereum Foundation, Consensys, and the global Ethereum developer community.”

The “Cost of Corruption” Pricing Model

Consensys has developed the “cost of corruption” model—a pricing framework that links ETH’s market value to the level of security needed to protect economic activity on the Ethereum network. The principle is simple: The more value Ethereum secures through stablecoins and DeFi assets, the more expensive it becomes to attack the network.

Based on this model, Consensys predicts:

• ETH will reach $4,900 by end of 2025
• ETH will reach $15,800 by 2028

Assumptions for the 2028 prediction include:

• Stablecoin value: $1 trillion
• Real World Assets (RWA): $500 billion
• Total Value Locked (TVL): $300 billion

Linehan emphasizes: “There are credible predictions of $2 trillion in stablecoins and up to $16 trillion in RWA by 2028 or 2030,” while noting Ethereum’s current dominance in both asset categories.

Ethereum’s Leading Position

The cryptocurrency market remains in its early stages. Total crypto market capitalization represents only 0.3% of global assets, while stablecoin trading volume accounts for just 0.1% of total foreign exchange volume.

As of May 31, Ethereum had secured $220 billion in High-Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) on-chain—far ahead of Solana’s $20.3 billion and Avalanche’s $3.7 billion, despite recent growth on those platforms.

Security Architecture and Scale

After nearly a decade of development, Ethereum has undergone 21 network upgrades and pioneered many of blockchain’s core innovations: smart contracts, NFTs, ERC tokens, DeFi, DAOs, oracles, rollups, stablecoins, proof-of-stake, and real-world asset tokenization—all originated or matured on Ethereum.

Today, Ethereum’s infrastructure is secured by over 1,056,000 validators in 84 countries.

While other chains may attract niche sectors like gaming or memecoins—where trust is less critical—Ethereum remains the go-to platform for institutional capital that requires credible neutrality and economic security.

Future Vision

Linehan predicts the future: “Agent finance will mean tokenized RWAs and all other asset types will be accessed and traded thousands of times per second, 24/7/365, using the most sophisticated algorithms we can imagine.”

As traditional financial institutions recognize the efficiency and value of this type of trust infrastructure, Consensys argues that demand for Ethereum will increase accordingly, driving long-term ETH value growth.

Linehan concludes: “The future won’t be like the past… it will be an economy we’ve never seen before, and it will break all current boundaries. Ethereum will make that reality.”