Why Wall Street can use Ethereum without betting on ETH
Buterin’s November 8 monetary case meets an established framework where eligible institutions can post dollar fund tokens as margin. Read the full story on CryptoSlateUnderstand the crypto stories that matter and what to watch next. Get The Catalyst in your inbox
Wall Street can use tokenized assets without choosing ETH to back its trades. That distinction matters to Vitalik Buterin’s November 8 case for holding ETH: BlackRock’s dollar fund BUIDL lets eligible institutions post yield-bearing fund tokens as collateral instead.
Writing as @VitalikButerin, he argued that ETH’s monetary properties deserve more attention than valuation through fee burn. BUIDL’s established collateral framework with OKX and Standard Chartered describes a route for eligible clients to support trading with yield-bearing fund claims rather than ETH.
@VitalikButerin explicitly supported keeping EIP-1559 and its burn. His argument shifts the emphasis of ETH’s value proposition.
In a follow-up post, @VitalikButerin linked the usefulness of holding ETH to assets issued natively on Ethereum’s base layer. More assets could give holders more opportunities to convert between ETH and other instruments or use ETH as collateral.
Related ReadingThe institutional comparison predates the November thread. In an April 28, 2026 announcement, Standard Chartered described a framework allowing OKX VIP and institutional clients to post BUIDL in off-exchange custody at the bank while trading on OKX Middle East.
OKX’s explanation also describes an on-exchange route: BUIDL can be deposited and used as yield-bearing margin. In both routes, the stated benefit is that dollar yield continues while the fund tokens support trading.
The underlying exposure is cash, U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements. BlackRock’s March 2024 launch terms described BUIDL as seeking a stable $1 token value, with transfers between pre-approved investors.
These features differ from the decentralization-based case Buterin makes for ETH. BUIDL is a permissioned claim on a managed dollar fund, with custody and eligibility requirements. An institution choosing it as margin is choosing that exposure and infrastructure, rather than expressing a preference to hold ETH.
The custody roles also differ. The original fund launch named BNY Mellon custodian of underlying assets; the later framework places posted fund tokens with Standard Chartered. Those are separate layers of the arrangement.