Ethereum fundamentals outpace price as institutions, AI payments converge

South Korean crypto and capital-market executives argued this week that while Ethereum’s on-chain activity is reaching record highs, its market price has not yet reflected those fundamentals. They described the divergence as a rare window of opportunity as institutions and emerging “AI agent” payment use cases converge on the network.

On-chain strength vs. price weakness

During the Tuesday session at DSRV’s headquarters in Seoul, panelists discussed “Ethereum as an Asset II: Korea Institutional Adoption,” part of “Ethereum Korea One.” Panelists included Jongkwang Kim, co-founder of DSRV; Jinseok Cho, CEO of Korean Digital Asset (KODA), a major custody provider; and Jongmok Han, AI and digital-asset analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. The discussion was moderated by Youbin Kang, CEO of NonceClassic.

Han highlighted a widening “price–fundamentals gap” for Ethereum (ETH), citing stablecoin activity and network usage as indicators of structural demand. He said Ethereum-based stablecoins recorded $8.5 billion in net inflows over the past month, while Solana-based stablecoins posted net outflows over the same period. He also noted that Ethereum’s daily transactions reached an all-time high of 3.64 million on April 12, and that new user growth has increased fourfold on a quarterly basis over the last two years.

“From an analyst’s perspective, it takes time for the market to establish a valuation framework for Ethereum,” Han said, adding that demand continues to build even as price momentum lags. He described the mismatch as “one of the most interesting moments” for long-term observers, suggesting adoption is advancing faster than market narratives.

Kim argued more directly that Ethereum’s longevity and security remain unmatched among smart contract platforms. “The direction is right, and there is no real competitor,” he said, describing Ethereum as the only chain with more than a decade of operational history at global scale. He cautioned, however, that catalysts—particularly regulation and the rise of the “AI agent economy”—would likely influence how quickly the market closes the gap.

Custody alone isn’t enough for institutions

Cho said institutional adoption of Ethereum has faced practical friction compared with Bitcoin (BTC). He noted that Bitcoin’s “digital gold” narrative is simpler for traditional institutions to understand, while Ethereum often requires deeper technical and operational understanding, which can reduce inbound demand.

Cho said moving from curiosity to deployment requires more than custody infrastructure. Institutions, he argued, will need regulated pathways not only for storage but also for staking, lending, and “institution-grade DeFi.” In his view, compliance, auditability, and counterparty risk controls become decisive in those areas.

He also urged policymakers to ensure South Korea’s proposed digital asset framework does not focus too heavily on Bitcoin alone. Cho said regulation should accommodate Ethereum’s smart contracts and DeFi ecosystem, which he views as important for broader financial-sector experimentation. He added that Ethereum’s recent outreach to institutional audiences has been a “positive change,” but said adoption will accelerate only when case studies and reference implementations are presented directly to decision-makers.

Why panelists think “AI agents” will need Ethereum

The session’s most forward-looking discussion centered on whether AI agents—software systems that can browse, negotiate, and transact on a user’s behalf—will drive demand for blockchain-native payments.

Han argued that while the theme may appear overhyped in the short run, it could be underestimated over longer time horizons. He cited the “router” feature introduced with GPT-5 as an example of how agents could orchestrate high-volume web activity, communicate with other agents, and trigger payments within automated workflows. In that environment, he said transactions are likely to be high-frequency and “micro-denominated,” making them difficult to settle efficiently through card rails or bank transfers.

Han pointed to the X402 protocol, described on the panel as a payments-related communication standard being developed by Coinbase ($COIN) and Cloudflare ($NET), with participation from the Ethereum Foundation and Google ($GOOGL). He said it indicates large technology and crypto firms are exploring agent-native payment infrastructure. “In an agent commerce era, stablecoins and the Ethereum ecosystem could become unavoidable infrastructure,” Han said.

Kim added an identity and access perspective, saying AI agents cannot hold bank accounts but can hold Ethereum accounts, making on-chain wallets a natural settlement layer for autonomous commerce. He argued that the combination of microtransactions, rapid settlement, and composable financial logic leaves Ethereum as the most realistic backbone for payment flows between agents.

Broader implications

In closing remarks, panelists said institutional adoption will depend on operational requirements, including “stability,” contractual assurance via smart contracts, transaction speed, and predictable fees—attributes they believe Ethereum can provide at scale.

The debate reflected a growing thesis in South Korea’s crypto market: Ethereum’s immediate price action may be less informative than the steady expansion of its role as settlement infrastructure, particularly if regulators formalize institution-friendly frameworks and if AI-driven commerce makes programmable, low-friction payments a default requirement.