Still firmly optimistic about ETH in the long run, but not blindly "ETH maxi". It will be judged based on rationality, probability, and odds. ETH faces two major challenges: L1 value capture, L2 liquidity fragmentation, and application prosperity. However, once the real-life narratives of AI agent economy, stablecoin payments, and on chain finance erupt, the upper limit will far exceed imagination. Supporting Ethereum is not about the current price, but about the underlying logic of "decentralization+security+no need for trust", which is its biggest moat and far surpasses other encryption projects so far. As for the influence of Vitalik, Ethereum Foundation, DAT companies (such as Bitmine), and Wall Street, it can be seen from multiple perspectives and may not necessarily be true. One person's opinion is: Vitalik (@ VitalikButerin) is a visionary who holds a historical position in the field of encryption, second only to Satoshi Nakamoto. However, in today's era, he also faces the tug of war between "ideals and practicality". Vitalik is the soul figure of Ethereum's core, and in 2026, he will re emphasize the core values of encryption such as trustlessness and decentralization, which are the most competitive parts of Ethereum. He would rather develop slowly than lose them. He emphasized this point and did not compromise for short-term adoption, which is commendable. The Pectra/Gramsterdam upgrade, ZK-EVM and other roadmaps are all moving in this direction, and he is also very concerned about AI, privacy, and L2 reconstruction. Of course, in this cycle, there are also some shortcomings in governance and L2 development, which have led to this cycle being weakened by competitors who were not originally competitors, resulting in some deficiencies. Overall, Vitalik is still very clear headed and has not let Ethereum sacrifice security for speed like other public chains. 2. The Ethereum Foundation is currently necessary because the Ethereum roadmap is far from reaching the stage where it can be released without anyone. However, its influence is gradually diminishing. The Ethereum Foundation is a non-profit organization responsible for funding core development, research, and community. In fact, it has done many practical things, including partially following the advice of the community, pledging nearly 70000 ETH to support subsequent research and development with the proceeds. However, after the Kelp incident, it sold ETH, which caused dissatisfaction among many people in the community. This is also normal. While other DeFi projects and founders are donating ETH to save users, they not only fail to promote a solution, but also choose to sell at this critical moment. In the long run, the influence of the Ethereum Foundation will become increasingly small, which is a healthy trend. The proportion of ETH held by the foundation continues to decline (in fact, the proportion is already very small now, and from a liquidity perspective, selling has almost no significant impact on the market. The current impact is mostly on community sentiment), which means that the ecosystem is becoming more decentralized (driven more by L2 teams, developers, and institutions). Before the implementation of the Ethereum roadmap, such as anti quantum/ZKVM, EF is still necessary, but it cannot be the only guardian. The true guardian should be the economic incentives and community of the Ethereum protocol itself. 3. DAT companies (such as Bitmine) These are institutional capital, new players emerging in this cycle, bringing real demand. As of April 2026, Bitmine already holds nearly 5 million ETH (approximately 4.1% of total supply), with a target of 5%, and can generate billions of dollars in annualized revenue through its self built MAVAN validator network. The advantage of Bitmine is that it moves the traditional Wall Street "corporate treasure strategy" (learning from MicroStrategy to hoard BTC) onto ETH, not only buying coins, but also staking and participating in protocols, strengthening the security and liquidity of the Ethereum network, and helping ETH move from a "speculative asset" to a "productive infrastructure". Finally, the influence of Wall Street is a double-edged sword. Wall Street now regards Ethereum as a 'financial backend' rather than a mere speculative commodity. Among them, the inflow of ETH Spot ETF provides institutional level entry and price support; Wall Street institutions actively promote real world asset tokenization, which operates on the Ethereum chain. In the future, treasury bond, real estate, and private equity will be linked, and ETH will lock in a large amount of liquidity. In the eyes of institutions, they distinguish very clearly - BTC is a value storage, ETH is a programmable settlement layer+stablecoin/AI payment infrastructure. Of course, there are also negative impacts, such as the pressure of centralization, the possibility of large institutions' staking affecting decentralization, and regulatory variables. Overall, the influx of money from Wall Street brings demand and legitimacy for real gold and silver, which is beneficial for ETH to overcome the mountain of "L1 value capture". 5. The complementarity of two forces Vitalik+Ethereum Foundation represents the "cypherpunk soul" of Ethereum (decentralization, long termism), while DAT companies like Bitmine+Wall Street represent "institutional capital realism" (scale, adoption, returns). Two forces can complement each other - the former keeps ETH authentic; The latter enables it to truly achieve scale. In the next 2-3 years, the key is to see whether L2 can form a joint force with L1 and implement AI/stablecoin/asset on chain. If successful, ETH will become a true 'financial infrastructure'; If stuck on the risk of fragmentation or centralization, it will be diverted by other chains.