New Analysis Unveils True Scale of Wealth in Ethereum Ecosystem

A recent blockchain research reveals that 58% of Ethereum's largest addresses' wealth is stored in assets other than Ethereum itself, such as ERC-20 tokens and stablecoins. When assessing the top 10,000 addresses by total assets, including these tokens, the combined value is estimated at $426 billion, suggesting that a substantial part of Ethereum’s wealth is not immediately visible through ETH holdings alone. This discovery indicates a significant change in the composition of wealth on the Ethereum blockchain, with stablecoins comprising about 26% and other ERC-20 tokens sharing the balance. Moreover, smart contracts now account for almost 40% of the wealth among the top holders, demonstrating a shift in capital control towards automated mechanisms. The study introduces the 'Printing-Press Index' to evaluate the risk posed by protocols heavily reliant on self-minted tokens. The report warns that high levels of self-issued tokens, akin to those seen in DeFi protocols like Uniswap and Aave, could present substantial risks, drawing parallels to the LUNA-UST failure. These insights challenge traditional methods of assessing Ethereum's financial landscape and underscore the complexity inherent to DeFi ecosystems.