Ethereum’s funding rate spiked to its highest level since Aug. 23, 2025 on May 31 — a sign of crowded long positioning — even as the token slipped back under the $2,000 level. That crowded trade quickly punished bulls: on June 1 roughly $84 million of long ETH bets were liquidated.
Big-picture context: Citi’s Tokenization 2030 report, released this week, projects massive growth in tokenized real-world assets. The bank estimates the market at about $17 billion today and lays out a base case of $5.5 trillion by 2030 (with a range from $2.7 trillion to $8.2 trillion). Citi sees much of that expansion coming from tokenized U.S. Treasury bills and public equities — suggesting roughly 10% of the T-bill market and about 3% of public stocks could be on-chain by 2030. The report also notes that a 10% migration of U.S. retail investors to on-chain trading could create around $2.6 trillion in demand for tokenized public equities, and predicts legacy systems and blockchain rails will coexist for an extended transition period.
Ethereum sits squarely in that tokenization story. Citi and market observers point to existing institutional activity on Ethereum — including BlackRock’s BUIDL fund and the firm’s plans to tokenize money market funds on-chain — as evidence that Wall Street is already experimenting with the network for security and fund tokenization.
Despite the narrative, price action remained weak. At publication ETH was trading near $1,985 (down about 0.85% on the day), having broken below the psychological $2,000 mark. Analysts highlighted a demand zone between $1,980 and $1,990 that formed on May 29; a rebound from that band could push ETH back above $2,000 and toward $2,220. Technical headwinds persist, however: ETH formed a double-top on April 17 and May 6, broke below the neckline, and fell toward the $2,000 area after a second drop of roughly 9% from the $2,460 peak.
What to watch next: funding-rate behavior and liquidation flows (to gauge crowding), whether the $1,980–$1,990 band holds, and how institutional tokenization initiatives — many of which target Ethereum — translate into on-chain demand over the coming months.
(Reported data: funding-rate high on May 31; ~$84M in long liquidations on June 1; Citi’s Tokenization 2030 estimates and assumptions; ETH price and technical levels as noted.)
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
