Ethereum is turning into the operating system of global finance, but it is being paid incomparably little for it. By my estimates, Robinhood's blockchain earned about $109,400 in a single day, paying only $716 to the Ethereum network itself.
This means that for every dollar sent to the network, Robinhood keeps roughly $153 for itself. In the two weeks since launching its own blockchain, Robinhood has earned over $800,000, paying Ethereum a total of about $1,500. Figuratively speaking, Ethereum is the "janitor" paid pennies to maintain the entire system.
What is the essence of the paradox?
This refers to estimates at the network level for a single day, excluding off-chain expenses and corporate profits. Nevertheless, it is the most honest "live picture" of a strange problem in cryptocurrency.
The expert traced the roots of the situation back to July 1, 2026. On that day, the non-profit organization Ethereum Institutional, in his view, became the "front door" for banks and sovereign funds, gathering leaders of companies managing assets worth approximately $250 trillion.
On the same day, Robinhood launched its own Layer 2 (L2) network on Ethereum for tokenized stocks in over 120 countries. As the analyst figuratively described, Ethereum opened a "courthouse," and Robinhood opened "shops" around it, retaining all the margin and clients.
At the same time, according to the expert, the company did nothing wrong and merely followed Ethereum's roadmap. He recalled that back in March, the Ethereum Foundation acknowledged that Layer 2 networks had turned into "zones of control."
From an engineering standpoint, everything worked flawlessly. As the expert emphasized, fees in the main network fell from over $2 to less than $0.02, and on Layer 2 networks by more than 95%. However, it was the expensive fees in the main network that once made ETH scarce.
According to the analyst's calculations, Ethereum now burns about 25 coins per day, while issuing approximately 20,000 per week to stakers. As a result, supply is growing by nearly 0.85% per year and exceeds the level at the time of the network's transition to Proof-of-Stake.
Who ultimately benefits?
The expert's main conclusion is that value has not disappeared but has changed recipients. Previously, Ethereum burned fees, and scarcity rewarded all holders equally, whereas now the margin goes to Layer 2 network companies, and the new issuance goes to stakers.
According to him, the passive ETH holder has turned out to be the only participant in the system whose share is being diluted. Meanwhile, the largest businesses "on Ethereum's rails"—stablecoin issuers—hold reserves in US government bonds and barely own any ETH themselves.
The analyst showed with a concrete example who stakers are. According to his data, on July 14, BitMine disclosed that it owns more than 5.77 ETH—about 4.8% of all existing coins—and its share in staking equals roughly 12% of all locked ETH.
"Beneath all this is an unresolved paradox. Institutions want settlements that are cheap, neutral, and invisible, while token holders want a 'rent' to be charged for settlements," the researcher stated.
As the expert explained, if the price is high, activity leaves; if it is close to zero, the network becomes indispensable but not profitable. The better Ethereum becomes as neutral infrastructure, the harder it is to charge a fee without destroying that neutrality.
A more restrained view was expressed by Mikko Ohtamaa, co-founder of Trading Protocol. According to him, the hype around Robinhood will soon fade: currently, 40% of transactions are spam and failed operations, and "due to zero fees, there is no real economy." In his forecast, after the promotional period ends, fees will stabilize at a much lower level.
My professional conclusion: Ethereum has encountered the classic platform dilemma—the more invisible and efficient the infrastructure becomes, the less people are willing to pay for it. This is not a technical problem but an economic one. Until the market finds a balance between the "rent" for holders and "efficiency" for users, the price of ETH will remain under pressure.