Etherealize Warns of a Race Toward Permissioned Blockchains

Raman calls consortium chains from companies including Circle, Stripe, and Digital Asset a risk to interoperability. According to Etherealize, an open Ethereum base layer remains crucial for tokenized assets and DeFi.

Key Takeaways

• Vivek Raman of Etherealize warns that the rise of permissioned blockchains is putting pressure on crypto’s core promise.
• According to him, an open Ethereum base layer is still needed for interoperability, liquidity, and broad permissionless participation.
• He says consortium chains like Canton Network, ARC, and Tempo are attractive for privacy, but could fragment institutional adoption.

The comeback of private, closed blockchains is putting pressure on crypto’s core promise, according to Vivek Raman, co-founder and CEO of Etherealize. He calls the current wave of consortium chains a "race to the bottom" and says an open base layer is still needed to preserve interoperability and liquidity.

Open Network as the Foundation

Etherealize is trying to bring traditional financial firms to Ethereum. According to Raman, that matters because Ethereum already serves as a base layer for billions of dollars in tokenized assets and as a settlement layer for a large part of DeFi. In his view, that calls for an open mainnet, where transactions are visible and where parties do not need permission before they can join.

Raman presents Ethereum as the public foundation, similar to HTTP on the internet. On top of that, he says, permissioned layers can exist, such as at the app level or through L2s, but the underlying layer has to stay open. That setup is what makes it possible for different parties and applications to talk to each other, something that is harder in closed networks.

Consortium Chains Are Gaining Ground

The debate is happening at a time when permissioned systems are becoming popular again. Raman points to Digital Asset's Canton Network, Circle's stablecoin payments project ARC, and Stripe's Tempo as examples of so-called consortium chains. These networks promise more privacy and less counterparty risk, features that are attractive to the traditional financial sector.

At the same time, the idea is not new. Earlier enterprise initiatives, such as R3 and Hyperledger, also drew in banks and large companies, but later lost momentum when some of those parties dropped out again. According to Raman, that shows the market is once again making the same tradeoff between control and openness.

Why This Matters for Europe

For European crypto followers, the debate matters because the choice between open and permissioned networks determines how far tokenized assets and institutional products can really scale. An open infrastructure can make it easier for parties to connect, while closed systems can create more fragmentation. The outcome of that battle could therefore affect how quickly institutional crypto adoption takes shape in practice.

BlackRock and Regulation

Raman sees BlackRock's new Ethereum-based funds as a sign that the market is moving toward open networks. He also links that to regulatory clarity, and points to the GENIUS Act as a framework for stablecoins in the U.S. In his view, institutional money is more likely to flow to rails that nobody owns, while consortium chains remain dependent on membership and permission.

BlackRock recently made that move by launching tokenized share classes for money market funds on Ethereum, which further underscores institutional demand for public infrastructure.

Etherealize itself was backed in January 2025 with a grant from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation. Later that year, the company raised another $40 million (€34.6 million) in a Series A round, which allowed it to further expand its role in Ethereum's institutional rollout.