Recently, there has been widespread discussion in the market about a personnel news—Federal Reserve Board member Waller being one of the candidates for the chairmanship, and his attitude towards crypto assets has attracted significant attention.

Interestingly, Waller has explicitly stated in public remarks: DeFi should not be questioned, and stablecoins are essentially an evolution of private currencies. Such statements are relatively rare in traditional financial circles. From a certain perspective, this reflects a changing perception of the crypto space among top financial decision-makers.

What does the data say? Market predictions estimate his chances of being nominated at around 15%. Although this percentage isn't particularly high, simply being on the shortlist for Federal Reserve Chair indicates that crypto topics have become part of mainstream financial discussions. In other words, this is a signal that the crypto industry is moving from the periphery to the center.

What does this mean for ETH and the entire ecosystem? In the short term, such news can indeed boost market sentiment—proving that what we are doing is being recognized by the power centers. But rationally, this should not be used as a direct basis for investment decisions. After all, there are other candidates, and the final choice has yet to be made. More importantly, the emergence of voices like Waller’s marks a new stage in the mainstreaming of crypto.

The true value of the race still lies in product innovation and ecosystem development. When decision-makers start seeking talent who understand crypto, it indicates that this direction has been recognized by the mainstream. For us, continuously monitoring policy developments is necessary, but the core is to maintain our own rhythm and not be swayed by short-term emotions. The future landscape will ultimately be determined by genuine value accumulation.