Etherealize CEO Vivek Raman warned that the growing use of private permissioned consortium blockchains could create fragmented systems that limit interoperability and liquidity.

Consortium chains restrict participation to a defined set of members and have attracted interest from traditional finance firms seeking privacy and reduced counterparty risk.

Notable examples include Digital Asset’s Canton Network, Circle’s stablecoin payment system, and Stripe’s Tempo blockchain.

Earlier initiatives such as R3’s consortium and the Hyperledger project experienced withdrawals by major banks after initial participation.

Raman likened Ethereum’s open mainnet to the internet’s HTTP protocol, while permissioned layers resemble HTTPS, providing security and privacy atop an open base.

He said an open base layer is required for maximum interoperability and liquidity, allowing institutions to build custom applications without reliance on a single consortium.

BlackRock has launched Ethereum‑based funds that comply with the GENIUS Act, indicating a shift toward open networks.

Etherealize, which received a seed grant from Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation in January 2025 and raised $40 million in a Series A round later that year, aims to bring financial firms onto the permissionless ecosystem.

Christian Catalini, founder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab and former chief economist of Facebook’s Diem project, noted that the current phase focuses on enterprise sales and that the ultimate direction of institutional adoption remains unclear.

He added that networks with a clear sponsor could limit the pro‑competitive benefits of blockchains if they become dominant.

Whether institutions will favor open public chains or continue to build on permissioned systems with defined sponsors remains undetermined.