Ethereum Institutional has named David Duong as its Head of US. He will lead the group’s outreach to American financial institutions that are weighing what Ethereum can do for them.
The appointment was announced on October 19, 2026.
Who Duong is and what he will do
Duong is best known as the former Global Head of Investment Research at Coinbase. That role put him at the center of how one of the largest US crypto companies explained the market to professional investors.
He brings more than 20 years of institutional markets research experience, including significant roles at major banks such as HSBC and Deutsche Bank.
Duong will be based in New York City. His mandate is to steer the organization’s engagement with US institutions exploring Ethereum, with a focus on three areas: tokenization, stablecoins, and on-chain infrastructure.
Duong was already making the rounds before the announcement. On October 14, 2026, he appeared on CoinDesk’s Public Keys program to discuss macro conditions and Ethereum’s potential.
A new organization with a specific job
Ethereum Institutional is itself barely a few months old. The independent non-profit was established on July 1, 2026.
Its creation marks a strategic separation from the Ethereum Foundation, the long-standing organization associated with the network’s development. The stated goal is to offer financial institutions a neutral platform for engaging with Ethereum.
The group says it has already built more than 500 institutional relationships. Its work spans educational outreach, market intelligence, marketing activities, standard-setting, and industry events.
Those events are planned across major financial hubs: New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The organization intends to expand beyond those initial cities over time.
The funding roster reads like a who’s who of Ethereum’s corporate believers. Backers include Bitmine Immersion Technologies, SharpLink, and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.
David Walsh serves as Executive Director, and the board includes Thomas Lee and Joseph Chalom.
Why the timing is interesting
Duong’s appointment landed alongside a notable development for Ethereum in traditional finance: the launch of JPM Coin on Ethereum L1, the network’s base layer.
Duong is also expected to play a central role in how the organization frames macroeconomic conditions affecting crypto markets. That fits his research résumé, where explaining market cycles to skeptical clients was the day job.
What this means for Ethereum and institutions
The funders’ identity cuts both ways. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, SharpLink, and Lubin all have clear interests in Ethereum succeeding, which aligns incentives but may invite scrutiny from institutions wary of advocacy dressed as education.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.