what's Strategic ETH Reserve (SER)?

The Strategic ETH Reserve (SER) is a decentralized initiative in the Ethereum ecosystem aimed at encouraging companies, institutions, and individuals to hold Ethereum (ETH) as a long-term strategic asset. Inspired by concepts like national Bitcoin reserves, SER promotes ETH accumulation through voluntary pledges where participants commit to not selling their holdings, thereby enhancing ETH's stability and value proposition as a foundational asset for decentralized finance (DeFi), smart contracts, and blockchain applications. Unlike centralized reserves, SER operates on a trust-based model without a governing body enforcing sales restrictions, relying instead on public commitments and transparency. Participants, often public companies or crypto firms, announce ETH purchases and reserves via updates, fostering a narrative of ETH as "digital oil" for the web3 economy. This movement has grown through social media tracking and media coverage, highlighting ETH's role in technological innovation and financial sovereignty.

SER holds $35B+ ETH in ETFs and strategic reserves as of 2025.