Ethereum value formation as a feedback system: an integrative causal-loop framework

The valuation of decentralized blockchain platforms remains challenging because their native tokens do not represent conventional residual claims and may derive value from several interacting economic mechanisms. This study develops an integrative framework of Ethereum value formation through a mechanism-based conceptual synthesis of the relevant literature. The literature is organized into six principal valuation perspectives: fundamental and on-chain, network-based, monetary and tokenomics, scarcity-oriented, security and staking-based, and behavioral and reflexive approaches. The synthesis indicates that the six perspectives emphasize different but partly overlapping mechanisms of value formation and that none independently explains the interaction among productive activity, adoption, monetary demand, token scarcity, network security, and market expectations. These mechanisms are integrated into a causal-loop framework comprising five reinforcing feedback loops, three balancing feedback loops, and additional productive value-creation pathways that do not form a closed feedback loop. The framework analytically distinguishes ecosystem value creation, ETH-related value capture, and market-price formation while conceptualizing Ethereum as a complex adaptive socio-economic system rather than solely as a conventional productive asset or monetary instrument. The resulting framework provides a theory-building foundation for subsequent stock-and-flow model development, empirical calibration, and comparative application to other blockchain platforms.