Why Joseph Chalom Believes Ethereum Is the Future of Wall Street. Source: Image by WorldSpectrum from Pixabay
For Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink and former head of digital assets at BlackRock, Ethereum (ETH) represents more than a cryptocurrency—it’s the foundation he believes traditional finance will ultimately build upon. With its unmatched combination of trust, security, and liquidity, Chalom views Ethereum as the blockchain best suited to power the next generation of global finance.
During his 20-year tenure at BlackRock, Chalom helped scale the Aladdin platform—one of the most powerful risk management systems in finance—and later spearheaded BlackRock’s foray into digital assets. His leadership included strategic investments in Circle and Securitize, as well as the launch of IBIT, BlackRock’s most profitable ETF. These experiences strengthened his conviction that Ethereum’s architecture, with its smart contracts and tokenization capabilities, is key to digitizing financial infrastructure.
Chalom emphasizes Ethereum’s versatility compared to Bitcoin. While Bitcoin serves as a “store of value,” Ethereum is a “multi-purpose” blockchain enabling lending, trading, NFTs, and complex decentralized applications. Its proof-of-stake model also generates native yield, turning ether into what Chalom calls a “productive asset.”
Sharplink, holding over $3 billion in ether, exemplifies this philosophy. The company stakes nearly all of its holdings and is partnering with Consensys, Linea, and EigenLayer to explore restaking opportunities for additional yield—all while maintaining compliance with regulated custodians. Chalom says this approach allows institutions to achieve DeFi-level returns without taking on DeFi-level risks.
For Chalom, Ethereum’s role extends beyond speculation—it’s the infrastructure for the next era of digital finance. As he puts it, the divide between decentralized and traditional finance will eventually disappear: “Over time, we won’t call it DeFi or TradFi. We’ll just call it finance—and Ethereum will be the infrastructure underneath.”