Ethereum Attracts Wall Street Capital, Former BlackRock Executive Joins ETH Treasury Company

Ethereum, with its staking and re-staking mechanisms, is gradually becoming the new favorite of institutional capital. Recently, a senior executive Joseph Chalom, who has worked for 20 years at a top global asset management company, announced his joining of the publicly listed Ethereum treasury company SharpLink Gaming as co-CEO, marking the beginning of a new chapter in his career.

The joining of Chalom has attracted market attention. Following his addition, SharpLink Gaming quickly acquired over 77,000 ETH and deposited all of it into staking. Currently, the company holds approximately 438,000 ETH, second only to another ETH treasury strategy company, Bitmine. These two companies are vying for the position of "ETH version of MicroStrategy," competing to increase their ETH holdings.

Bitmine has attracted a significant investment from renowned investor Cathie Wood's Ark Invest thanks to the influence of its chairman, the seasoned analyst Tom Lee, known as the "Wall Street Oracle." In contrast, SharpLink's support team mainly comes from the cryptocurrency space and urgently needs a leader with traditional financial connections to attract Wall Street capital, making Chalom the ideal candidate.

From Law to Fintech, and then to Cryptocurrency

Joseph Chalom holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School. His career began as a corporate and regulatory legal advisor, serving as a senior attorney at a prominent law firm, providing legal services to multiple investment banks and large corporations.

In 2005, Chalom joined a large asset management company and began to venture into the field of financial technology. He served as the Chief Operating Officer of the solutions division of the company, leading the productization and external expansion of a global institutional-level risk control and investment management platform, transforming it from an internal tool into a core fintech hub serving over one trillion dollars in assets globally.

In early 2020, Chalom was promoted to Managing Director and Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships, fully responsible for the company's strategic planning and implementation in areas such as data, indices, digital assets, and technology ecosystems. He also led collaborations with several leading digital asset infrastructure institutions, deeply connecting traditional asset management platforms with the blockchain ecosystem through cross-industry joint ventures, technology integration, and product promotion.

High hiring costs demonstrate SharpLink's determination

To attract Chalom to join, SharpLink Gaming offered a total hiring package of $12.5 million. This includes an annual base salary of $750,000, an annual performance bonus of up to 150% of the base salary, and $7 million worth of restricted stock units (RSUs) as a one-time signing bonus. In addition, the company set up a long-term incentive plan for Chalom of no less than $4 million.

Promoting Institutional-Level Digital Asset Applications

Under Chalom's leadership, his former company launched the world's largest Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, currently managing assets exceeding $80 billion, far surpassing other competitors. The ETF's holdings have surpassed 700,000 BTC, accounting for 55% of the total holdings of all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.

In July 2024, the company launched the Ethereum ETF, which, within just one year, reached a management scale of 10 billion USD, accounting for about half of the total assets under management of Ethereum ETFs. This achievement made it the third-fastest ETF in history to reach this figure.

In addition, Chalom has launched the first Ethereum-based government bond tokenization product, providing institutional clients with an innovative solution that combines compliance and liquidity. He also facilitated and led strategic collaborations with multiple digital asset infrastructure institutions, deepening the connection between traditional asset management platforms and the blockchain ecosystem.

The Connection with the Ethereum Ecosystem

The intersection of Chalom and the Ethereum ecosystem can be traced back several years. In 2015, his company communicated with industry experts such as Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin to explore potential investment opportunities and the application of blockchain.

In early 2020, Chalom began to fully engage in and promote the cryptocurrency asset business. Under his leadership, the company established partnerships with several cryptocurrency platforms to provide institutional clients with cryptocurrency trading, custody, prime brokerage, and reporting functions.

Facing the downturn of the cryptocurrency market in the second half of 2022, Chalom remains optimistic. In an interview with the media, he stated: "Although cryptocurrencies have experienced a winter, their market value is still as high as one trillion dollars. We see that the accelerated development of these technologies has created opportunities while also improving efficiency."