Joseph Chalom Leaves BlackRock to Co-Lead SharpLink Gaming—$ETH Maximalist to Reshape Crypto Finance
After two decades at BlackRock spearheading its digital asset strategy, Joseph Chalom has officially joined SharpLink Gaming as co-CEO—marking one of the boldest moves in the TradFi-to-crypto crossover. Known for launching market-shaping products like IBIT (Bitcoin ETP), ETHA (Ethereum ETP), and BUIDL (tokenized money market fund), Chalom is now doubling down on Ethereum.
His new mission? Build the most trusted Ethereum treasury and put ETH at the heart of global finance. Chalom emphasized that SharpLink’s on-chain treasury strategy aligns perfectly with his vision—using staked $ETH and liquid staking tokens (LSETH) to generate yield instead of selling assets for operations. With 360,809 ETH already under control, SharpLink holds the second-largest ETH treasury in the world and plans to grow that to a massive 1M ETH—eclipsing even the Ethereum Foundation.
In a major leadership shakeup, SharpLink’s current CEO and co-founder Robert Phythian will now transition to President, allowing Chalom to steer the company’s Ethereum-focused future. This isn’t just a leadership change—it’s a strategic evolution. Backed by OTC deals with the Ethereum Foundation and a growing on-chain presence (including tokenized SBET shares via Injective), SharpLink is signaling it’s ready to become Ethereum’s corporate powerhouse.
Joseph Lubin, Co-Founder of Ethereum and Chairman of SharpLink, called the move “a resounding validation” of their ETH-first vision, underscoring Chalom’s role in unlocking institutional crypto adoption.
With SBET shares now live on-chain and Ethereum at the core of its operations, SharpLink Gaming is building the blueprint for the next phase of institutional DeFi.