Former BlackRock Executive Joseph Chalom Declares Ethereum “Infrastructure for Wall Street”

Former BlackRock executive and current co-CEO of Sharplink, Joseph Chalom, has made waves in the crypto-finance world by stating that Ethereum is not just another blockchain but rather “the infrastructure for Wall Street.” He argues the network possesses the unique combination of trust, security and liquidity that traditional financial institutions demand.  

Why Chalom Sees Ethereum as Institutional Infrastructure

Chalom’s comment centres on three core capabilities of Ethereum:

• Trust: He emphasises that institutions need systems they can rely on and he sees Ethereum’s network effects and decentralisation as a compelling foundation.  
  
  

• Security: Coming from a former BlackRock digital-assets executive’s vantage point, Chalom indicates that Ethereum’s proof-of-stake model and large validator ecosystem offer the kind of security profile institutions look for. 
  
  

• Liquidity: With one of the largest ecosystems in crypto, Ethereum supports vast amounts of tokens, DeFi activity and institutional infrastructure making it, in Chalom’s view, the only chain “Wall Street can trust to digitise finance.” 
  
  

He suggests that as institutions increasingly look beyond Bitcoin for meaningful blockchain adoption, Ethereum’s smart-contract capability, tokenization potential and enterprise focus position it as the logical layer for large-scale, regulated finance.

What This Means for Finance and Crypto Markets

Chalom’s remarks highlight a broader shift in how institutional players are thinking about blockchain: from speculative assets toward fundamental infrastructure. Key implications include:

• Institutional asset-managers and financial firms may increasingly view Ethereum as a technology platform not just an investment token.
  
  

• The rise of tokenisation (of stocks, bonds, real-world assets) may accelerate on Ethereum if institutions adopt the chain as a base layer.
  
  

• Ethereum’s ecosystem could attract more enterprise-grade activity, from staking services to custody solutions and DeFi on-ramps, reinforcing the “infrastructure for Wall Street” narrative.

Challenges That Must Be Addressed

Despite the bullish framing, several hurdles remain:

• Ethereum still competes with other chains for institutional mind-share; whether it can maintain infrastructure dominance is not guaranteed.
  
  

• Institutions will demand regulatory clarity, compliance frameworks and integration into legacy financial systems before fully committing.
  
  

• Infrastructure talk does not immediately translate into price movement: while valuation may benefit, execution and adoption will matter.

Key Context and Background

Joseph Chalom held a senior digital-assets role at BlackRock before joining Sharplink, where he is actively backing staking strategies and ETH treasury builds. His statement that “Ethereum is the infrastructure for Wall Street” was published on November 11, 2025. 

Ethereum remains the second-largest cryptocurrency by market-cap and hosts tens of thousands of smart contracts, DeFi protocols and tokenised-asset use-cases. Its ecosystem scale is often cited as a key institutional advantage. 

FAQs

Q1. Who is Joseph Chalom and what did he say about Ethereum?
A1. Joseph Chalom is a former BlackRock digital-assets executive and co-CEO of Sharplink. He stated that Ethereum is “the infrastructure for Wall Street,” citing its trust, security and liquidity qualities institutions require. 

Q2. What does it mean for Ethereum to be infrastructure for Wall Street?
A2. It means Ethereum is viewed not merely as a token but as a technology platform that may underpin financial systems allowing institutions to build tokenised assets, staking services, settlement rails and more similar to how banks rely on core systems today.

Q3. Does this mean institutions are abandoning Bitcoin for Ethereum?
A3. Not necessarily. The statement emphasises institutional infrastructure, not a wholesale shift away from Bitcoin. Ethereum’s smart-contract ecosystem and tokenisation features may attract more infrastructure use-cases, while Bitcoin remains valuable as a store-of-value and adoption anchor.

Q4. What needs to happen for this infrastructure thesis to play out?
A4. Key factors include regulatory clarity for institutional blockchain adoption, enterprise-grade infrastructure (custody, staking, compliance), and widespread enterprise commitment to building on Ethereum. Execution will determine the outcome.

Q5. Should individual investors change their strategy because of this statement?
A5. This content is for general informational purposes only and not investment advice. While the infrastructure narrative adds a bullish institutional dimension to Ethereum, all investors should assess their own risk tolerance, investment horizon and conduct their own research before acting.