Why Ethereum (ETH) Is Wall Street’s Blockchain Darling – Former BlackRock Exec Reveals All

Wall Street’s institutional money is flooding into Ethereum—and a former BlackRock heavyweight just confirmed why ETH is their go-to chain.

The Institutional Stamp of Approval

Forget 'flippening' debates—ETH’s real edge is becoming the backbone of TradFi’s blockchain experiments. Think asset tokenization, private-chain settlements, and yes, even those clunky bank consortiums playing catch-up.

Smart Contracts, Smarter Money

While Bitcoin hoards the 'digital gold' narrative, Ethereum’s programmable contracts let Wall Street cut middlemen without admitting crypto actually solves their inefficiencies. Ironic, huh?

The Cynical Take

Of course they chose ETH—it’s the only chain where you can build a 'revolutionary' financial product that’s just a blockchain-wrapped version of the same old fees. Progress!

TLDR

• Former BlackRock executive Joseph Chalom says Ethereum is the only blockchain with the trust, security, and liquidity Wall Street needs for digitizing finance
• Tokenized fund assets on Ethereum have surged nearly 2,000% since January 2024, led by BlackRock and Fidelity bringing investment funds on-chain
• Chalom’s company Sharplink holds over $3 billion in ETH and stakes nearly all of it, exploring restaking strategies for additional yield beyond the 3% from proof-of-stake
• ETH currently trades near $3,568, below its 20-week moving average of $3,803 but above its 50-week moving average of $3,365
• Regulatory clarity in Singapore, Switzerland, and Hong Kong is attracting more institutional participants to tokenized assets on Ethereum

Joseph Chalom spent 20 years at BlackRock before leaving to focus on Ethereum. The former digital assets head now serves as co-CEO of Sharplink, a digital asset treasury company.

Chalom believes ethereum has specific qualities that financial institutions need. “If you’re going to digitize finance, you need a chain institutions can trust — and it’s Ethereum,” he told CoinDesk.

At BlackRock, Chalom helped scale the Aladdin platform and led the firm’s crypto initiatives. These included backing Circle, launching the IBIT exchange-traded fund, and investing in Securitize.

His experience shaped his view of Ethereum as infrastructure rather than speculation. He contrasts it with bitcoin, calling bitcoin a store of value while describing Ethereum as a multi-purpose platform.

The blockchain supports financial transactions, lending, trading, NFTs and complex applications. Chalom points to Ethereum hosting the majority of stablecoins and tokenized assets.

Ether generates 3% annual yield through Ethereum’s proof-of-stake mechanism. “It’s a productive asset,” Chalom said. Bitcoin sits idle in portfolios by comparison.

Institutional Money Flows Into Ethereum

Sharplink holds over $3 billion worth of ether. Nearly all of it is staked.

The company is working with Consensys, Linea and EigenLayer on restaking strategies. These aim to unlock additional yield while keeping assets with regulated custodians.

Token Terminal data shows tokenized fund assets on Ethereum grew nearly 2,000% since January 2024. BlackRock and Fidelity drove this growth by bringing investment funds on-chain.

Ethereum’s developer community and network security support this institutional adoption. Recent upgrades including the MOVE to Proof-of-Stake and EIP-4844 have cut transaction fees.

Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum and Optimism now offer near-zero cost transactions. This makes smaller tokenization projects financially viable.

Regulatory frameworks are emerging in Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong. These jurisdictions are creating guidelines for tokenized assets.

Token format standards like ERC-20 and ERC-3643 are easing integration for financial firms. This technical maturity paired with regulatory clarity strengthens Ethereum’s position.

Current Price Action

ETH trades NEAR $3,568 after reaching peaks between $4,600 and $4,700. The token sits below its 20-week moving average of $3,803.

No one is talking about this But the $ETH FUSAKA upgrade on Dec 3 could be the next leg up catalyst

Ethereum is entering its “Performance Era.”

More Transaction Per Seconds ➜ Lower Fees ➜ Higher Throughput ➜ More Users ➜ Higher Demand

Whales are buying billions worth of… pic.twitter.com/n7Ryr2CbOM

— Ash Crypto (@AshCrypto) November 12, 2025

It remains above its 50-week moving average of $3,365. The RSI reads 48.4 while the MACD shows bearish signals.

Support exists between $3,350 and $3,400. Holding this range could lead to tests of $3,800 levels.

A break below $3,350 might push prices toward $3,000 to $3,100. Momentum indicators point to a cooling phase in the short term.

Chalom views Sharplink as continuing his BlackRock mission of bridging traditional finance with crypto. “We spent decades building rails full of intermediaries,” he said.