Author: Joseph Chalom, compiled by: Jiahuan. The current drama surrounding the Ethereum Foundation (EF), and the squabble over the price of ETH, are missing the real big picture. I fully understand this argument, but it doesn’t determine who will lead the financial infrastructure of the next decade. This is just one stakeholder’s view. Before leading Sharplink, I spent twenty years as an executive at BlackRock, responsible for fintech and digital asset strategy. These experiences have taught me what institutions really value before investing in a new infrastructure. I want to take a step back, avoid the noise, and give a different judgment on the current state and future direction of Ethereum.
The Ethereum Foundation is doing its job. Looking back at the achievements delivered over the past decade, Ethereum has earned the winning qualification in the three attributes that institutions value most: trust, security, and liquidity. It is winning, and with a huge advantage. Most of the world’s stablecoin value is settled on Ethereum. Its tokenized real-world asset (RWA) scale far exceeds any other blockchain, and it is also the default venue for high-value DeFi transactions. In these dimensions, no competing chain can compare with it. This is not accidental, but the result of years of rigorous protocol development by the Ethereum Foundation. Ethereum is the only blockchain with a decade-long track record of major upgrades at the bottom layer, from The Merge, EIP-1559, Dencun, Pectra, Fusaka all the way to the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade that will bring a leap-forward expansion. The Foundation is also leading the way to quantum resistance. This is the most ambitious technology roadmap in the industry.
Decentralization is an advantage, not a defect. Some of the most intense criticisms of the Foundation treat decentralization as a weakness. This is precisely the opposite of institutional logic. The Ethereum ecosystem has the most developers of any chain, and the vast majority of them do not work within the Foundation. No foundation should control a chain. Institutions will not abandon their existing systems in order to lock themselves into another proprietary system. They need to be sure that the underlying attributes they rely on will not be arbitrarily changed by a few controllers. In fact, no chain should rely on any single participant. Ethereum’s reliable neutrality and decentralization are precisely why it can become the future financial settlement layer. If I had to choose between two foundations: one focused on security, privacy, quantum resistance, and core protocols, and the other only serving short-term marketing, I would choose the former every time.
Use Amazon to compare the value of ETH. Historically, there have been many examples of fundamental innovations being denied by naysayers, and the limelight being stolen by more fashionable upstarts, only to have the naysayers completely slapped in the face in the end. Amazon is the clearest case. Early on, the market consensus on Amazon was: a money-losing online bookseller propped up by the Internet bubble. The bears stared at the income statement, but failed to see Bezos’ long-term ambition. He wanted to build a completely new online commercial market structure. Today’s Ethereum and ETH are in the same position. Its potential market is not crypto trading, but the entire global financial system. The intrinsic value of ETH is closely tied to the expansion of the network. And this network is standing at the tipping point of a leap-forward increase in transaction volume, covering stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, DeFi, and the emerging wave of smart agent finance. To provide security for such a large transaction volume, ETH will become a highly sought-after incentive layer and the ultimate trust carrier, and its monetary premium will also rise accordingly. No ETH, no Ethereum. Assets and networks are inseparable.
Be greedy when others are fearful. In almost every market cycle, the moment when retail investors cut their losses and leave the market, and sentiment hits rock bottom, is the opportunity for disciplined capital to enter the market. Buffett built Berkshire by buying quality assets when the market was at its worst. For most of the past year, the Fear and Greed Index has shown extreme market fear. The smartest investors buy quality assets when they are most panicked. They go against the cycle, rather than follow the crowd. In the crypto winter after FTX, most institutions chose to avoid exposure to Bitcoin and ETH, or put product launches on hold. But when I was at BlackRock, we did the opposite. We doubled down, invested in infrastructure, built ecosystem partnerships, and launched products connecting traditional finance and crypto. We should all learn from the experiences of Buffett and BlackRock.
Give Ethereum a new voice. The Ethereum Foundation is doing its job. Going forward, it will focus more on CROPS – censorship resistance, capture resistance, open source, privacy, and security – these core attributes. For most people, the problem is clear: at a time when institutions are eager to embrace Ethereum, there is a gap in leadership in the market promotion aspect. I have a strong feeling that stakeholders and participants in the ecosystem need to play a more important role in the Ethereum narrative and institutional adoption. Since last summer, digital asset vault companies and core Ethereum managers have been playing an important role in this. These include Sharplink, BitMine’s Tom Lee, Consensys’ Joe Lubin, Etherealize, Nethermind, Aave, Morpho, EEA and other ecosystem participants. We also work closely with the small team within the Foundation that focuses on institutional education and adoption. Sharplink itself is also investing in this ecosystem. We were among the first companies to stake billions of dollars of ETH, and we have also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in high-quality DeFi protocols; we recently partnered with Galaxy Digital to establish a $125.00 million DeFi yield fund to support existing and emerging protocols. Even so, we can do more, and we will definitely do more: become an outspoken advocate for Ethereum and actively support the upcoming institutional adoption supercycle. The future of Ethereum is unfolding right now.
[ChainCatcher]
Ethereum’s Institutional Imperative: Beyond the Noise to Financial Infrastructure Dominance
The current market discourse surrounding Ethereum—fixated on the Ethereum Foundation’s governance dynamics and short-term price action—represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what’s truly at stake. As Joseph Chalom, former BlackRock executive and current Sharplink CEO, articulates, we’re witnessing not merely a blockchain protocol battle, but the emergence of a foundational financial infrastructure that could reshape the global economic landscape for the next decade.
The Institutional Trifecta: Trust, Security, Liquidity
Chalom’s BlackRock pedigree lends significant weight to his assertion that Ethereum has already secured the three non-negotiable attributes that institutions prioritize when evaluating new infrastructure. Unlike the transient hype cycles that have plagued other blockchain projects, Ethereum has demonstrably established:
- Trust: Through a decade of consistent protocol upgrades and security track record
- Security: As evidenced by its settlement dominance for $2+ trillion in annual stablecoin transactions
- Liquidity: With its position as the default venue for high-value DeFi transactions
The numbers tell a compelling story: Ethereum’s tokenized real-world asset (RWA) ecosystem dwarfs all competitors, and its DeFi protocols handle transaction volumes that other chains can only aspire to match. This isn’t accidental market leadership but the result of rigorous, methodical protocol development that has created moats around Ethereum’s value proposition.
Decentralization: The Ultimate Institutional Moat
Critics who frame Ethereum’s development structure as a weakness fundamentally misunderstand institutional psychology. The most compelling aspect of Ethereum for enterprises isn’t its technological superiority alone but its reliable neutrality. No single entity controls the protocol, and the vast majority of developers operate independently of the Ethereum Foundation.
This decentralization represents an institutional dream scenario—a permissionless infrastructure that cannot be arbitrarily altered by a controlling party. Enterprises have zero interest in replacing one proprietary system (their current legacy infrastructure) with another. Ethereum’s open-source, community-governed nature provides the assurance that the underlying rules of engagement won’t be changed to benefit a single stakeholder.
The Amazon Parallels: Discounting Disruptive Infrastructure
Chalom’s Amazon comparison is particularly astute. Early detractors focused on Amazon’s lack of profitability while completely missing Bezos’s vision to rebuild commerce infrastructure. Similarly, ETH bears fixate on short-term price movements while ignoring the protocol’s potential to underpin the entire global financial system.
The intrinsic value of ETH is inextricably linked to network expansion across four key verticals:
– Stablecoin settlement infrastructure
– Tokenized real-world assets
– DeFi protocols
– Smart agent finance (the emerging paradigm)
As these verticals converge and scale, ETH’s role as the ultimate security layer and trust carrier will become increasingly indispensable. No competing chain can match Ethereum’s combination of security guarantees, developer ecosystem, and institutional adoption momentum.
Market Cycle Dynamics: The Institutional Buy Signal
Chalom’s “be greedy when others are fearful” thesis aligns perfectly with both Buffett’s investing philosophy and BlackRock’s actual behavior during the FTX crisis. While most institutional players retreated, BlackRock doubled down—investing in infrastructure, building ecosystem partnerships, and launching products bridging traditional finance and crypto.
This contrarian approach creates a powerful narrative for current market conditions. With the Fear and Greed Index consistently in extreme fear territory, we’re potentially witnessing the final capitulation phase before the next institutional supercycle. The smartest capital isn’t fleeing quality assets; it’s accumulating them at distressed valuations.
The Leadership Gap: Ecosystem Players Fill the Void
Perhaps the most significant insight in Chalom’s analysis is his acknowledgment that while the Ethereum Foundation appropriately focuses on core protocol development (CROPS—Censorship Resistance, Capture Resistance, Open Source, Privacy, and Security), there’s a critical gap in market promotion and institutional adoption messaging.
This void is being filled by ecosystem players including Sharplink, Consensys, Aave, and others. Sharplink’s particularly noteworthy initiatives—staking billions in ETH, investing in DeFi protocols, and partnering with Galaxy Digital on a $125M DeFi yield fund—demonstrate the private sector’s commitment to accelerating institutional adoption.
This public-private collaboration model represents the optimal path forward, balancing protocol integrity with market development efforts.
Risk and Opportunity Matrix
Risks:
– Regulatory uncertainty surrounding tokenized assets and DeFi could slow institutional adoption
– Layer-2 solutions face scalability and security challenges as they approach mainnet status
– Competitive chains may capture specific niches but lack Ethereum’s comprehensive ecosystem
Opportunities:
– ETH as a deflationary asset with increasing utility as security layer
– Tokenization of $100T+ in real-world assets beginning to accelerate
– Institutional adoption of DeFi protocols creating new yield and revenue streams
– Smart agent finance emerging as a paradigm shift beyond traditional DeFi
Conclusion: The Unfolding Future
Chalom’s analysis transcends typical market commentary by framing Ethereum within the context of financial infrastructure evolution. The current narrative debates around EF governance and price volatility represent noise obscuring a fundamental truth: Ethereum has already established itself as the most credible candidate to underpin the next generation of financial infrastructure.
For investors, the lesson is clear: focus on long-term value accrual rather than short-term price fluctuations. The institutions are accumulating quality assets while the market panics—a pattern that historically precedes significant bull runs. The future of financial infrastructure is being written on Ethereum, and the smart money is positioning itself to capture this generational opportunity.
The unfolding future Chalom references isn’t merely speculative—it’s already being constructed through the trillions of dollars flowing into Ethereum-based financial infrastructure. The question isn’t whether Ethereum will succeed but how quickly the transition from legacy to decentralized financial infrastructure will occur.