- SharpLink CEO Joseph Chalom says Ethereum’s institutional adoption is advancing through tokenization and blockchain deployment.
- Chalom says Ethereum leads stablecoins, tokenized assets, and decentralized finance with strong security and liquidity.
- Financial institutions are expanding tokenization, with banks and asset managers moving blockchain projects into production.
SharpLink Chief Executive Officer Joseph Chalom said institutional adoption of Ethereum has entered a new phase, pointing to growing activity across tokenization, stablecoins, and decentralized finance. Speaking on Strata Media’s Talking Tokens podcast during the Injective Summit in Washington, D.C., last week, Chalom told journalist Jacquelyn Melinek that institutions have moved beyond research and into deployment.
Chalom Points To Ethereum’s Market Position
According to Jacquelyn Melinek, Chalom said Ethereum already leads several areas important to institutional investors. He cited stablecoins, tokenized assets, and decentralized finance, where Ethereum holds more than half of the market.
Chalom said Ethereum offers the security, trust, and liquidity institutions seek. However, he added the ecosystem lacked a unified approach to explain those strengths to institutional participants.
Following restructuring efforts at the Ethereum Foundation, Chalom joined Joe Lubin of Consensys and Tom Lee of Bitmine to support three new organizations. According to Chalom, ETH Systems will develop privacy tools, ETH Labs will focus on scaling infrastructure, and Ethereum Institutional will help organizations build and launch blockchain products.
Tokenization Activity Continues Expanding
As institutional participation grows, Chalom said the market has shifted from creating new blockchain products to tokenizing existing financial products. According to Melinek, he described that transition as a major change for the industry.
Several financial institutions have already expanded tokenization efforts. Robinhood built its blockchain using Arbitrum technology, an Ethereum Layer-2 network. Meanwhile, BlackRock continues tokenizing its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund on Ethereum and other blockchains.
The company has also submitted filings for two additional products. JPMorgan also expanded its blockchain offerings. According to Melinek, the bank launched its second tokenized money market fund on Ethereum in May, bringing roughly $800 million on-chain across both funds.
Institutions Move Into Production
Chalom said private discussions increasingly reflect institutional urgency around blockchain adoption. According to Melinek, banks are tokenizing deposits, while asset managers and fund managers continue reassessing deployment timelines.
He also said institutions have moved beyond education and are building dedicated teams. Chalom compared Ethereum’s institutional adoption to the gradual digitization of equity markets, adding that the process remains in its early stages.
