From BlackRock to Ethereum: Betting It All on ETH | Joseph Chalom
From BlackRock to Ethereum: Betting It All on ETH | Joseph Chalom  
Podcast: Bankless
Published On: Mon Sep 01 2025
Description: What does BlackRock’s former crypto lead see in Ethereum that others still miss? Joseph Chalom joins Bankless to take us inside the IBIT/ETHA ramp, why BUIDL launched on Ethereum mainnet, and the simple—but powerful—framework he uses to value ETH as “high-octane money.” We break down staking inside ETFs, the tokenization roadmap from stablecoins to the S&P in your wallet, and the real mechanics of ETH treasury companies—mNAV premiums, ATMs, converts, and the transparency metrics that matter. Less hype, more architecture: if security, liquidity, and 24/7 settlement are the future, this is the bridge. --- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🎩DEGEN | JOIN THE COMMUNITY https://bankless.cc/degen --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 3:53 Larry Fink’s arc: skeptic to champion 9:15 Joseph’s crypto journey 18:09 Aladdin × Coinbase Prime 20:55 Building IBIT 24:28 ETHA & ETH ETF staking approval 36:04 Tokenization roadmap & magnitude 44:48 SharpLink’s ETH bet 50:13 Ether as “high-octane money” 58:54 Beyond ‘buy and hold’ 1:03:11 ETH vs BTC treasuries 1:06:09 Radical transparency 1:10:31 mNAV, ATMs & buybacks 1:19:10 Where’s the price impact? 1:25:32 How many treasuries win? 1:29:25 Closing thoughts --- RESOURCES Joseph Chalom https://x.com/joechalom Sharplink https://www.sharplink.com/ --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures