Sharplink CEO: Selling off ETH now is like selling Amazon during the internet bubble
- Core Thesis: In response to recent market pessimism towards Ethereum, Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom has published a strong endorsement, arguing that the Ethereum Foundation is focused on core protocol and security. Its decentralized nature is precisely the foundation of institutional trust. Currently, ETH's value is undervalued, much like Amazon during the internet bubble, presenting a prime opportunity for counter-cyclical investment.
- Key Points:
- Ethereum leads by a wide margin in trust, security, and liquidity—factors institutions value most. It handles the majority of global stablecoin settlements and tokenized RWA projects, serving as the default venue for DeFi transactions.
- Ethereum is the only blockchain to have successfully deployed major upgrades at the base layer for a decade straight, boasting the industry's most ambitious technical roadmap, including a transition toward a quantum-resistant era.
- Ethereum has the largest developer community, but the vast majority are not affiliated with the EF. Decentralization is not a flaw; it is the key to ensuring foundational properties cannot be altered by a centralized owner.
- ETH's TAM (Total Addressable Market) is the global financial system, not just crypto trading. Its intrinsic value is closely tied to network expansion (stablecoins, DeFi, smart agent finance).
- During the crypto winter following the FTX collapse, Chalom observed BlackRock doubling down on infrastructure and ecosystem investments against the trend. He emphasizes that the smartest investors buy quality assets when the market is fearful.
- The EF will increasingly focus on the CROPS framework (Censorship Resistance, Openness, Privacy, Security), aiming to ensure Ethereum becomes a long-term secure "safe-haven technology."
- Ecosystem stakeholders (such as Sharplink, BitMine, Consensys, etc.) need to actively voice their support and drive an institutional adoption super-cycle to compensate for the EF's shortcomings in market promotion leadership.
Original｜Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom
Translation｜Odaily Planet Daily Qin Xiaofeng (@QinXiaofeng 888 )
Editor’s Note: This week, former Ethereum maximalist and Bankless co-founder David Hoffman published an article explaining why he liquidated his ETH position, sparking strong resonance within the Ethereum community. The piece garnered a staggering 1.8 million views on Platform X. Amid the heated discourse, Sharplink (Nasdaq: SBET), the second-largest publicly held ETH treasury company, felt compelled to respond (Odaily note: Sharplink’s treasury holds approximately 868,000 ETH, valued at nearly $1.8 billion, second only to BitMine).
On May 30, Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom published an article, "Ethereum Going Back on Offense,” aiming to restore confidence among ETH holders. He stated that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is fulfilling its core mission, focusing on the core protocol, security, and decentralization—the very foundation of institutional trust. Today’s ETH is akin to Amazon during the dot-com bust: undervalued (Odaily note: Standard Chartered has previously made a similar analogy, emphasizing the significant divergence between ETH’s fundamentals and price). Joseph Chalom believes that the current market fear presents a prime opportunity for positioning, urging ecosystem participants to speak up and drive the institutional adoption supercycle.
Below is the full text of Joseph Chalom’s article, translated by Odaily Planet Daily. Enjoy~
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The current debates surrounding the Ethereum Foundation (EF) and the noise from ETH’s price fluctuations are causing many to overlook the bigger picture. While I understand these discussions, they do not determine who will lead the financial infrastructure of the next decade.
This is the perspective of a stakeholder. Before leading Sharplink, I spent two decades as a senior executive at BlackRock, overseeing fintech and digital asset strategy. These experiences have given me a deep understanding of what institutions truly need before deploying capital into new infrastructure.
I want to set aside the noise and offer a different perspective on Ethereum’s current position and its future trajectory.
The Ethereum Foundation Is Fulfilling Its Core Mission
Step back and consider the deliverables over the past decade. In the attributes that matter most for institutional adoption—trust, security, and liquidity—Ethereum is leading by a wide margin. It is winning, and the gap is significant.
Look at the data: Ethereum processes the majority of global stablecoin settlements; hosts more tokenized real-world asset projects than any other blockchain; and serves as the default venue for high-value DeFi transactions. On these fronts, competitors can only look up.
This is no accident; it is the result of years of rigorous protocol development by the Ethereum Foundation (EF). Ethereum is the only blockchain that has successfully shipped major upgrades at the base layer for ten consecutive years: The Merge, EIP-1559, Dencun, Pectra, Fusaka. The upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade promises a leap in scalability, while the EF is also leading the industry toward a quantum-resistant era. This is the most ambitious technical roadmap in the entire industry.
Decentralization Is a Feature, Not a Flaw
Some of the harshest criticisms of the EF frame decentralization as a weakness. This perspective fundamentally inverts institutional logic. The Ethereum ecosystem boasts the most developers of any blockchain—and the vast majority of them are not employed by the EF.
No foundation should have complete control over a blockchain. Institutions will not lock themselves into a system only to migrate from one proprietary system to another. They need assurance that the underlying properties they rely on cannot be arbitrarily altered by a centralized owner. In fact, no blockchain should depend on a single entity.
Ethereum’s credible neutrality and decentralization are precisely why it will become the future financial settlement layer. These are not flaws.
Between a foundation focused on security, privacy, quantum resistance, and core protocol development, and one optimized for short-term marketing, I would choose the former every time.
ETH’s Value in the Amazon Context
History is filled with examples where foundational innovations were dismissed by critics chasing trendier newcomers, only for the pessimists to be proven wrong. Amazon is the quintessential case.
In its early days, the consensus was that Amazon was just a perpetually loss-making online bookstore riding the internet bubble. Short-sellers focused solely on its income statement, ignoring Jeff Bezos’s long-term vision—he was building an entirely new e-commerce market structure. Its total addressable market (TAM) was never book sales; it was the entire retail economy, later expanding into cloud computing and media. Analysts fixated on Amazon’s short-term stock price missed the bigger opportunity.
Today, Ethereum and ETH find themselves in a similar position. Its TAM is not crypto trading; it is the entire global financial system. ETH’s intrinsic value is intrinsically linked to the network’s expansion. The Ethereum network is reaching an inflection point for explosive growth in transaction volume, encompassing stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, DeFi, and the emerging wave of agentic finance. To secure this massive transaction volume, Ethereum will serve as a high-demand incentive layer and ultimate trust infrastructure, leading to an increase in its monetary premium.
There is no Ethereum without ETH. The asset and the network are inseparable.
Buy When Others Are Capitulating
In nearly every market cycle, the moments of greatest retail capitulation and lowest sentiment are precisely when disciplined capital enters the market to position for gains. Buffett built Berkshire Hathaway by buying quality assets during periods of maximum pessimism—from GEICO in the 1970s to Bank of America and Goldman Sachs during the 2008 financial crisis.
For most of the past year, the Fear and Greed Index has reflected extreme fear. The smartest investors buy quality assets when fear is at its peak. They invest counter-cyclically, not pro-cyclically.
During the crypto winter following the FTX collapse, most institutions shied away from Bitcoin and ETH exposure or shelved product launches. At BlackRock, we did the opposite. We doubled down, investing in infrastructure, building ecosystem partnerships, and launching products that bridged traditional finance and the crypto world.
We can all learn a great deal from both Buffett and BlackRock.
Ethereum Needs New Voices
The EF is fulfilling its core mission. Going forward, it will focus more intently on CROPS. (Odaily note: CROPS is an internal framework prioritizing censorship resistance, openness, privacy, and security. This shift implies that the Ethereum Foundation will focus on making Ethereum “sanctuary technology,” prioritizing fundamental, long-term protocol security, user privacy, and resistance to censorship/control, rather than pursuing aggressive expansion and raw speed.)
For most, it’s clear that the current issue lies in leadership around go-to-market; meanwhile, institutions are universally eager to adopt Ethereum. I strongly believe that ecosystem stakeholders and participants need to play a more significant role in shaping Ethereum’s narrative and driving institutional adoption.
Since last summer, digital asset treasury companies and core Ethereum guardians have played a vital role in this regard. This includes Sharplink, BitMine’s Tom Lee, Consensys’s Joe Lubin, Etherealize, Nethermind, Aave, Morpho, the EEA, and other ecosystem stakeholders. We are also working closely with small, dedicated teams within the EF focused on institutional education and adoption.
Sharplink is actively investing in this ecosystem. We were the first to stake tens of billions of dollars in ETH capital and deploy hundreds of millions into high-quality DeFi protocols. We recently announced the launch of a $125 million DeFi yield fund with Galaxy Digital to provide capital to both existing and emerging protocols.
That said, we can and will do more, actively speaking up for Ethereum and proactively supporting the upcoming institutional adoption supercycle.
Ethereum’s future is unfolding right now.
Recommended reading:
"Bankless Founder Liquidates All ETH: The Collective Disillusionment with Ethereum's Faith"
