BlackRock’s Crypto Chief Joins Sharplink Gaming
BlackRock’s head of digital assets shared on Friday that he will depart from the investment firm to become co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming, which ranks as the second largest company focused on Ethereum financing.
Rob Phythian, the current CEO of Sharplink, is set to transition to the role of president in the upcoming quarter, while remaining on the board of directors.
Joseph Charom was instrumental in launching exchange-traded funds for Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as steering BlackRock’s broader crypto initiatives, including a notable $2.4 billion fund dedicated to Ethereum-based tokenization.
Charom remarked, “Ethereum is becoming the foundation of global finance,” as he shared his news on X. “That’s where the future is built.”
This shift aims to further invigorate interest in Ethereum amongst institutional investors.
In just two weeks, investors have poured in $3.3 billion into Ethereum ETFs, marking the highest influx since the SEC approved these investment products last year.
Companies like Sharplink, involved in building Ethereum Treasuries, have amassed around $5.3 billion worth of Ethereum so far.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by FundStrat co-founder Tom Lee, holds a significant portion of Ethereum, as the focus on acquiring tokenized assets continues to grow.
The Ethereum Treasury initiatives echo strategies similar to those introduced by Michael Saylor for Bitcoin, leading proponents to suggest Ethereum is well-positioned for substantial expansion as a network for launching and managing stablecoins and other digital assets.
Chalom’s Experience
Before his new role, Charom spent two decades at BlackRock, rising through various senior roles until he led the company’s digital asset strategy.
During his tenure, he formed partnerships with several key players in the crypto space, such as Coinbase and Anchorage Digital Bank, in addition to serving on the committee for Tokenisation Firm Securitize.
Sharplink Gaming, headquartered in Minneapolis, has aimed to bolster its Ethereum financial strategy and is chaired by Joe Lubin, a co-founder of Ethereum and CEO of the blockchain software company Consensys.
So far, Sharplink has secured over 360,000 Ethereum, estimating a value around $1.34 billion, resulting in profits of approximately $354 million.
On June 2, Sharplink successfully raised $425 million through private investments, with an additional $64 million in recent funding rounds.
However, shares of the company, which trade under the ticker SBET, saw a significant drop of about 75% later that month, allowing earlier investors to divest.
Recent trends have shown some recovery for Sharplink’s shares, thanks in part to a 52% rise in Ethereum’s value over the past month, though the stock still fell by 4.5% on the day.
