SharpLink Gaming CEO Joseph Chalom said the firm wants to bring the traditional market structure onto the blockchain. He spoke on Wednesday at the Korea Blockchain Week 2025 Impact conference.
Chalom said SharpLink is not just chasing a 5% stake in Ethereum. He described a much larger goal: to shift the $700 trillion traditional finance structure to a trusted, programmable network with instant settlement.
He said this will cut time and cost frictions that now weigh on markets. He called for treasuries to push protocols, stablecoin work and institutional DeFi to make that shift happen.
A broader target than ETH ownership
Chalom noted that owning 5% of ETH is not the endgame, and he said it does not matter who reaches that point first. The point, he argued, is much larger, and he framed the task as moving past the $4 trillion crypto market and targeting the far bigger traditional market.
He said a decentralised and native digital network can handle finance in a way that current systems cannot. He spoke from long experience at BlackRock. He added cutting delays and fees across finance is the single biggest way to reduce risk.
How can treasuries help?
Chalom said digital asset treasuries must back work at the protocol level. He urged treasuries to support stablecoin initiatives and institutional DeFi. He said those moves will build the rails needed for a broader shift to on-chain markets.
He said treasuries should seed projects and help networks scale. He added that good governance and steady capital flow matter, and that, he said, will let institutions trust and use blockchain systems.
Also Read: SharpLink Gaming Surpasses Ethereum Foundation as the Largest Holder With 270K ETH Holdings
Metrics that matter to treasuries
Chalom listed three markers of a successful treasury, and he said that daily average trading volume matters. He said strong management is key. He also said stock liquidity is important to avoid dilutive fundraising.
He explained that many firms raise capital through at-the-market facilities. That means issuing new securities as a share of daily volume. He warned that without liquidity and good management, firms may need to make dilutive deals.
Solana view: speed and control
Dan Kang, chief strategy officer at DeFi Development Corp, offered a different image. He said buying an ETF is like sitting on a life raft in a river. Buying a DAT, he said, is like taking a speedboat.
He meant that DATs can move faster, steer and accelerate as needed, and Kang said the key is giving shareholders more of the underlying asset over time. He pointed to MicroStrategy as an example. He said MicroStrategy drove Bitcoin per share higher by increasing its Bitcoin per share over five years.
How do treasuries weather market swings?
The executives also addressed bear markets, and many treasuries were set up in the bull run and now face downturns. Kang said larger treasuries can stake assets and deploy capital on-chain.
That creates organic yield and revenue, and he said such models can have high margins if they avoid selling assets to buy back shares. Chalom said he wants to build a company with active businesses.
He wants SharpLink to lend, borrow, validate and run transactions using the billions of ETH the firm holds. He said he does not plan to stop at equity in ETH and merely pay dividends.
Recent buys and backing
UnoCrypto reported that SharpLink bought 77,210 ETH. The stake was about $295 million. The purchase continued SharpLink’s drive to build a large ETH reserve. With this buy, its ETH holdings now exceed those of the Ethereum Foundation, the report said. The firm has increased positions in recent months as part of a steady strategy.
Chalom and Kang painted a future where treasuries do more than hold assets. They see treasuries as active builders that fund protocols and push adoption. SharpLink’s recent ETH purchases show the firm is serious about scale.