Sharplink CEO says ETH treasury firms are diverging from Strategy model as Ethereum’s tokenization role expands

Ethereum (ETH) treasury firms are diversifying from the model built by Strategy and Michael Saylor, according to Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom.

Speaking with The Block’s Gareth Jenkinson at Consensus in Miami last week, Chalom said many Ethereum treasury firms are focused on staking income and simpler balance sheets rather than more complicated financing structures.

Chalom said that only a handful of Ethereum treasury companies have held up through the recent market downturn, arguing Sharplink (SBET) and Tom Lee-chaired Bitmine were two that had reached “exit velocity.”

Sharplink currently holds 868,699 ETH worth around $1.96 billion, according to The Block’s Ethereum treasury tracker, making it the second-largest public Ethereum treasury behind Bitmine’s 5,180,131 ETH.

“We happen to believe that ether is a better treasury token than bitcoin,” Chalom said, with staking yield being one of the biggest differences compared to the bitcoin treasury model.

He said Ethereum treasury firms can generate returns directly from holdings rather than leaning as heavily on leverage or increasingly complicated financing structures. He contrasted that with Strategy’s approach, which he described as involving “amazing financial engineering.”

Stablecoins and tokenization

Chalom also referenced comments made earlier this year by Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, describing Ethereum as the “toll road to tokenization,” and repeatedly circled back to stablecoins and tokenization during the interview.

Chalom rattled off a series of developments he sees pushing tokenization further into traditional finance, including plans for 24/7 trading at the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, work by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation around tokenized collateral, and Bullish’s acquisition of Equiniti.

“Nobody in this building had heard about Equiniti,” Chalom said, describing the acquisition as a “massively bullish” sign that public equities could move onchain faster than many investors expect.

Nevertheless, the value of many Ethereum treasury company shares is down significantly from their summer 2025 peaks, as their market cap-to-net asset value ratios have sharply contracted. Chalom said that several Ethereum treasury firms struggled after issuing preferred shares or convertible debt too early. Sharplink instead focused more on equity raises and staking income while trying to keep the balance sheet relatively simple through the volatility, he added, though Sharplink shares also remain 91% below their 2025 highs.

“It’s been disappointing, to be very direct, that bitcoin and ether for the last year and a half have been trading more like a risk-on asset,” Chalom said, pointing to tighter correlations with tech stocks and geopolitical events.

Over time, though, he said he expects ether to separate itself more from bitcoin as stablecoins, tokenized assets, DeFi, and AI-related applications expand on Ethereum.

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