SharpLink Gaming named Joseph Chalom co-chief executive officer on July 25, 20251. The move took effect a day earlier, on July 24, 2025. It paired Chalom with Rob Phythian atop a company that holds ether as its main treasury asset. Chalom came from BlackRock. He spent 20 years there, most recently leading strategy across its digital asset, data, and technology work. The Block reported that SharpLink held $1.3 billion worth of ether at the time of the hire2.
Five leadership moves at SharpLink on the record since 2024
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Feb. 21, 2024 | Anderson left the board. Adrienne Anderson left the board of SharpLink |
| Feb. 21, 2024 | Gutkowski joined the board. Robert Gutkowski joined the board of SharpLink |
| May 27, 2025 | Lubin joined the board. Joseph Lubin joined the board of SharpLink |
| July 25, 2025 | Chalom became Co-CEO. Joseph Chalom was named Co-Chief Executive Officer of SharpLink |
| Dec. 17, 2025 | Phythian left as Co-CEO. Rob Phythian left as Co-Chief Executive Officer of SharpLink |
35 CEO appointments on the record in 2025, the most of any year
CEO appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 35
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 17 |
| 2024 | 26 |
| 2025 | 35 |
| 2026 | 18 |
The move
SharpLink's release credited Chalom with building BlackRock's partnerships with Nasdaq, Coinbase, Anchorage Digital Bank, BNY Mellon, and Circle1. He also served as BlackRock's interim deputy chief operating officer. BlackRock Solutions fell under him too, the division behind the Aladdin portfolio platform. Chalom explained the move in his own words. “I am joining SharpLink because I see a powerful opportunity to help shape the future of financial infrastructure and decentralized finance,” Chalom said. Joseph Lubin, SharpLink's chairman and Ethereum's co-founder, called the hire validation. “His decision to join SharpLink is a resounding validation of our ETH treasury strategy and vision for Ethereum to drive profound, transformative change across the global digital economy,” Lubin said.
Before and after at SharpLink
Phythian ran SharpLink alone as chief executive before the hire. SharpLink's release said he would move to president over the next quarter and keep his board seat1. BlackRock's own Ethereum fund, the iShares Ethereum Trust, crossed $10 billion in assets in the week of July 25, 2025, The Block reported2. Chalom had helped launch it. He pointed to that fund as his track record for the new job. “I'm especially proud of the work we did to bring digital assets to a broader audience, pioneering the world's fastest growing ETPs like IBIT and ETHA, advancing tokenization through BUIDL, and helping build bridges between traditional finance and digital asset networks,” Chalom said.
What came next
Nearly five months later, SharpLink's board named Chalom sole chief executive and a director, effective December 15, 20253. Phythian stepped down from his co-chief executive and board roles on December 15, 2025, too. SharpLink's later release said ether holdings had grown to 863,424 ETH by then. The release counted a more than twofold increase in ether per share since SharpLink launched its ether treasury in June 2025. Phythian described the handoff. “It has been an honor to help build SharpLink and support the team through this transformational period,” Phythian said. Lubin thanked Phythian for the transition. He said the board's focus under Chalom alone would turn to ecosystem partnerships and staking operations.
Sources
- SharpLink Gaming, Inc., "SharpLink Welcomes BlackRock Digital Assets Pioneer Joseph Chalom as Newly Appointed Co-CEO," GlobeNewswire, July 25, 2025, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/07/25/3121755/0/en/SharpLink-Welcomes-BlackRock-Digital-Assets-Pioneer-Joseph-Chalom-as-Newly-Appointed-Co-CEO.html
- Daniel Kuhn, "Former BlackRock executive joins Joe Lubin's Ethereum treasury company SharpLink as co-CEO," The Block, July 25, 2025, https://www.theblock.co/post/364298/former-blackrock-executive-joins-joe-lubins-ethereum-treasury-company-sharplink-as-co-ceo
- SharpLink Gaming, Inc., "SharpLink Appoints Joseph Chalom as Sole CEO and Member of the Board; Rob Phythian Steps Down Following Company's Planned Transition," GlobeNewswire, December 17, 2025, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/12/17/3206930/0/en/SharpLink-Appoints-Joseph-Chalom-as-Sole-CEO-and-Member-of-the-Board-Rob-Phythian-Steps-Down-Following-Company-s-Planned-Transition.html