Ethereum 'New Rails' vs Bitcoin 'Exit Asset': Former BlackRock Exec's Bullish Bet
Joseph Chalom, a former BlackRock executive and SharpLink CEO, has described Bitcoin as an 'exit asset' and Ethereum as 'the new rails' for the financial system. In his recent podcast comments, Chalom argued that Ethereum will enable a new financial system by powering stablecoins, tokenized assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), and AI agents.
According to Chalom, this shift could put approximately $4 trillion of financial-services fees at risk over the next decade. He likened it to the SEC's 1975 decision to abolish fixed brokerage commissions, a change that took nearly three decades to drive trading costs down to near zero.
However, Bitwise research found that institutions treat Ethereum as a contingent position they will sell if network growth stalls. The report revealed that large institutions hold Bitcoin unconditionally but view Ethereum and Solana more as speculative investments.
Ethereum ETFs pulled in $690 million weekly, while Bitcoin funds took in about $2.4 billion between September 21 and 25. Despite this, Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin over the past month, gaining 6.9% compared to Bitcoin's 4.6%