Sports betting platform SharpLink Gaming has acquired 176,271 Ether for $463 million, becoming the world’s largest publicly traded holder of ETH.
In a Friday announcement, the Nasdaq-listed company said the Ether (ETH) acquisition was funded through a combination of private placement and at-the-market equity sales, including $79 million raised since May 30. The average acquisition price came in at $2,626 per coin.
The company said over 95% of its ETH is now deployed in staking and liquid staking platforms, earning yield while contributing to Ethereum’s network security.
“This is a landmark moment for SharpLink and for public company adoption of digital assets,” said Rob Phythian, CEO of SharpLink Gaming, adding that the company now treats ETH as its “primary treasury reserve asset.”
“MicroStrategy of Ether”
SharpLink’s move mirrors Strategy’s Bitcoin (BTC)-buying strategy, but is centered on Ethereum, making it the first public company to adopt ETH as its core treasury reserve asset.
SharpLink (SBET) is the first Nasdaq-listed firm to adopt an ETH-based treasury model, aiming to offer shareholders “meaningful economic exposure to ETH,” the company said.
“SharpLink’s bold ETH strategy represents a pivotal milestone and innovative approach to the institutional adoption of Ethereum,” SharpLink chairman and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin said in the announcement.
“By allocating significant capital to ETH and deploying it in network activities such as staking, SharpLink is both contributing to Ethereum’s long-term security and trust properties while earning additional ETH for that work,” he added.
Who holds more Ethereum than SharpLink?
While SharpLink has become the largest publicly traded holder of Ether globally, some entities are still holding more ETH.
According to Arkham data, the Ethereum Foundation now holds 214,129 ETH ($594 million) in its treasury.
Some crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) providers like BlackRock also hold a significantly bigger amount of Ether, though on behalf of clients. According to BlackRock data, the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF held roughly 1.7 million ETH as of Thursday, worth around $4.5 billion.
Controversy over SharpLink’s ETH strategy
SharpLink’s ETH strategy has not come without controversy. The company’s share price rocketed more than 400% after its May 27 ETH treasury announcement, as Cointelegraph reported.
Following the announcement of an S‑3 SEC filing earlier this week, shares plunged by about 73% in after‑hours trading on Thursday, dropping from $32.53 to below $8 before partially rebounding, according to Google Finance. The sharp sell‑off was spurred by a misunderstanding: The filing allowed for the potential resale of nearly 58.7 million shares from PIPE participants; it was not an actual sale.
Related: Staked Ethereum hits all-time high as ETH tops $2.7K
SharpLink chairman Lubin clarified that this was a routine regulatory procedure, not insider unloading.
The purchase follows a broader trend of corporate crypto treasury adoption, echoing Strategy’s high-profile Bitcoin strategy, but placing Ether at the center of digital capital reserves.
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