SharpLink Gaming Establishes $425 Million Ethereum Treasury

SharpLink Gaming has announced a significant move to establish a $425 million Ethereum (ETH) treasury, guided by Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. The sports-betting technology company revealed this plan on May 27, detailing its intention to issue 69.1 million shares at $6.15 each, with management participants receiving shares at $6.72. The closing of this private investment in public equity is expected to bring in gross proceeds of approximately $425 million before fees, with the ETH reserve complementing rather than replacing the company's operating business.

Consensys, along with other crypto-focused funds such as ParaFi Capital, Electric Capital, Pantera Capital, and Galaxy Digital, acted as lead investors. Additionally, SharpLink's CEO Rob Phythian and CFO Robert DeLucia participated in the investment. The company plans to convert the entire raise into ETH, treating it as its primary treasury reserve while monitoring its working capital needs. Lubin will join SharpLink’s board and advise on the treasury program and core business initiatives, describing the partnership as an opportunity to bring the Ethereum story to public markets. Consensys will provide strategic advice after the treasury build begins.

SharpLink did not disclose a purchase schedule or staking provider. The company's strategy involves raising cash below net asset value, buying and staking ETH, and then selling new shares if the stock trades above the value of its ETH per share. This approach is seen as a way to move the amount in ETH into long-term staking and create a public-market proxy for investors who cannot hold tokens directly. The strategy is expected to compress supply and provide a simple equity wrapper, which is considered bullish for Ether’s acceptance on corporate balance sheets.

According to former Ethereum core developer Eric Conner, this plan is an “ETH edition” of Strategy’s Bitcoin (BTC) strategy. Conner outlined a flywheel where SharpLink raises cash, buys and stakes ETH, and then sells new shares if the stock trades above the value of its ETH per share. He estimated that this approach would move the amount in ETH into long-term staking and create a public-market proxy for investors that cannot hold tokens directly. Conner also highlighted watch points for traders, such as the premium versus ETH’s net asset value, potential follow-on offerings if a premium emerges, and whether other micro-cap companies replicate the model.