SharpLink Gaming Files $1 Billion Offering to Build Ether Treasury

Ethereum is currently at the center of two significant developments, one focused on security and the other on corporate finance. Crypto market maker Wintermute has introduced a novel countermeasure to warn users about malicious Ethereum contracts that exploit EIP-7702, injecting alert messages directly into verified attacker code. Meanwhile, US sports betting firm SharpLink Gaming has filed to raise $1 billion to build a significant Ether treasury, naming Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as its new board chairman.

Wintermute's initiative involves deploying a piece of code called “CrimeEnjoyor,” which prints prominent warning messages inside malicious Ethereum smart contracts. This move is in response to the fallout from EIP-7702, a recently launched improvement proposal that allows wallets to temporarily delegate transaction control to smart contracts. While designed to enable powerful new use cases, this feature has been exploited by attackers to automatically siphon ETH from users with compromised private keys.

EIP-7702 was implemented as part of Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, which went live on May 7. It introduces a new account abstraction mechanism allowing users to hand over transaction authorization to smart contracts on a temporary basis. Although entirely optional and opt-in, the feature has rapidly been adopted by malicious actors due to its ability to automate the sweeping of funds from wallets that have accidentally leaked their private keys.

Ask Aime: Is Ethereum's EIP-7702 improvement proposal a double-edged sword for retail investors?

Wintermute’s research uncovered that over 97% of all EIP-7702 delegations thus far have reused the same malicious bytecode, suggesting a copy-paste method among attackers. These so-called “sweeper” contracts are coded to automatically drain any ETH that enters the compromised wallet, giving users no second chance once they deposit funds. In response, Wintermute engineers developed and deployed CrimeEnjoyor, which rewrites these malicious contracts to include a human-readable Solidity warning message. This message is now being surfaced within the most prevalent type of EIP-7702 exploitation contract in an attempt to add a visible red flag to otherwise opaque and technical smart contract interfaces.

Wintermute’s injected warning code, while currently found in 94.7% of all EIP-7702 delegate contracts, may gradually diminish in influence as attackers seek new methods. Still, the effort represents a creative countermeasure within an otherwise trustless ecosystem. The threat is far from hypothetical. On May 23, one Ethereum user lost approximately $146,550 after interacting with a set of malicious batched transactions exploiting EIP-7702. The user inadvertently signed approval for a sequence of calls that led to an automatic fund sweep from their wallet.

While EIP-7702 and the broader Pectra upgrade aim to enhance Ethereum's flexibility and scalability, Wintermute warned that a lack of transparency and contract verification tools poses a major security risk, especially for less experienced users. As such, the Ethereum community is being called upon to prioritize UX-friendly security tools that can clearly flag suspicious delegation patterns and transactions. This includes labeling contracts, surfacing unusual gas behaviors, and implementing front-end alerts in common Ethereum wallet interfaces.

In related news, US sports betting platform SharpLink Gaming has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer up to $1 billion in shares of common stock, with the vast majority of proceeds earmarked for the purchase of Ether (ETH), the native asset of the Ethereum blockchain. The filing follows SharpLink’s announcement of its new Ethereum-based corporate treasury strategy, marking a significant moment for altcoin adoption among public companies. “We intend to use substantially all of the proceeds from this offering to acquire Ether,” the company wrote, emphasizing a long-term commitment to building a crypto-native balance sheet.

The announcement triggered an immediate reaction from the market, with SharpLink Gaming’s stock surging. The momentum was further fueled by the company’s decision to appoint Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as chairman of its board of directors, signaling a deep strategic alignment with the Ethereum ecosystem. The parallels to Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin-centric strategy at his firm Strategy were not lost on the crypto community. SharpLink was quickly dubbed “Ethereum’s Michael Saylor” by analysts and educators on social media.

While SharpLink’s ETH-first vision may appeal to Web3 enthusiasts, the firm was quick to temper expectations with a detailed risk disclosure section in its filing. One concern raised was the potential rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). SharpLink acknowledged that a global rollout of CBDCs could “eliminate or reduce the need or demand for private-sector issued cryptocurrencies, or significantly limit their utility,” which could severely impact Ethereum’s value proposition. Another major risk centers on regulatory classification. If Ether is officially labeled as a “security” by the SEC or other regulators, SharpLink could face extensive compliance obligations, including securities registration, reporting requirements, and investor protections under US law.

Institutional interest in Ethereum is gaining traction, following a new filing from REX Shares, which has prompted speculation that Ethereum and Solana staking ETFs could debut in the US within weeks. This broader backdrop of ecosystem growth, protocol upgrades, and institutional adoption gives SharpLink’s move a certain macro-tactical edge. The company is effectively front-running what could become a multi-billion dollar wave of Ether demand from traditional financial institutions. Historically, public companies that entered crypto did so through Bitcoin, with Michael Saylor’s Strategy acquiring a significant amount of BTC since 2020. Until now, Ethereum had no publicly traded counterpart championing it as a long-term treasury reserve. With the appointment of Lubin and a potential billion-dollar ETH buy-in, SharpLink has broken that mold.

SharpLink says it will also allocate a portion of the offering proceeds toward working capital, core affiliate marketing operations, general corporate purposes, and operating expenses, but made clear that the bulk of funds would be devoted to Ether purchases. SharpLink’s strategy could open the floodgates for a new class of ETH-focused treasuries, expanding the conversation beyond Bitcoin maximalism to embrace Ethereum’s broader smart contract and staking capabilities. It also builds on momentum created by recent Ethereum upgrades, such as EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding) and EIP-7702, which enhance scalability and smart contract delegation, respectively. Ethereum’s fundamental narrative is evolving from “digital oil” to “programmable value infrastructure,” and SharpLink seems to be positioning itself to capitalize on that shift. Whether this strategy pays off will depend on Ethereum’s regulatory clarity, price performance, and network utility growth in the coming years. But for now, it’s clear that SharpLink Gaming is making a high-stakes bet—one that could inspire others to follow suit.