Ethereum co-founder enters the game, overnight turning 400 million into 2.5 billion: Is the ETH version of MicroStrategy emerging?

Jessy, Golden Finance

On May 27, sports betting operator SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ: SBET) announced that it has secured $425 million in private investment, and the funds raised will be used to purchase Ethereum as the company's primary reserve asset.

The lead investor for this private placement is Consensys Software Inc., with participants including ParaFi Capital, Electric Capital, Pantera Capital, and Galaxy Digital. The transaction is expected to be completed on May 29, and after its completion, Ethereum co-founder, Consensys founder and CEO Joseph Lubin will serve as the chairman of the SharpLink board and will assist the company in developing its core business as a strategic advisor.

After the announcement, SharpLink's stock price increased by over 650% in a single day, with a cumulative increase of 17.56 times over three days. Currently, its circulating market value is 25 million USD, while the raised amount is 425 million USD, and the current book value has reached 2.5 billion USD.

Companies reserve cryptocurrency assets as treasury reserves, originally focusing on Bitcoin. SharpLink Gaming's move marks the first time an Ethereum core reserve has been adopted among publicly listed companies on the US stock market. Will SharpLink Gaming spark a wave of competition for Ethereum reserves among publicly listed companies?

The continuously loss-making gambling company SharpLink Gaming

SharpLink Gaming is an online technology company operating in the field of sports betting and online casino games. The company was founded on December 27, 1995, and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

The company's specific business is to connect sports fans with licensed online sports betting operators through proprietary smart online conversion technology, providing sports fans with personalized betting offers. The company also operates affiliate marketing websites, offering high-quality traffic and player acquisition, retention, and conversion services for global sports betting and online casino operators. Additionally, SharpLink specializes in helping sports media companies develop strategies, products, and innovative solutions to drive deep customer engagement through highly interactive sports games and mobile applications.

The company's operating condition is not ideal, with total revenue of 4.95 million USD and a net profit of -14.24 million USD in 2023, and total revenue of 3.66 million USD and a net profit of -4.57 million USD in 2024.

The overall operating condition of the company is poor, primarily due to high operating costs. According to the financial report for the third quarter of 2024, the cost accounts for a high proportion of revenue, reaching 80.4%, mainly due to increased casino expenditures. At the same time, the company's operations also involve multiple expenses such as employee salaries, technical maintenance, and marketing.

Similarly, the Q3 2024 financial report shows that the company's revenue declined mainly due to weak market conditions and customer attrition. The competition in the gambling industry is fierce, and any misstep can lead to pressure from competitors.

Enterprise ETH Reserve Trends

SharpLink Gaming is not the first company to hold reserves of Ethereum, but it is the first publicly traded company in the U.S. that has raised significant funds through the sale of private equity to build an Ethereum treasury.

In the previous cycle, Ethereum was the second most popular cryptocurrency held by major companies. In this cycle, led by MicroStrategy, a wave of Bitcoin reserve enthusiasm has emerged among various listed companies, but there are still some companies quietly holding Ethereum. Here are some listed companies that hold Ethereum:

Boyaa Interactive: A Hong Kong listed company, as of November 12, 2024, holds 15,445 ETH. However, by the end of 2024, it replaced Ethereum with Bitcoin.

BTCS: A publicly listed company in the US stock market, as of May holds approximately 12,500 Ethereum. In May 2025, it announced an agreement with ATW Partners to raise funds through the issuance of convertible notes, with a total financing amount of up to 57.8 million USD. It is reported that all the raised funds will be used to purchase Ethereum to expand its verification node operation scale on the Ethereum network.

Blueport Interactive: A Hong Kong-listed company, disclosed in its 2024 mid-term performance report that it holds 848.386 Ethereum.

Remixpoint: A publicly listed company in Japan, as of May 27, 2025, the company holds various mainstream crypto assets including Ethereum.

Intchains Group: A Nasdaq-listed altcoin mining product development company, holding approximately 7023 ETH as of March 31, 2025.

Not just for making Polymarket on Ethereum

For SharpLink Gaming, the announcement of purchasing Ethereum has the most direct impact of turning its company stock into a cryptocurrency concept stock. After the news was released, SharpLink's stock price surged over 650% in a single day, with a cumulative increase of 17.56 times over three days.

This chronically loss-making company seems to be embracing cryptocurrency and迎来 a major turning point in its development.

The recent purchase of Ethereum also seems to indicate a long-term transformation and development path for the company. It is reported that Consensys, as a major investor, will provide SharpLink with technical and resource support from the Ethereum ecosystem, exploring innovative scenarios such as on-chain gambling and smart contract integration. SharpLink CEO Rob Phythian stated that this move aims to "deeply bind the company's balance sheet with the growth of the crypto economy" and to promote the transformation of traditional gambling business towards Web3.

However, the direction that SharpLink wants to transform into is not just to become a polymarket on the Ethereum chain. Instead, it aims to create an Ethereum version of MicroStrategy.

The significance of SharpLink's large purchase of Ethereum has certain symbolic meaning for the cryptocurrency industry, as it seems to indicate that corporate treasury assets are expanding from a singular focus on Bitcoin to a diversification into various crypto assets. ETH, due to its smart contract and staking functionalities, will also become more favored.

A more realistic point is that in this private equity financing, the leading party is Consensys, which is highly related to Ethereum. Joseph Lubin, the co-founder of Ethereum and the founder and CEO of Consensys, will also serve as the chairman of the board of SharpLink. The entry of Ethereum stakeholders into a traditional company, strongly promoting the company's Ethereum strategic reserves, seems to be aimed at establishing a benchmark and model globally, encouraging major companies to follow suit and consider Ethereum as a treasury reserve. This will continuously improve the acceptance of Ethereum in traditional finance. Overall, Ethereum will ultimately be the final beneficiary.