SharpLink Gaming Buys $463 Million in ETH, Becomes 2nd Largest Holder

- SharpLink Gaming makes strategic $463 million Ethereum acquisition. - Company becomes second largest ETH holder, trailing Ethereum Foundation. On June 13, 2025, GlobeNewswire reported that Minnesota-based SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBET) announced a strategic acquisition of 176,270.69 ETH for approximately $463 million, paying an average price of $2,626 per ETH, inclusive of fees and expenses. Stock Titan also reported on June 13 these acquisition details by SharpLink Gaming, and Cointelegraph's reporting on June 13 confirmed this purchase and its financial terms. As a result of this significant purchase, SharpLink Gaming is now the largest publicly-traded holder of Ethereum globally and the second-largest overall ETH holder, after the Ethereum Foundation. On June 13, in a company announcement related to the acquisition, SharpLink's CEO, Rob Phythian, stated, “We believe Ethereum is foundational infrastructure for the future of digital commerce and decentralized applications. Our decision to make ETH our primary treasury reserve asset reflects deep conviction in its role as programmable, yield-bearing digital capital.” SharpLink actively deploys over 95% of its Ethereum holdings in staking and liquid staking solutions, which generates native yield and supports Ethereum's network security. This acquisition was partially financed by a $425 million private placement (PIPE), which SharpLink announced around May 27, 2025, and concluded on June 2, 2025. Consensys Software Inc. led this private placement. Following the transaction, Joseph Lubin, Founder and CEO of Consensys and Co-Founder of Ethereum, assumed the role of Chairman of SharpLink's board. Other significant investors, including ParaFi Capital, Electric Capital, Pantera Capital, Arrington Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Ondo Finance, also participated in the PIPE. In addition, SharpLink raised an additional $79 million in gross proceeds between May 30, 2025, and June 12, 2025, through its at-the-market (ATM) equity program, with these funds primarily intended for further Ethereum acquisitions. These cumulative purchases reportedly drove an ETH per share growth of 11.8% since June 2. Despite this strategic move into Ethereum, SharpLink Gaming's stock (SBET) experienced a sharp decline. On June 13, CoinCentral reported that SBET shares fell by as much as 60-70%. Seeking Alpha also reported on June 13 a similar decline for SBET shares, and The Block indicated on the same day that SBET shares experienced this sharp fall. Some reports attributed this drastic stock drop to an SEC filing on June 12 concerning the potential resale of many common shares related to the private placement, which caused investor concerns about share dilution. Joseph Lubin, Chairman of SharpLink's board, later clarified that the S-3 filing is a standard procedure after PIPE transactions and does not indicate insider selling. By comparison, the Ethereum Foundation reportedly holds 214,129 ETH, valued at over $540.7 million. The Block, citing data from Arkham, reported on June 13 this holding information for the Ethereum Foundation. Cointelegraph, also on June 13 and citing Arkham, similarly reported these figures for the Ethereum Foundation. Some reports also indicate that entities like BlackRock hold significantly larger amounts of Ether on behalf of clients through its iShares Ethereum Trust ETF. According to CoinMarketCap on June 13, Ethereum (ETH) traded at $2,579.50 as of 16:16 UTC that day. The source also indicated that ETH's 24-hour trading volume had decreased by 5.62%.