SharpLink Gaming Becomes World’s Largest Corporate Ethereum Holder

A small company that used to work in online gambling marketing has become the biggest corporate owner of Ethereum in the world.

SharpLink Gaming now holds more than 280,000 ETH, worth about $840 million, making it larger than even the Ethereum Foundation.

This change happened very quickly. Just two months ago, SharpLink was struggling with falling sales. But after raising $425 million and hiring Joseph Lubin, who helped create Ethereum, as chairman, the company completely changed its business plan.

From Struggling Company to Crypto Giant

SharpLink Gaming started as a marketing company that helped sports betting and casino websites get customers. The company was founded in 2019 but had problems making money. According to company financial reports, revenues dropped 26.1% to $3.66 million in 2024 from $4.95 million in 2023.

Everything changed in May 2025 when the company announced a new plan. Instead of just doing marketing, they would buy and hold Ethereum as their main business. Consensys, a major Ethereum company, led the $425 million investment. Joseph Lubin, who co-founded Ethereum with Vitalik Buterin, joined SharpLink as chairman of the board.

The company’s stock price went crazy after this news. Trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SBET, it jumped more than 1,500% from where it was before. On some days, people traded over $1 billion worth of SharpLink stock, showing how excited investors were about the new plan.

Building the Biggest ETH Collection

SharpLink didn’t waste time putting their plan into action. Starting in June 2025, they began buying huge amounts of Ethereum. Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, maintaining this position since its creation:

• June 13: Bought 176,270 ETH for $463 million
• July 11: Bought 10,000 ETH directly from the Ethereum Foundation for $25.7 million
• July 13: Reached 280,706 total ETH holdings

The purchase from the Ethereum Foundation was especially important. This was the first time the Foundation sold ETH directly to a public company. The Foundation said they sold to SharpLink because the company would hold the ETH for a long time and help make the Ethereum network stronger.

SharpLink puts almost all of their ETH into “staking,” which means they help secure the Ethereum network and earn rewards. Since June, they have earned over 415 ETH just from staking rewards.

The Ethereum Foundation Steps Back

The Ethereum Foundation, which supports the development of Ethereum, currently holds about 269,175 ETH worth around $665 million. According to the Foundation’s treasury policy, this is much less than they used to have – they held $1.6 billion worth in March 2022.

The Foundation has been selling ETH to pay for research, grants to developers, and other costs. In 2024, they gave $11.4 million in grants to 109 different projects. They also pay Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s creator, $139,600 per year according to Bankless reporting.

Some people in the crypto community criticized the Foundation for selling ETH instead of staking it to earn rewards. But Foundation members said the sale to SharpLink was smart because SharpLink will hold the ETH for a long time and stake it to help the network.

Concerns About Too Much Control

Not everyone is happy about SharpLink owning so much Ethereum. Some experts worry that having one company control so much ETH could hurt Ethereum’s goal of being decentralized – meaning no single group has too much power.

Right now, the top 10 Ethereum addresses control over 35% of all ETH. When you add SharpLink’s huge holdings to other big holders like Lido (which controls about 30% of staked ETH) and Coinbase (about 15%), it creates worry about too much concentration.

This concentration could create problems:

• One entity might gain too much voting power over Ethereum’s future
• It could make it easier for governments to control Ethereum
• The “rich get richer” problem in staking might get worse

Vitalik Buterin has called this concentration a “ticking time bomb” that needs to be fixed.

What This Means for Other Companies

SharpLink’s success might encourage other companies to try similar strategies. They showed that companies can use cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin for their treasuries. The staking rewards from Ethereum also provide extra income that Bitcoin doesn’t offer.

However, there are big risks. SharpLink’s business is now completely tied to Ethereum’s price. If ETH goes down a lot, the company could lose huge amounts of money. The company also still has financial challenges – their 2024 SEC filings show they had negative free cash flow and declining core business revenue.

Looking Ahead

SharpLink Gaming has shown that public companies can successfully adopt cryptocurrency treasury strategies beyond just Bitcoin. But their massive ETH holdings also highlight growing concerns about concentration of power in supposedly decentralized networks. As more companies consider similar moves, the crypto world will be watching to see if Ethereum can stay decentralized while attracting institutional investment.