SharpLink Gaming has seen its paper profits from Ethereum investments climb past $900 million, approaching the $1 billion mark as the cryptocurrency rallied to $4,700 this week. The company now holds roughly 839,000 ETH worth about $3.93 billion on its balance sheet.
The Nasdaq-listed firm launched its Ethereum treasury strategy in early June 2025 and has doubled its ETH holdings in just four months. SharpLink operates with zero debt, positioning itself as one of the largest corporate holders of Ethereum with 0.69% of the total supply.
From Sports Betting to Crypto Treasury
SharpLink, founded in 2019, started as an online gambling marketing company helping sportsbooks attract customers. The company struggled financially, with revenues dropping from $4.95 million in 2023 to $3.66 million in 2024.
Everything changed when Consensys led a $425 million investment in the company. Joseph Lubin, who co-founded Ethereum alongside Vitalik Buterin, joined SharpLink as Chairman of the Board. Lubin also founded Consensys, which builds key Ethereum infrastructure like MetaMask wallet and the Linea Layer 2 network.
The company’s stock price jumped over 400% after announcing the deal, though it has since pulled back from those highs. The stock closed at $19.24 on Monday, up 5.8% for the day and 22.8% over the past month.
Building the Treasury
SharpLink began buying Ethereum aggressively in June 2025. The company started with an initial purchase of 176,300 ETH, then added more through multiple buying waves in July and August. Strategic ETH Reserve data shows the holdings have stayed near 839,000 ETH since September, but rising prices have pushed the dollar value higher.
Source: @SharpLinkGaming
The company acquired 10,000 ETH directly from the Ethereum Foundation in an over-the-counter deal worth about $25.72 million. This marked the first time the Foundation sold ETH directly to a public company.
SharpLink’s unrealized gains now exceed $900 million, with some reports putting the figure close to $950 million. These are paper profits that would only become real if the company sold its holdings. The firm has stated it has no plans to sell and views Ethereum as a long-term strategic asset.
Earning Rewards Through Staking
SharpLink stakes nearly all of its Ethereum to earn rewards while helping secure the network. Since June, the company has earned over 415 ETH through staking, which generates annual yields of 4-6%. The company currently uses Anchorage and Coinbase as custodians for staking.
The firm plans to expand its staking strategy by working with Linea, Consensys’ Layer 2 network. SharpLink joined the Linea Consortium and will explore staking part of its holdings on Linea to potentially earn higher yields. Lubin said SharpLink could deploy “a huge amount of ether” on Linea once the network offers attractive risk-adjusted returns.
This staking strategy sets Ethereum apart from Bitcoin as a treasury asset. Bitcoin cannot generate passive income through staking because it uses a different consensus mechanism. SharpLink can earn ongoing rewards while maintaining full exposure to ETH price movements.
Accounting Challenges and Real Performance
SharpLink reported a $103 million loss in Q2 2025, which raised concerns among some investors. However, $87.8 million of that loss came from a non-cash accounting charge. U.S. accounting rules require companies to mark crypto assets at their lowest price during each quarter.
The company emphasized it hasn’t sold any ETH despite the accounting loss. Co-CEO Joseph Chalom said the ETH strategy “has scaled rapidly in a highly accretive manner” and represents a long-term commitment. The company maintains over $200 million in cash reserves for additional purchases.
Corporate interest in Ethereum treasuries continues growing. BitMine Immersion Tech leads all companies with 2.83 million ETH worth $13.25 billion, controlling 2.34% of total supply. SharpLink ranks second, followed by The Ether Machine with nearly 500,000 ETH.
Together, corporate holders now control more than 5.6 million ETH valued above $26.5 billion. Exchange-traded funds hold an additional 6.83 million ETH worth about $32 billion, bringing total institutional holdings to over 12 million ETH.
Market Impact and Future Plans
Ethereum’s price surge to $4,700 this week drove SharpLink’s gains higher. The cryptocurrency is up about 3% in the last 24 hours and more than 11% over the past week. Strong ETF inflows continue, with nearly $250 million flowing into spot Ethereum ETFs in a single recent trading session.
SharpLink received SEC approval to sell up to $6 billion in new shares to fund more Ethereum purchases. This gives the company significant capacity to keep building its treasury. The firm uses an equity-only approach, avoiding debt unlike some other treasury companies.
The company has announced plans to tokenize its stock on the Ethereum blockchain, though details remain limited. Lubin stated that Ethereum settled about $25 trillion in transactions during 2024 and described the network as the foundation for rebuilding the global financial system.
Standard Chartered raised its Ethereum price target to $7,500 for 2025, up from a previous $4,000 forecast, citing increased institutional buying and regulatory clarity around stablecoins. If that prediction proves accurate, SharpLink’s unrealized gains could climb substantially higher.
The Bottom Line
SharpLink transformed from a struggling marketing company into a major Ethereum holder in less than six months. The strategy has generated nearly $1 billion in paper profits, though the company faces ongoing volatility in both crypto prices and its stock value. With no debt and significant staking rewards, SharpLink has positioned itself to benefit from continued institutional adoption of Ethereum.