Original Title: ETH's Treasury Turnaround

Author: Prathik Desai

Translation by: Block unicorn

Preface

Two weeks ago, Ethereum co-founder, ConsenSys founder, and CEO Joe Lubin announced that he would serve as Chairman of the Board for SharpLink Gaming and lead its $425 million Ethereum treasury strategy. This move adds a new chapter to the revival of Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, which had been lingering below $3,000 for more than four months.

This strategy mirrors the approach promoted by Michael Saylor, whose focus on Bitcoin’s financial strategy inspired a wave of public companies to initiate Bitcoin treasury programs. In this article, we analyze whether this represents one of the best opportunities for Ethereum’s resurgence.

Ethereum Treasury

When SharpLink Gaming announced fundraising for an Ethereum treasury, the market’s response was swift and definitive. Its stock price surged by over 450% in a single day, skyrocketing from $6.63 per share to over $35. Within five trading days, the stock price had increased more than 17-fold from $6.63. Even after a pullback, its trading price remained over three times higher than when the rally began.

What drove this surge? There’s widespread belief that Lubin could help SharpLink replicate the kind of success that Saylor achieved with Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy).

Ethereum provides Lubin with an edge over Bitcoin treasuries in at least one key area: building an active ETH treasury that not only stores value like Bitcoin but also generates additional value. How is this achieved?

Active Treasury Theory

The differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum treasury strategies are pronounced. The Bitcoin treasury approach is straightforward: buy Bitcoin, hold it, and enjoy the appreciation in price. This method is elegant and simple but inherently passive.

Ethereum’s treasury strategy, however, differs significantly: A substantial portion of ETH tokens will be staked, creating what Ethereum core developer Eric Conner describes as “high-beta, yield-generating ETH leverage.”

The staking strategy will transform corporate treasuries from static vaults into active participants in network security. Strategy's Bitcoin holdings generate no native yield, but SharpLink's staked ETH will earn at least 2% annual returns, while also strengthening Ethereum's consensus mechanism.

Conner also highlighted the "flywheel effect" as a key advantage of the ETH treasury. Corporations can raise cash at prices below net asset value, use the funds to purchase and stake ETH, and then, if the stock trades at a premium to the value of ETH per share, raise additional cash to repeat the cycle. This classic Strategy loop greatly amplifies yield potential—an edge that Bitcoin treasuries cannot replicate.

The benefits extend far beyond basic staking. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols offer additional yield strategies through lending, liquidity provisioning, and complex financial instruments not available in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Backing from DeFi-savvy firms like ParaFi Capital and Galaxy Digital underscores SharpLink's understanding of this potential.

ETH Versus BTC Treasuries

Ethereum’s 2014 Initial Coin Offering (ICO) raised $18 million. At that time, ETH was priced at $0.30 to $0.40, laying the groundwork for today’s Ethereum ecosystem valued at over $320 billion. SharpLink's $425 million commitment is more than 20 times the amount raised during the ICO, enough to acquire over 150k ETH at current prices. Yet, this still represents only 0.25% of the 60 million ETH sold during the ICO. The 2014 ICO established Ethereum’s foundation. Today’s treasury strategies could validate ETH's maturity as an institutional-grade asset and help build the financial infrastructure for the next decade.

Institutional Momentum

Beyond treasury strategies, Ethereum ETFs have seen sustained inflows in institutional channels over the past two weeks. As of June 9, Ethereum ETFs have recorded net inflows for 16 consecutive trading days, marking the second-longest streak since their approval in July 2024.

Over the past two weeks, inflows amounted to $281 million and $285 million, respectively, marking the best two-week performance for Ethereum ETFs in four months. The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, accumulated over $500 million worth of ETH within 11 trading days. Its ETHA ETF now manages nearly $4 billion in assets.

Bernstein analysts highlighted in their recent research: "Over the past 20 days, ETH ETF inflows reached $815 million, with the annual net inflow turning positive at $658 million." CoinShares stated that the seven consecutive weeks of $1.5 billion in ETF inflows signify a "notable recovery in investor sentiment." Ethereum-based products now account for 10.5% of total crypto ETP assets under management.

"The narrative around value accrual in public blockchain networks is at a critical inflection point," and this "is beginning to be reflected in investor interest in ETH ETF inflows," according to Bernstein.

Our Perspective

Lubin's move at SharpLink not only brings direct financial implications but also signals Ethereum's evolution from a speculative technology to a vital financial infrastructure. When payment giants like Visa and Mastercard develop stablecoin strategies, when Coinbase builds merchant payment systems, and when Robinhood plans to launch tokenized assets—they're essentially betting on Ethereum's rails.

This may align with what Bernstein calls a "critical inflection point," a moment of transition for blockchain networks. The timing seems deliberate. With stablecoin legislation advancing in Congress and regulatory clarity emerging, institutional investors finally have the framework needed for confident allocation. This week, Circle's successful IPO, closing 160% above its listing price, showcases Wall Street's enthusiasm for crypto infrastructure investments.

For Ethereum, the convergence of corporate treasury adoption, institutional ETF inflows, and regulatory clarity creates conditions absent in previous cycles. If SharpLink’s experiment succeeds, it could trigger a "domino effect" of corporate adoption, akin to what Saylor's Strategy did for Bitcoin. Considering that Bitcoin’s comparable risk model has proven manageable, Ethereum’s adoption might accelerate and scale even larger.

Beyond corporate adoption, if BlackRock continues accumulating and regulatory clarity solidifies as expected, Lubin's move could be remembered as the first step in Ethereum's institutional chapter.

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