Sharplink Gaming, Ethereum Foundation close OTC deal for 10K ETH direct sales

Sharplink Gaming agreed to a direct purchase of 10,000 ETH from the Ethereum Foundation’s reserves. The OTC deal comes as ETH recovered above $3,000 on general market exuberance. 

Sharplink Gaming expanded its ETH purchases through a direct OTC deal with the Ethereum Foundation. The gaming company added another 10,000 ETH to its current reserves of 202,000 ETH. 

Sharplink reached a definitive agreement with the Ethereum Foundation, locking in the purchase at an ETH price of $2,572.37. The deal was completed as of July 10, just before ETH rallied above $3,000 for the first time in months. The Ethereum Foundation has not mentioned how it would apply the proceeds from the OTC deal.

“At a time when Ethereum is entering a new era of institutional relevance, we are proud to support the network’s long-term strength and decentralization mission,” said Joseph Lubin, chairman of Sharplink, co-founder of Ethereum, and founder and CEO of Consensys.

Unlike some large-scale BTC treasuries, Sharplink’s holdings are more transparent. One of the company’s known wallets already holds over 170K LSETH. 

The Ethereum Foundation has already reported the 10,000 ETH transaction, which will originate from its known multisig wallet. The transfer would also make any new wallets belonging to Sharplink more transparent. 

Sharplink sticks to a long-term holding strategy

Lubin explained that Sharplink will stick to a long-term investment vision. The ETH in the treasury will be used for staking and liquid re-staking, removing the supply from circulation, while also securing the Ethereum ecosystem. The company also received criticism that it did not buy ETH on the open market, similar to Strategy (MSTR) buying BTC, but instead relying on an OTC deal with no boost for ETH market prices.

Since Lubin is both a co-founder of Ethereum and part of the Sharplink team, the treasury is expected to be in alignment with the principles of the Ethereum Foundation.

The OTC deal also follows the decision of the Ethereum Foundation to avoid letting its ETH sit idle. At the same time, the deal did not affect the market price. Previously, the Ethereum Foundation sold ETH for operating income, but lately agreed to stake the tokens or use them in lending protocols to tap their value. 

Following the news, SBET grew by over 8.32% for the past 24 hours, to trade at $18.48. After the initial hype, SBET is now growing more gradually as the company realizes its ETH treasury plans. 

Ethereum Foundation still sells some ETH

The Ethereum Foundation sold more ETH just before the token broke out. Recent on-chain data shows a sale of 1,210 ETH for 3.5M USDC. 

A wallet linked to the #EthereumFoundation sold 1,210 $ETH for 3.5M $USDC at an average price of ~$2,890 over the past 6 hours.https://t.co/2srVIybEGt pic.twitter.com/ez1k5Q6uT1

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 11, 2025

Some of the ETH is used to sponsor smaller projects or to cover operating costs. The Foundation still has over 198K ETH in its reserves. 

In addition to the recent sale, the Foundation sent out another 1,000 ETH to the Gnosis Safe Proxy. 

The Foundation itself has sufficient ETH to function as a treasury company, though it still operates as a foundation under Swiss law. For now, it remains to be seen whether the ETH sales will continue or the Foundation will share its reserves with new treasury companies.

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