Sharplink to spend $1 billion for ETH treasury

Sharplink Gaming Inc. is one of the latest to employ Strategy’s playbook of accumulating crypto as reserve assets. However, instead of BTC, the company is looking to use it to acquire Ethereum (ETH). 

According to the S-5 prospectus filed on May 29, Sharplink will use a substantial amount of proceeds from the offering to purchase Ethereum.

The offering, which will involve the sale of up to 72,051,288 shares of common stock, is estimated to raise $1 billion in gross proceeds based on the assumed sale of 12,624,668 shares at current prices.

Aside from its ETH purchases, Sharplink will also use part of the proceeds for general business purposes, including working capital, operating expenses, and expanding its core affiliate marketing operations.

The stock sale will be executed via an “at-the-market offering” structure, which will allow Sharplink to issue shares periodically through a sales agent or principal. Such a structure enables the company the flexibility to respond to market conditions without compromising its crypto acquisition and operational goals.

Sharplink plans to accumulate Ethereum in reserves

The announcement of Sharplink’s plans to raise $1 billion from its stock offering comes days after it raked in $425 million in a private investment in public equity, or PIPE, offering to establish an Ethereum treasury.

The $425 million raise was led by blockchain technology firm Consensys, with participation from Galaxy Digital, ParaFi Capital, Ondo, and Pantera Capital, among other investors, SharpLink Gaming revealed Tuesday in a statement.

The group reportedly bought 69,100,313 of the firm’s shares at $6.15 each. The newly raised funds will go toward acquiring Ethereum, which will serve as the company’s primary treasury asset.

Sharplink Gaming’s private equity deal is expected to close on May 29. Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin will serve as chairman of Sharplink Gaming’s board of directors.

Rob Phythian, founder and CEO, called the achievement “a significant milestone in Sharplink’s journey,” which marks an expansion beyond its core business. “On closing, we look forward to working with Consensys and welcoming Joseph to the Board,” he added.

The announcement of the initial $425 million raise caused Sharplink’s stock to surge over 400%, peaking at $52 and closing at $35.80 on May 27, though it later dropped 8% after the $1 billion filing, reflecting market volatility.

Strategy has become the standard

Sharplink is taking a page out of Strategy’s crypto-focused playbook with a bias for Ethereum rather than BTC. This is an interesting detail as the company’s interest in stacking Ethereum coincides with positive momentum in the ETH community.

Much of that momentum comes from the Pectra upgrade as well as new leadership at the Ethereum Foundation, which has gradually helped the token recover from the sub-$2,000 region.

Other publicly traded companies have also employed the Strategy playbook over the past couple of years. Good examples include medical device company Semler Scientific and the Japanese investment firm Metaplanet, who began employing aggressive Bitcoin-based strategies in 2024.

Those not using the playbook to acquire BTC aggressively have tweaked it to focus on other altcoins. While Sharplink will focus on purchasing ETH, companies like Upexi and DeFi Development Corp. (formerly Janover) are dedicating millions of dollars to acquiring Solana for their respective corporate treasuries. Canadian firm Spirit is aiming to become the “Strategy of Dogecoin.”

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