SharpLink Gaming spent $463 million to buy Ethereum, becoming the world's largest listed ETH holder

According to the latest announcement from Nasdaq-listed company SharpLink Gaming (stock code: SBET), the company has completed the acquisition of 176,271 Ethereum (ETH) for a total amount of approximately US$463 million, with an average purchase price of approximately US$2,626 per coin. This move has enabled it to surpass several traditional institutional investors and become the world's largest listed company holding Ethereum, second only to the non-profit Ethereum Foundation.

The announcement shows that SharpLink Gaming has currently allocated more than 95% of its crypto assets to the Ethereum-related ecosystem, including obtaining network rewards and derivative income through staking and liquid staking channels. This proportion is much higher than that of other mainstream institutional holders, showing the company's high recognition and strategic dependence on the long-term value of the Ethereum network.

SharpLink Gaming originally focused on sports betting and interactive entertainment platform services, and has continued to increase its investment in blockchain and Web3 infrastructure construction in recent years. This large-scale purchase of ETH marks a fundamental change in its asset allocation structure and has established a strong leading position in the field of digital assets.

Industry analysts believe that ETH's pledge mechanism and the upcoming network upgrade (such as the Scourge phase after Dencun) provide institutional investors with a sustainable income channel, especially in the context of market interest rate fluctuations and increased uncertainty in traditional asset returns, the attractiveness of equity-based crypto assets such as ETH has increased significantly.

It is worth noting that SharpLink's large-scale purchase of coins may have a positive impact on the market's short-term liquidity and price expectations. How it will hedge risks and disclose assets transparently in the future may be highly concerned by regulators and the market.