Sharplink’s ETH Bet Backfires: $36M Unrealized Losses Hit Portfolio

Another 'HODL' strategy meets brutal market reality.

Sharplink joins the ranks of crypto investors learning the hard way that paper gains aren't bankable—with Ethereum positions now underwater by eight figures. The $36 million hole proves even institutional players aren't immune to crypto's volatility.

Funny how those 'future of finance' narratives fade when margin calls loom. Maybe they should've hedged like actual asset managers.

Corporations showing interest in altcoin treasuries

Meanwhile, the continued accumulation by Sharplink is likely part of its goal to become the biggest corporate holder of ETH in its reserves. Given its current stash, it appears to have already achieved that, especially since only a few companies have an Ethereum treasury.

While it might be the one with the biggest ETH treasury, Sharplink was not the first public company to consider ETH as a treasury asset, with BioNexus Gene actually releasing an Ethereum Strategy Whitepaper back in March. Another public company with a known ETH treasury is Bit Digital.

The Bitcoin miner recently transitioned to focusing solely on ETH staking and treasury, stating that it holds over 24,000 ETH and 417.6 BTC as of March 31, 2025. However, it plans to convert its Bitcoin holdings to ETH while also planning to sell its Bitcoin mining infrastructure and divert the proceeds to ETH. Unsurprisingly, the move caused its stock to fall.

Nevertheless, it highlights how several companies are now hopping on the altcoin treasury trends instead of choosing BTC. For instance, companies such as Upexi, Sol Strategies, DeFi Development Corp, and MemeStrategy have all opted for a corporate solana treasury to acquire and stake SOL.

Other firms have also picked altcoins, such as HYPE, XRP, and BNB, as treasury assets. A Chinese chip maker, Nano Labs, recently released a plan to buy $1 billion BNB, while companies like ViVoPower and Webus plan to buy XRP and Lion Group Holdings is targeting a HYPE treasury.

Despite this diversification among public companies, bitcoin treasuries remain the biggest trend, with more companies establishing corporate Bitcoin strategies. Crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano’s firm, ProCap BTC, recently announced a plan to go public as a Bitcoin treasury company through a special purpose acquisition deal. The company has been busy buying BTC in anticipation of the move.

However, concerns about establishing crypto treasuries continue to grow, especially as the adoption keeps increasing. Some experts believe this poses a major risk, especially as many firms now leverage debt to acquire crypto assets.

Sharplink stock continues to perform well

Meanwhile, the unrealised loss on Sharplink’s ETH treasury has no major impact on its stock performance. According to Yahoo Finance data, Sharelink SBET closed on June 25 with a 6.42% gain and has already seen an extra 4.57% increase in pre-market.

It is now trading at $10.28, with a 52.98% gain over the past month. It is also up 33.85% year to date, showing that the Optimism around ETH recovery is spreading to SBET. With market observers bullish on Ether rebound, some believe Sharplink is getting in early.

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