- SharpLink now holds over 438,000 ETH worth $1.69B after its latest $295M purchase.
- Ethereum’s price rose to $3,895, while BNB hit a record $852 with high trade volumes.
- Institutions may now be moving out of Bitcoin into faster-growing altcoin options.
SharpLink Gaming’s bold $295 million ETH purchase surpassed Ethereum’s monthly issuance, signaling a potential shift in institutional crypto strategy. Today, SharpLink Gaming made headlines after acquiring 77,210 Ether valued at $295 million. The purchase exceeded Ethereum’s 30-day net issuance, which stood at 72,795 ETH, as per UltrasoundMoney. This marks SharpLink’s most aggressive single accumulation to date, adding to its total holdings of over 438,000 ETH, now worth more than $1.69 billion according to Lookonchain.
Most of the purchased tokens were staked immediately through platforms. This approach suggests a long-term institutional strategy focused on staking rewards rather than short-term speculation. According to Strategic ETH Reserve, 6.73% of ETH’s total supply—roughly 8.12 million ETH—is currently held by corporations and ETFs, totaling over $31 billion in value.
SharpLink’s Treasury Strategy Accelerates Amid Institutional Expansion
The firm’s treasury operations are backed by major capital activity. SharpLink recently increased its equity sale program from $1 billion to $6 billion. It has raised over $721 million so far, with $425 million coming from private placements involving Consensys, Pantera Capital, and Electric Capital.
On the leadership front, SharpLink appointed Joseph Chalom, a two-decade BlackRock veteran, as co-CEO to drive its global expansion. In May, Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin was named chairman of the board, bringing further crypto-native experience into SharpLink’s structure. The company is now the second-largest corporate ETH holder, just behind BitMine Immersion Technologies, which owns more than 566,000 ETH valued at over $2 billion.
SharpLink stated on X, “Banks close on weekends. Ethereum runs 24/7,” reinforcing its commitment to blockchain-native operations. These moves reflect a calculated shift in long-term positioning as Ethereum continues evolving toward a yield-generating asset class.
Altcoin Prices Rally as Institutional Buying Gains Speed
At press time, Ethereum led altcoins with a 3.21% daily gain, trading at $3,895.53 on CoinMarketCap. Its 24-hour volume jumped 35.43% to $31.77 billion, with a circulating supply of 120.71 million ETH and a total market cap of $470.23 billion. BNB recorded a notable breakout, with its price reaching a new all-time high of $859. Its daily volume soared by 95.42% to $3.7 billion, while the market cap hit $118.79 billion based on 139.28 million BNB in circulation.
XRP followed with a 2.37% increase, peaking at $3.32 before settling at $3.25. Trading volume rose 68.98% to $6.74 billion, pushing XRP’s market cap to $192.66 billion.
The coherent increase in ETH, BNB, and XRP is an indication of strong altcoin strength. Transitions of institutional flow seem to be switching between Bitcoin and high-upside altcoins, and this is one of the reasons for the current rally. Analysts observe that the performance and staking of Ethereum have been attracting the attention of corporations and funds, boosting Q3 altseason hopes.
Related: SharpLink Transfers $145M USDC to Galaxy Digital for Major ETH Buy
Could Bitcoin Be Losing Its Institutional Grip?
The question now arises—are institutions gradually rotating out of Bitcoin into more dynamic altcoin ecosystems?
At the same time, SharpLink has amassed such a huge amount of ETH, and as altcoins continue to rise, these could indicate institutional capital movement. The trend is also backed by the fact that BitMine’s announcement to at least take possession of 5% or more of all Ethereum supply, equivalent to 6 million ETH and worth more than $23 billion.
Unless there are major changes, the rising volume of corporate holdings of ETH may cause permanent tightness in supply. It is yet to be determined whether this impetus will continue to support an outright altseason, but indications are a reset in the market outlook of Q3 driven by early-term institutional action.
