Written by: TechFlow
On May 27th, a little-known small stock stirred up huge waves in the Nasdaq trading hall.
SharpLink Gaming (SBET), a small gambling company with a market value of only $10 million, announced the purchase of approximately 163,000 ETH through a $425 million private equity investment.
As soon as the news broke, SharpLink's stock price rocketed, rising by over 500% at one point.
Buying crypto might be becoming the new wealth code for boosting stock prices of US-listed companies.
The story naturally originated with MicroStrategy, the company that first ignited the fire, boldly betting on Bitcoin as early as 2020.
Over five years, it transformed from an ordinary tech company to a "Bitcoin investment pioneer". In 2020, MicroStrategy's stock price was just over $10; by 2025, the stock had soared to $370, with a market value exceeding $100 billion.
Buying crypto not only expanded MicroStrategy's balance sheet but also made it the darling of the capital market.
In 2025, this trend was gaining momentum.
From tech companies to retail giants, and even small gambling enterprises, US-listed companies are using cryptocurrency to ignite a new engine of valuation.
What exactly is the secret behind growing market value through buying crypto?
MicroStrategy: A Textbook Case of Crypto-Stock Integration
It all began with MicroStrategy.
In 2020, this enterprise software company pioneered the US stock crypto-buying trend. CEO Michael Saylor once stated that Bitcoin is a "more reliable store of value than the US dollar";
The belief was impressive, but what truly set this company apart was its strategy in the capital market.
MicroStrategy's approach can be summarized as a combination of "convertible bonds + Bitcoin":
First, the company raised funds by issuing low-interest convertible bonds.
From 2020 onwards, MicroStrategy repeatedly issued such bonds with interest rates as low as 0%, far below the market average. For example, in November 2024, it issued $2.6 billion in convertible bonds with financing costs almost zero.
These bonds allow investors to convert to company stocks at a fixed price in the future, essentially providing investors with a call option while enabling the company to obtain cash at an extremely low cost.
Second, MicroStrategy invested all raised funds into Bitcoin. By continuously adding Bitcoin through multiple financing rounds, Bitcoin became a core component of the company's balance sheet.
Finally, MicroStrategy leveraged the premium effect of rising Bitcoin prices to initiate a "flywheel effect".
When Bitcoin's price rose from $10,000 in 2020 to $100,000 in 2025, the company's asset value significantly increased, attracting more investors to buy its stock. The stock price's rise then allowed MicroStrategy to issue bonds or stocks at higher valuations, raising more funds to continue purchasing Bitcoin, thus forming a self-reinforcing capital cycle.
The core of this model lies in combining low-cost financing with high-return assets. By borrowing money at near-zero cost through convertible bonds, buying volatile but long-term bullish Bitcoin, and then amplifying valuation through market enthusiasm for cryptocurrency.
This approach not only changed MicroStrategy's asset structure but also provided a textbook example for other US stocks.
SharpLink: The Intention Beyond the Shell
SharpLink Gaming (SBET) optimized the above strategy, using ETH instead of Bitcoin.
Behind this, there's a clever combination of crypto forces and capital market dynamics.
Its approach can also be summarized as "shell utilization", with the core being leveraging the listed company's "shell" and crypto narrative to quickly amplify valuation bubbles.
SharpLink was originally a small company struggling on the edge of Nasdaq delisting, with a stock price once below $1 and shareholder equity under $2.5 million, facing massive compliance pressure.
But it had a killer advantage - its Nasdaq listing status.
This "shell" attracted the attention of a crypto giant: ConsenSys, led by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin.
In May 2025, ConsenSys, together with multiple crypto venture capital firms (such as ParaFi Capital and Pantera Capital), led an acquisition of SharpLink through a $425 million PIPE investment.
They issued 69.1 million new shares (at $6.15 per share), quickly gaining over 90% control of SharpLink, bypassing the complex IPO or SPAC process. Joe Lubin was appointed board chairman, and ConsenSys explicitly stated it would collaborate with SharpLink to explore an "Ethereum treasury strategy".
Some say this is an ETH version of MicroStrategy, but the strategy is actually more sophisticated.
The true purpose of this transaction was not to improve SharpLink's gambling business, but to make it a bridgehead for crypto to enter the capital market.
ConsenSys plans to use the $425 million to purchase about 163,000 ETH, packaging it as an "Ethereum version of MicroStrategy" and declaring ETH as a "digital reserve asset".
The capital market values "narrative premium", and this narrative not only attracts speculative funds but also provides institutional investors who cannot directly hold ETH with a "public ETH proxy".
Buying crypto is just the first step. SharpLink's real "magic" lies in its flywheel effect. Its operation can be broken down into a three-step cycle:
Step one: Low-cost fundraising.
SharpLink raised $425 million through PIPE at $6.15 per share, which, compared to IPO or SPAC, involves lower costs and fewer complex roadshow and regulatory processes.
Step two: Market enthusiasm drives stock price up.
Investors were ignited by the "Ethereum version of MicroStrategy" story, causing the stock price to surge rapidly. Market enthusiasm for SharpLink's stock far exceeded its asset value, with investors willing to pay far more than its ETH holdings' net value. This "psychological premium" quickly inflated SharpLink's market value.
SharpLink also plans to stake these ETH tokens, locking them in the Ethereum network and earning 3%-5% annual yield.
Step three: Cyclical refinancing. With a higher stock price, SharpLink can theoretically raise more funds, buy more ETH, and repeat the cycle, with valuation growing like a snowball.
Behind this "capital magic" lurks the shadow of a bubble.
SharpLink's core business - gambling marketing - is almost ignored, and the $425 million ETH investment plan is completely disconnected from its fundamentals. Its stock price surge is more driven by speculative funds and crypto narratives.
The truth is that crypto capital can also use the "shell + crypto buying" approach to quickly inflate valuation bubbles through some small and medium-sized listed companies.
The intention is not in the wine itself; whether the listed company's business is related is good, but not crucial.
Imitation is Not Always Successful
The crypto-buying strategy might seem like a "wealth code" for US-listed companies, but it's not foolproof.
The path of imitation is crowded with followers.
On May 28th, GameStop, the game retail giant once famous for retail investors' battle with Wall Street, announced the purchase of 4,710 bitcoins for $512.6 million, attempting to replicate MicroStrategy's success. However, the market response was cold: after the announcement, GameStop's stock price dropped 10.9%, and investors were not convinced.
On May 15, Addentax Group Corp (stock code ATXG), a Chinese textile and clothing company, announced plans to purchase 8,000 bitcoins and TRUMP coins through the issuance of common stocks. At the current bitcoin price of $108,000, the purchase cost will exceed $800 million.
In contrast, the company's total market capitalization is only around $4.5 million, which means the theoretical cost of purchasing coins is over 100 times its market value.
Almost at the same time, another Chinese company listed on US stocks, Jiuzi Holdings (stock code JZXN), also joined this bitcoin buying frenzy.
The company announced plans to purchase 1,000 bitcoins in the next year, with a cost of over $100 million.
Public information shows that Jiuzi Holdings is a Chinese company focusing on new energy vehicle retail, established in 2019. The company's retail stores are mainly distributed in third and fourth-tier cities in China.
The company's total market capitalization on Nasdaq is only around $50 million.
The stock price is indeed rising, but the matching of company market value and crypto buying cost is crucial.
For more latecomers, if bitcoin prices drop, buying in could put enormous pressure on their balance sheets.
The crypto buying strategy is not a universal wealth code. Buying crypto without fundamental support and with excessive leverage may be just an adventure leading to bubble burst.
Another way of breaking out
Despite the risks, the crypto buying trend may become a new norm.
In 2025, global inflation pressure and US dollar depreciation expectations continue, and more companies are beginning to view bitcoin and ethereum as "anti-inflation assets". Japan's Metaplanet has enhanced its market value through a bitcoin treasury strategy, and more US-listed companies are quickly following MicroStrategy's path.
In the broader trend, cryptocurrencies are increasingly appearing in global political and economic domains.
Is this the "breaking out" that crypto enthusiasts often talk about?
By comprehensive observation of current trends, cryptocurrencies' paths to mainstream adoption mainly include two routes: the rise of stablecoins and crypto reserves on corporate balance sheets.
On the surface, stablecoins provide a stable medium for payment, savings, and remittance in the crypto market, reducing volatility and promoting widespread crypto application. However, their essence is an extension of US dollar hegemony.
Taking USDC as an example, its issuer Circle has close ties with the US government and holds a large amount of US Treasury bonds as reserve assets. This not only strengthens the global reserve currency status of the US dollar but also further penetrates the US financial system's influence into the global crypto market through stablecoin circulation.
The other path of breaking out is the aforementioned crypto buying by listed companies.
Buying crypto companies attract speculative funds through crypto narratives and drive up stock prices, but except for a few leading companies, for later imitators, how much can the fundamentals of their main business be improved remains a mystery.
Whether stablecoins or crypto assets entering listed companies' balance sheets, crypto assets seem more like a tool to continue or strengthen previous financial structures.
Whether it's cutting leeks or financial innovation, it's like two sides of a coin, depending on which side of the table you're sitting on.
