The U.S. listed company SharpLink Gaming (SBET), known as the "Ethereum version of MicroStrategy," released an announcement on July 22, announcing that the company bought an additional 79,949 ETH between July 14 and 20, investing $258 million at an average price of $3,238.
After this additional purchase, the company's ETH holdings have been raised to 360,807, becoming the enterprise with the most ETH in the public market.
Staking Rewards of 567 ETH
SharpLink Gaming added that the funding for this ETH purchase still came from its "ATM" mechanism, issuing 3.8 million shares and obtaining $96.6 million to directly buy cryptocurrency. Notably, 99.7% of its current holdings have been sent to staking protocols, and the company has received 567 ETH in staking rewards.
SBET Rises 12%
SharpLink's board chairman Joseph Lubin, who is also a co-founder of Ethereum, positions ETH as the underlying fuel for online gaming, sports betting, and Web3 infrastructure. The market has recently given a positive response to this "buy first, discuss products later" approach. After the latest selling news was announced, Google Finance data showed that SBET rose nearly 12% in the evening U.S. stock market on July 22, with a market value of $2.816 billion.
ARK Invest Invests $182 Million in BitMine
It's worth mentioning that BitMine Immersion Technologies also announced on July 22 that it has received a $182 million investment from ARK Invest, managed by stock goddess Cathie Wood, which bought 4,773,444 common shares of BitMine. BitMine stated that this fund will be entirely invested in Ethereum.
Originally a Bitcoin mining company, BitMine announced in June 2025 that it would make Ethereum its primary Treasury reserve asset and accelerate ETH accumulation through a $25 million private placement (completed on July 3). By mid-July, BitMine had held over 300,000 ETH, with a goal of ultimately controlling 5% of global supply.
The company is supported by institutions like Founders Fund and led by Fundstrat founder Thomas "Tom" Lee and CEO Jonathan Bates, with ambitions that are self-evident.
We are pleased that Cathie Wood has taken a large stake in BitMine, seeing the opportunity for exponential growth. Our goal is to achieve a 5% share of ETH.
New Regulations Raise Institutional Participation Willingness
The trading heat is not a single-point event. U.S. President Trump signed the GENIUS Act, which explicitly defines the regulatory framework for digital assets and smart contracts, viewed by the industry as a "watershed moment". The law reduces policy uncertainty, preventing conservative funds from waiting and watching. During the same period, spot Ethereum ETF net inflows reached $2.18 billion. Currently, BlackRock's ETH trust assets are approaching $9.17 billion, accounting for nearly half of all ETH ETF funds, demonstrating strong demand.
