SharpLink Gaming Acquires 176,271 Ether for $463 Million
SharpLink Gaming (SBET) announced it acquired 176,271 ether (ETH) for approximately $463 million, becoming the largest ETH holder among publicly traded companies. The acquisition was financed through a $79 million draw from its $1 billion at-the-market (ATM) stock facility.
This announcement followed a regulatory filing that allowed private placement round investors to sell shares, leading to a 70% drop in stock prices after hours, with shares down 66% on Friday. SharpLink had raised $450 million earlier this month from investors such as ConsenSys and Pantera Capital to facilitate the ETH purchase. Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin has joined as board chairman.
Despite an initial surge of 4,300% in share price following the crypto strategy announcement in May, the stock has lost over 90% of that gain but still trades around 500% higher than prior to the treasury pivot.