Ethereum treasury firm SharpLink Gaming is positioning itself to lead the charge in optimizing the productive use of its Ethereum holdings by 2026. The company recently staked $170 million in Ethereum (ETH) on the layer-2 network Linea and plans to seek additional opportunities that will benefit shareholders in the future. Following this development, shares of SharpLink (SBET) saw a nearly 3% increase on Tuesday, coinciding with Ethereum’s recent price rebound, which has seen the cryptocurrency trade above $3,200.
SharpLink has accumulated over 865,000 ETH, which is valued at approximately $2.75 billion as of Tuesday, since initiating its treasury strategy in May of last year. CEO Joseph Chalom expressed optimism during an appearance on the FOMO Hour show, noting that 2025 was a year for Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) to focus on accumulation, while 2026 should be centered on productivity. “We want to be pioneers,” Chalom stated, underscoring the firm’s ambition to explore uncharted territories of ETH utilization in the digital asset landscape.
Chalom’s vision revolves around leveraging the firm’s substantial holdings of what he refers to as “permanent capital.” He emphasized that SharpLink’s long-term commitment to staking opens doors that may be closed to institutions or investors with a shorter-term outlook. Currently, only a fraction of SharpLink’s treasury—the $170 million staked on Linea—is actively producing returns, but the firm has most of its assets staked across various other protocols.
In a strategic move, SharpLink intends to maintain financial flexibility, with plans to allocate its ETH among various staking strategies, including native staking, restaking, and the use of liquid restaking tokens. This approach allows the firm to remain opportunistic in its investments, potentially stepping in as a lender to provide liquidity or financing to other protocols as needed.
Chalom is confident that the yields generated from staking can cushion the firm from the volatility often experienced in the cryptocurrency market. He highlighted that SharpLink’s business model is designed to thrive in both bullish and bearish market conditions. “When ETH goes up, our stock price benefits. When ETH goes down, we have no reason to sell,” he remarked, viewing downturns instead as opportunities to acquire more assets.
Despite a 51% decline in SBET shares over the past six months, the recent uptick brings them to around $10.53. With ETH having surged about 3% in the last 24 hours to reach a trading price of $3,206, the market remains watchful for further developments in SharpLink’s innovative approach to digital asset management.
