Crypto: Sharplink buys 79,949 ETH additional

While regulation is tightened and business treasures turn to cryptos, a discreet, but strategic battle intensifies around Ether. By buying nearly $ 259 million in ETH in a single operation, Sharplink Gaming takes up the advantage against Bitmine Immersion Technologies. This massive acquisition revives a now central competition: that of controlling the most important public reserves of Ether, in a market where each crypto owned by institutional hands redefines power balances.

Sharplink strikes hard: a historical acquisition of ETH

After a first acquisition of 10,000 ETH at the Ethereum Foundation, Sharplink Gaming announced in a official press release Published this Tuesday having acquired 79,949 ETH at an average price of $ 3,238, for a total of $ 258.9 million.

The company, active in the sports betting and digital marketing sector, said it was “The most important purchase operation of Ether in its history”.

This transaction follows another significant purchase of $ 49 million in ETH revealed a week earlier. These movements now bear the total of the company's assets of the company at 360,807 ETH, or about $ 1.3 billion during the current course.

These purchases enabled Sharplink to resume his position as the first public holder of ETH in the world, in front of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, which held 300,657 ETH the previous week. Here are the key elements to remember:

• The acquisition of 79,949 ETH was carried out during an average of $ 3,238, a positioning at a level lower than the current course;

• The total value of SharpLink's ethn assets is estimated at around 1.3 billion dollars;

• This new operation allows the company to return to the unofficial classification of listed companies holding Ether;

• Sharplink began this strategic turn to Ethereum in June 2025, shortly after a private fundraising.

These massive acquisitions are not trivial. They reflect a paradigm shift in the way in which certain listed companies are now considering their cash flow: less dependent on the Fiat, more exposed to strategic cryptos.

A battle of influence between giants: Lubin, Lee, Wood and Thiel get involved

The confrontation between Sharplink and Bitmine Immersion Technologies far exceeds the only volumes of accumulated ETH. It is now in a struggle of influence, where personalities from the financial world and Crypto tech figures take sides.

At the end of June, Bitmine announced that he had raised $ 250 million via a private investment, and appointed Tom Lee, founder of Fustratt and famous crypto-analyst, as chairman of his board of directors to pilot the ETH strategy.

The 1^er July, Bitmine revealed that Cathie Wood, through Ark Invest, had acquired 4.4 million shares, a position of $ 175 million. In the process, Peter Thiel was a purchaser of 5.09 million titles, equivalent to 9 % of the capital.

Faced with this strengthening of institutional heavyweights in Bitmine, Sharplink played another card: that of the legitimacy of native Ethereum. Last May, the company raised $ 425 million thanks to a private investment led by Consensys, the conglomerate founded by Joseph Lubin, co-creator of Ethereum.

The latter was appointed Chairman of the Sharplink Board of Directors, validating the company's eth-friend orientation. This configuration now places the two companies on distinct trajectories: Bitmine, from Bitcoin mining, converts its strategy to Ethereum through a conventional financial approach. Sharplink, for his part, is deeply anchored in the ETH ecosystem, focusing on governance, the strategic reserve and the confidence of the original network.

If Bitmine recorded a spectacular flight of more than 700 % on its action in early July, briefly reaching 140 dollarsit quickly corrected to stabilize around $ 39.60. Sharplink, with a more moderate increase of 130 %, sees His title stand around $ 26. An evolution that could indicate a market preference for less speculative and more organic growth.

This rivalry between Sharplink and Bitmine marks a turning point in the use of crypto, and more precisely of Ether. By attracting influential figures like Lubin, Lee, Wood or Thiel, these two companies transform their cash strategies into real levers for financial communication and technological positioning. Do these massive movements mark the beginning of a standard for the balance sheets of listed companies or one more speculative bubble? One thing is certain: Ether is becoming a strategic asset for much more than the only actors in the DEFI.