Diverging strategies, from aggressive accumulation to leveraged shorting, signal mixed sentiment in a volatile but active ETH market.
On-chain data reveals that SharpLink Gaming purchased over 77,000 ETH last week, equivalent to approximately $296 million, immediately staked the entire amount.
Alongside SharpLink Gaming, several other institutions have shown aggressive accumulation of Ethereum and other coins amid a recovering market.
According to on-chain data published by EmberCN, SharpLink Gaming transferred $145 million USDC to Galaxy Digital. Subsequently, Galaxy Digital withdrew 38,600 ETH from Binance and transferred these tokens to SharpLink Gaming.
SharpLink Gaming accumulated 77,206 ETH, all of which has been staked, meaning it is locked to earn rewards from the Ethereum network. As of July 22, 2025, SharpLink Gaming held approximately 360,807 ETH, bringing their total holdings to around 438,013 ETH after this transaction. Joseph Chalom, formerly BlackRock’s Global Head of Digital Assets, becomes SharpLink Gaming’s new co-CEO to focus on Ethereum.
The large-scale ETH purchase and staking by SharpLink Gaming may reflect a long-term vision and clear strategy. With over 360,000 ETH in its portfolio, the platform earned 567 ETH just 20 days after launching its ETH accumulation strategy.
SharpLink Gaming is not the only entity making significant ETH transactions last week. DeFiance Capital, a prominent investment fund, acquired 30,400 ETH worth approximately $114 million. Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, also withdrew 60,000 ETH from Binance, signaling personal or strategic accumulation.
However, contrasting moves are evident among some market whales. F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun transferred 5,000 ETH to Binance, possibly preparing to sell or engage in specific financial activities. Another whale deposited 3,516 ETH to a CEX.
Additionally, one address was recorded shorting $93 million worth of ETH with 20x leverage, with a liquidation level near $3,801, indicating a strong divergence in short-term market expectations.
In the broader market landscape last week, several other coins attracted whale attention beyond ETH. The PENGU token deployment address transferred nearly $3 million worth of tokens to a CEX. A whale exchanged 1.71 million Fartcoins for 790.41 million PUMP tokens.
