SharpLink Gaming, originally a sports betting marketing company now focused on building an Ether treasury, closed Monday’s trading session lower following the announcement of a $400 million deal to expand its cryptocurrency holdings.
The company revealed it signed a share purchase agreement with five global institutional investors aimed at increasing its Ether assets, which it expects to surpass $3 billion in value.
Under the terms of the agreement, SharpLink’s shares were sold at $21.76 each, raising $400 million in total proceeds. The deal is set to close on Tuesday, pending customary conditions.
SharpLink holds the second-largest Ethereum reserves among publicly traded companies and counts Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as its chairman. It joins a growing list of firms raising capital specifically to invest in cryptocurrencies.
SharpLink shares dip during the day, rise in after-hours trading
Shares of SharpLink Gaming (SBET) closed down more than 6.6% at $22.34 on Monday following the deal announcement. However, the stock bounced back in after-hours trading, gaining nearly 3.5% to reach $23.10.
Monday’s decline erased some of the recent momentum, as the stock had climbed to a high of over $28 earlier in the day.
SharpLink has gained 17.5% over the past five trading days and is up 189% year-to-date, following its decision to start purchasing Ether in May.
In mid-June, the company’s shares plunged 73% in a single after-hours session after it filed to potentially resell 58.7 million common shares. In response, Lubin took to X to clarify that the filing was a standard procedure, and some investors had misunderstood SBET’s intentions.
As of Sunday, SharpLink has accumulated 598,800 ETH, valued at approximately $2.57 billion with Ether trading near $4,300. Its ETH holdings are second only to Bitcoin mining firm BitMine Immersion Technologies, which holds over 1.15 million ETH worth close to $5 billion.
SharpLink raises nearly $1 billion in just one week
Over the past week, SharpLink has raised nearly $900 million, which co-CEO Joseph Chalom said “highlights the market’s confidence in SharpLink’s ETH treasury strategy.”
He added, “The speed and scale of these investments demonstrate not only investor trust in SharpLink but also the increasing recognition of Ethereum’s transformative potential.”
On Thursday, SharpLink announced a $200 million share purchase agreement with four unnamed institutional investors. Earlier, on August 5, the company raised $264.5 million in net proceeds through an at-the-market offering.
In its latest update, SharpLink stated it still has about $200 million in at-the-market proceeds remaining to be deployed.
Ether is on the rise again
Ether is making a strong comeback, nearing its all-time high after months of underperforming Bitcoin.
While ETH has remained mostly flat over the past day, it has surged 44.5% in the last 30 days—rising from below $3,000 to over $4,300 on Monday, according to CoinGecko.
Currently, Ether is trading at $4,278, just over 12% below its all-time peak of $4,878 reached on November 10, 2021.
