Publicly listed SharpLink has overtaken the non-profit Ethereum Foundation by the size of its ether reserves — ~280,600 ETH versus ~241,500 ETH ($882m and $759m, respectively).
PulseChain and Bitmine Immersion Tech rank third and fourth, with Ethereum reserves of $522m and $512m, respectively.
Between 7 and 13 July SharpLink bought 74,656 ETH for a total of $213m at an average price of $2,852.
“Around 280,706 ETH are on the balance sheet. Approximately 99.7% of the coins are engaged in staking or restaking. Since 2 June, income has amounted to about 415 ETH,” company representatives said.
In aggregate, corporations hold 1.6m ETH (~$5bn); ETFs account for 4.56m ETH ($14.33bn).
Is Ethereum back in vogue?
Over the past 24 hours the second-largest cryptocurrency has risen 6.3%. At the time of writing, the weighted average price of ether is $3,161 (levels from early February).
For comparison, over 24 hours bitcoin rose 1.2%, trading around $118,214.
“After two years of weak performance, ETH is attracting attention again,” said Amberdata’s director of derivatives Greg Magadini in a comment to Decrypt.
Over two years, bitcoin has gained almost 300%. Ethereum over the corresponding period has risen a “modest” 60%, and is down roughly 8% since the start of the year.
Magadini added that aggregate open interest in ether futures has reached a 12-month high. Similar levels were observed when the coin was around $4,000 last December.
In his view, this points to capital inflows and rising market participation.
An unlucky whale
According to Lookonchain, a large market participant (0x2258) opened a short on Ethereum with 18x leverage on 15 July. The unrealised loss now exceeds $3.5m.
Whale 0x2258 shorted $ETH with 18x leverage yesterday and is now sitting on a $3.5M+ loss.
If $ETH breaks above $3,321.81, the position will be liquidated.https://t.co/Xw2hDTxcg2 pic.twitter.com/4Anp344qt7
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 16, 2025
According to the researchers, the position will be liquidated if the price of ether falls below $3,321.81.
Peter Thiel and Ethereum
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and his Founders Fund acquired 9.1% of BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR). This is stated in a form 13G filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to the document, a Thiel-affiliated entity bought 5,094,000 shares through several legal entities. The June round also included Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital and Kraken.
BitMine appointed Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee as chairman of the board, widely known for his bitcoin price forecasts.
In total, more than 55m shares were sold via a private placement at $4.5 apiece. The proceeds will be directed to topping up Ethereum reserves.
BitMine is engaged in mining and digital-asset management. Since June the company has been led by Lee, who also serves as Fundstrat’s chief investment officer.
Since the launch of the “Ethereum strategy”, BitMine’s shares have been highly volatile — the closing price has ranged from $4.26 to $135.
On 14 July BMNR shares jumped to $59 — 45% above Friday’s close at $40.62. However, by the end of the trading session the price had slipped to $41.02, for a daily gain of less than 1%.
More complex than bitcoin
The first cryptocurrency remains the primary corporate reserve asset for crypto-friendly firms. According to BitcoinTreasuries, public companies hold 863,298 BTC worth more than $102bn.
Ryan Chow, co-founder of the BTCFi project Solv Protocol, says Ethereum’s flexibility boosts its appeal but at the same time creates added complexity in its use.
“It can be compared to digital oil — a universal asset underpinning real on-chain finance: staking, gas, collateral and settlement. Such ideas are harder to explain to the market than the familiar concept of a store of value,” he said.
Chow stressed that Ethereum still has significant potential — it is “a tool for participation and saving” — and that is how “far-sighted corporate treasuries” are beginning to see it.
In his opinion, ether will take a key position in the “institutional infrastructure of the on-chain world”.
“With the start of a new wave of mass adoption, assets with functionality, rather than just for storage, will become far more significant,” the specialist emphasised.
SharpLink’s CEO and chairman is Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.