SharpLink Gaming Acquires 10,000 ETH Directly from the Ethereum Foundation

On July 11, 2025, publicly traded company SharpLink Gaming acquired 10,000 ETH, worth approximately $25.7 million, in a direct, over-the-counter (OTC) deal with the Ethereum Foundation.

The move, by the Foundation on Friday, marks one of the largest known direct purchases of ETH by a public company.

The Ethereum Foundation, this sale was not a speculative market trade or a signal of a change in their outlook. Instead, the move was a pre-planned, routine action dictated by the Foundation’s public treasury management policy

The policy outlines ETH sales when the fiat portion of EF’s reserves drops below targets linked to annual operational expenses and runway duration.

requires the Foundation to sell ETH to rebalance its holdings whenever its fiat reserves drop below a certain threshold needed to cover its operational expenses (15% of total treasury) for a 2.5-year runway.

When fiat reserves fall below this threshold, the foundation sells ETH to rebalance. EF did not frame the transaction as a response to market conditions, instead calling it a routine treasury action under the policy’s guidelines.

The treasury framework emphasizes safety, liquidity, and alignment with Ethereum’s principles. EF aims to earn sustainable returns while supporting decentralized finance without contributing to systemic risks. The policy includes periodic reallocations and ETH deployments in staking, lending, or yield-generating platforms.

For SharpLink Gaming, acquiring ETH directly from the Foundation is the ultimate vote of confidence in the asset. It also represents a more sophisticated way for corporations to build their treasuries.

By using an OTC deal, a large buyer can acquire a significant position without causing the price slippage that would occur if they tried to buy the same amount on open-market exchanges.