Sports betting platform SharpLink Gaming kept accumulating Ether (ETH) after briefly slipping to the second-largest public ETH holder behind BitMine Immersion Technologies.
SharpLink acquired a record-breaking amount of Ether for the company in the past week ending Sunday, reporting a purchase of 79,949 ETH on Tuesday.
The acquisition was completed at an average ETH purchase price of $3,238, totaling about $258.9 million.
The new purchases followed another $49 million buy announced last Monday, bringing SharpLink’s total Ether holdings to 360,807 ETH, worth about $1.3 billion at current market prices, according to CoinGecko.
Ether accumulation race heats up
With its latest Ether acquisition, SharpLink reclaimed its position as the world’s largest publicly traded ETH holder.
After announcing a $250 million private placement raise on June 30, BitMine last Thursday reported that its Ether holdings reached 300,657 ETH, with value exceeding $1 billion.
After reporting its 300,657 ETH purchase, BitMine briefly beat SharpLink in total ETH holdings, as the latter reported 280,706 in total Ether holdings last week.
SharpLink’s latest purchase was not immediately visible on CoinGecko’s public companies list by Ether holdings by publishing time.
Cathie Wood bags $175 million stake in BitMine
The intensifying race for the title of “MicroStrategy of Ether” has been making waves in the stock market. On Monday, Cathie Wood’s investment firm ARK Invest acquired 4.4 million in Bitmine (BMNR) shares, with the purchase netting nearly $175 million.
As previously mentioned, BitMine saw its shares rallying last week amid billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel scooping up 5.09 million BMNR shares, accounting for a 9% stake in the company.
Related: Sharplink Gaming’s expanded $6B share offering could buy 1% of ETH
According to TradingView data, BitMine shares posted monthly gains of over 700% as of publishing time, having briefly surged past $140 on July 3 before retreating to the current price of $39.60.
On the other hand, the SharpLink (SBET) stock has seen a more modest 130% surge in the past month, with the shares closing at roughly $26 on Monday.
SharpLink vs. BitMine; Joseph Lubin vs. Tom Lee
BitMine Immersion Technologies, formerly known as Sandy Springs Holdings, was legally formed in 2019, establishing its operations as a Bitcoin mining and hosting company using immersion cooling systems.
On June 30, BitMine appointed Fundstrat founder and major crypto bull Tom Lee as board chairman to lead its Ethereum corporate treasury.
SharpLink, which was officially founded in 2019, operates as a performance-based marketing company serving the iGaming and sports betting sectors. The company pivoted toward building a corporate ETH reserve in June 2025, immediately earning the title of the world’s largest public holder of Ether.
SharpLink’s Ether move came soon after it closed a $425 million private placement led by Consensys in May 2025, tapping Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as board chairman.
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