Despite the high-profile backing, markets reacted negatively to the announcement, with shares sliding 13.7% on the day, according to Google Finance.
Fundamental Global’s share price on Wednesday. Source: Google Finance
The company joins a growing list of firms adopting Ether treasury strategies, following the path paved by early adopters of Bitcoin (BTC). According to Standard Chartered, crypto treasury firms have bought 1% of all circulating $ETH since the beginning of June, a figure the bank projects could rise to 10%.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, a Bitcoin mining company, is currently the largest corporate holder of Ether, disclosing on Monday that it holds 625,000 $ETH valued at roughly $2.35 billion. SharpLink, a Nasdaq-listed company, is the second-largest known holder. Between July 21 and 27, it accumulated $290 million worth of $ETH at an average price of $3,756 per token.
Ether Machine makes $56.9M $ETH purchase on Ethereum anniversary
Ether Machine, a company focused on providing institutional-grade exposure to Ethereum infrastructure and yield strategies, also disclosed a major $ETH purchase on Wednesday. The firm announced it had acquired nearly 15,000 $ETH for a total of $56.9 million.
“With the regulatory clarity we've just started to get from DC, large institutions are finally able to build production ready systems on Ethereum and all of the use cases we've been discussing for the better part of a decade can finally become a reality," Ether Machine co-founder and CEO David Merin told Cointelegraph. “I've never been more optimistic about the medium term prospects for Ethereum.”
The company's announcements coincides with Ethereum's 10-year anniversary on Wednesday.