coindesk.com
SharpLink Gaming (SBET), the Nasdaq-listed digital asset treasury firm led by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, added 56,533 ether ($ETH) to its balance sheet last week, lifting its total holdings to almost 800,000 $ETH worth about $3.6 billion.
The purchases, made between Aug. 18 and Aug. 24, averaged $4,462 per $ETH, according to a Tuesday press release. SharpLink also reported staking rewards had risen to 1,799 $ETH since the firm launched its treasury strategy in June.
The Minneapolis-based company also disclosed in the update that it raised $360.9 million in net proceeds last week through its at-the-market (ATM) share issuance program. There's about $200 million in cash still available for further $ETH acquisitions, the firm said.
SBET rose 1.1% in the early minutes of the session.
Ether treasury firms are on a buying spree, scooping up 2.6% of the asset's supply over the past few months, according to a Standard Chartered report, and pushing $ETH's price to a fresh record. BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, is leading the pack by accumulating nearly 1.7 million $ETH, followed by SharpLink's 800,000 tokens.
Along with the recent pullback in crypto prices, digital asset treasury stocks also declined. Last week, SharpLink approved a $1.5 billion stock buyback program in case the stock falls to or below the underlying net asset value.
Geoff Kendrick, head of research at global bank Standard Chartered, said that ether and $ETH-focused treasury firms are undervalued following the sell-off, reiterating a $7,500 year-end price target for $ETH.
Read more: Ether and $ETH Treasury Companies Look Undervalued After Plunge: Standard Chartered