Ethereum’s price climbed more than 5% on Tuesday as the top altcoin benefited from a market rally triggered by SharpLink Gaming’s plan to acquire $425 million in ETH as part of a new treasury strategy.
Having traded below $2,530 the previous day, ETH surged past $2,680, registering a more-than-5% intraday increase in response to the announcement.
According to CoinMarketCap, the rally was accompanied by a sharp rise in Ethereum’s daily trading volume, which jumped 81% to about $23 billion.
Analyst commentary from Standard Chartered also helped lift sentiment, with the bank suggesting Ethereum could outperform Solana (SOL) in 2025.
Solana traded around $177, largely flat on the day and up about 6.8% over the past week.
By comparison, Ethereum gained roughly 8% over the last seven days. Bitcoin’s continued accumulation near $110,000 has limited broader market upside.
SharpLink Gaming to purchase $425 million in ETH
On Tuesday, the same day Trump Media disclosed a $2.5 billion plan to buy Bitcoin, Nasdaq-listed SharpLink Gaming released its own major financing announcement.
The company said it aims to raise $425 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) to acquire Ethereum for its corporate treasury.
The offering—backed by Ethereum development studio ConsenSys—proposes to sell 69,100,313 common shares at $6.15 per share.
Net proceeds from the financing, subject to closing conditions and expected to close on May 29, will be allocated to ETH as the company’s primary treasury asset.
“ConsenSys looks forward to partnering with SharpLink to explore and develop an Ethereum Treasury Strategy and to support their core business as strategic advisor. This is an exciting time for the Ethereum community, and I’m pleased to work with Rob and the team to bring Ethereum opportunities to the public markets,” said Joseph Lubin, founder and CEO of ConsenSys.
Lubin, who is also one of Ethereum’s co-founders, participates in the deal as a lead investor through ConsenSys.
Several prominent crypto venture firms and ecosystem participants are also involved in the financing. Investors include Pantera Capital, ParaFi Capital, Electric Capital, Arrington Capital, and Galaxy Digital.
Other participants named were Ondo, White Star Capital, GSR, Hivemind Capital, Hypersphere, and Primitive Ventures.
“This is an important milestone in SharpLink’s journey and represents an expansion beyond our core business. Upon closing, we look forward to partnering with ConsenSys and welcoming Joseph to the Board,” said Rob Phythian, founder and CEO of SharpLink, in a statement.
At the time of writing, Ethereum traded near $2,675, roughly 45% below its all-time high of $4,891 reached in November 2021.