Sharplink Gaming, a Nasdaq-listed company (SBET) and one of the largest corporate holders of Ether (ETH), has announced plans to deploy $200 million of its ETH treasury onto Linea, a zkEVM Layer 2 network developed by Consensys. The move aims to generate on-chain yield and enhance the efficiency of its ETH holdings by tapping into DeFi opportunities. The deployment will occur over a multi-year commitment period.
This initiative involves strategic partnerships with EtherFi, EigenCloud, and Anchorage Digital Bank to maximize returns through various revenue streams. These streams include native staking yields, direct incentives from Linea and EtherFi, and EigenLayer restaking rewards. The collaboration will also provide exposure to emerging AI workloads secured by Ethereum.
Linea, developed by Consensys, offers a scalable infrastructure with lower fees, making it suitable for large-scale institutional DeFi strategies. Linea already holds over $1 billion in deposited value across multiple applications. SharpLink's deployment aims to further unlock the value of ETH and make its treasury more valuable through on-chain yield.
SharpLink will deploy the ETH through its custodial storage with Anchorage Digital Bank, setting an example for other ETH treasuries. SharpLink Gaming is the second-largest corporate holder with 859,400 ETH, valued at around $3.56 billion. The company's planned deployment represents roughly 5.6% of its treasury.
Joseph Chalom, Co-CEO of SharpLink, stated that this deployment enables the company to access the best of Ethereum's staking, restaking, and DeFi yield while maintaining the institutional safeguards its stockholders expect. He emphasized the company's commitment to managing its treasury with institutional rigor and discipline. Consensys CEO and SharpLink Chair Joseph Lubin claimed the move reflects Ethereum's growing role in institutional finance and showcases how institutions can safely earn native yield on Linea.
This move by SharpLink is part of a growing trend among large-scale ETH holders, including treasury companies and ETFs, to stake a portion of their tokens for passive income. In February, the Ethereum Foundation disclosed plans to move beyond passive holdings by staking and participating in DeFi protocols. Similarly, ETHZilla (ETHZ) announced in September that it would deploy $100 million of ETH to EtherFi to enhance yield on its treasury holdings.
