Headline: SharpLink Sets Sights on “ETH Productivity” in 2026 After Amassing Nearly $3B Treasury SharpLink Gaming — a publicly traded firm that has been building an Ethereum-heavy corporate treasury — says 2026 will be the year it turns accumulation into productive, yield-generating strategies. Since launching its treasury approach last May, SharpLink has accumulated more than 865,000 ETH — roughly $2.75 billion as of Tuesday — and last week began deploying a portion of that balance toward on-chain incentives. The company moved $170 million in ETH into staking and elevated rewards programs on Layer-2 network Linea as part of a broader plan to monetize its holdings. “We want to be pioneers,” CEO Joseph Chalom said on Decrypt’s Rug Radio show FOMO Hour. “2025 was a year that DATs [digital asset treasuries] did their initial accumulation. 2026 needs to be the year of productivity.” Chalom emphasized that SharpLink’s “permanent capital” — the firm’s multi-year commitment to holding ETH — gives it strategic options that short-term investors typically don’t have. How SharpLink plans to use its ETH - Most of the treasury is already staked or earning yield through various protocols, Chalom said, though only $170 million is currently on Linea. - The firm intends to keep a diversified approach: native staking, restaking, liquid restaking tokens, and a portion of the portfolio reserved to take advantage of opportunistic plays. - With that flexibility, SharpLink could provide financing or liquidity to other protocols, effectively acting as a long-duration lender when appropriate. Chalom, who joined SharpLink in July after leading BlackRock’s digital asset strategy, argues that staking yields help the company withstand crypto volatility. “When ETH goes up, our stock price benefits. When ETH goes down, we have no reason to sell,” he said, calling downturns “buying opportunities” and underscoring a strategy built “for both cycles.” Market response SharpLink’s shares (ticker: SBET) were up 2.7% on Tuesday, trading near $10.53, though the stock has fallen roughly 51% over the past six months. ETH itself was trading around $3,206, up about 3% in the last 24 hours. Implications SharpLink’s model exemplifies a growing trend among digital asset treasuries: moving beyond hoarding to actively deploying crypto reserves to generate yield and provide on-chain services. If successful, their approach could expand the role of long-term, balance-sheet-backed players in liquidity provision, staking ecosystems and protocol financing — effectively pushing the frontier of what corporate crypto treasuries can do in 2026. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
