SharpLink Approves $1.5 Billion Share Buyback to Close Gap with ETH NAV

SharpLink Gaming, the Minneapolis-based gaming firm that has made Ethereum (ETH) its primary treasury reserve, announced on Friday that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $1.5 billion of common shares. The company said the program is intended to give management the flexibility to act “quickly and decisively” if the stock trades at or below the net asset value (NAV) of its ETH holdings, a situation the board said could make buybacks more value-accretive than issuing new equity.

“At SharpLink, we remain committed to a disciplined capital markets strategy,” said Joseph Chalom, Co-Chief Executive Officer of SharpLink. “Should there exist periods where our stock trades at or below the net asset value (“NAV”) of our ETH holdings, it would be dilutive on an ETH per share basis to issue new equity through our capital raising efforts. In this scenario, the accretive course of action may be to repurchase our common stock. This program provides us with the flexibility to act quickly and decisively if those conditions present themselves.”

The move comes as SharpLink has aggressively grown its ETH treasury. Company filings and investor updates show SharpLink’s total holdings rose to 740,760 ETH as of August 17, 2025, a stash now worth more than $3 billion at current prices. The firm has been raising capital through registered offerings and ATMs to fund the accumulation.

On-chain tracker Strategic Ethereum Reserve (SΞR)m which publishes NAV-style metrics for publicly traded ETH treasuries, shows SharpLink’s NAV multiple around 1.06, and flags peers such as BitMine with NAV metrics in roughly the 1.1–1.2 range. SharpLink’s public statement makes clear that, from its perspective, using buybacks to reduce outstanding share count can be more accretive to ETH-per-share economics than issuing fresh equity when a discount to NAV exists.

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Markets moved quickly on the announcement: SharpLink shares traded higher in premarket activity after the release, rising roughly 5% to the high teens per share, reflecting investor appetite for buyback programs when paired with sizable crypto treasuries. That reaction mirrors a wider market pattern in which treasury-focused issuers often see short-term support following repurchase authorizations.

The Ethereum price itself has been trading in the low-to-mid four-thousands this week, putting tangible dollar value behind SharpLink’s holdings and informing the company’s NAV calculations. SharpLink has also been staking a portion of its ETH to earn rewards, a detail it has highlighted in recent investor updates as part of its treasury strategy.

SharpLink’s announcement shows a growing playbook among listed firms that use digital assets as strategic reserves: raise capital through equity or other financings to accumulate crypto, then consider buybacks when shares appear cheap relative to underlying asset values. For SharpLink, the $1.5 billion authorization gives management another tool to try to narrow any gap between market price and the company’s ETH-implied NAV, while also signaling to investors a continued commitment to the ETH-first treasury strategy.