$15 million — that is how much Nasdaq-listed ether treasury firm SharpLink Gaming said it repurchased after its stock briefly traded below the value of the company’s underlying ETH holdings. The firm is led by Ethereum co‑founder Joe Lubin.
The Minneapolis-based company bought about 939,000 shares at an average price of $15.98 under its share buyback program, according to a company press release. SharpLink holds roughly $3.6 billion in ether and says nearly all of those holdings are staked to generate yield.
SharpLink’s stock currently trades at about 0.87 times net asset value (mNAV) of its ETH stake. When an asset-backed stock falls below 1.0 mNAV, the issuer faces limits on raising capital by selling equity for crypto purchases because that would dilute ETH holdings per share — a key metric for crypto treasury firms. Executives said they have not used an at-the-market facility while trading below NAV to avoid dilution.
The buyback pushed the stock up about 3.6% in pre-market trading, with ether also up over 1% from yesterday’s close. The move follows broader pressure across crypto treasury stocks: rival BitMine (BMNR) also slipped under the 1 mNAV threshold, and both names are down roughly 60–70% from July highs.
Why this matters: a share repurchase can be a direct signal of management confidence and — mechanically — increase ETH holdings allocated per share. But buybacks use cash and don’t remove market volatility. Holders should weigh staking-related risks (lockups, validator slashing), concentrated exposure to ether price moves, and the ongoing possibility of dilution if the company issues shares in the future.
Source: SharpLink press release. Read the original coverage for full details.