SharpLink Gaming has begun executing a previously announced $1.5 billion stock buyback, repurchasing 930,000 shares of its common stock at an average price of $15.98 — roughly $15 million in total.
The Minneapolis-based company authorized the program in August and said the move is part of a broader strategy to boost shareholder value. Co-CEO Joseph Chalom said the firm’s robust balance sheet, zero debt and a large Ethereum treasury that generates income give it flexibility to repurchase shares rather than issue equity while trading below net asset value (NAV).
SharpLink holds the second-largest publicly traded Ethereum treasury with 837,230 ETH (about $3.6 billion), while SBET’s market capitalization sits near $3.14 billion per Yahoo Finance. Management has framed buybacks as an “accretive” capital-allocation when the stock is perceived as undervalued relative to the firm’s ETH holdings.
Shares reacted modestly, rising about 4.6% to roughly $16.40 on the announcement, but remain volatile — down more than 31% over the past month even as ETH rose about 2.2% in the same period. Last week SharpLink added over $176 million in ETH to its treasury and said it stakes nearly all of its ether to generate revenue. The company is also exploring staking activity on Ethereum layer-2 network Linea and serves on the Linea Consortium.
Why it matters: the move underscores how crypto-native treasuries use on-chain assets to inform traditional corporate finance choices. Investors should note, however, that buybacks don’t guarantee share-price gains — market sentiment, liquidity and differences between market cap and NAV can keep shares volatile. The repurchase is a signal management believes the stock is undervalued, but it carries execution and market risks.
Source: Decrypt. Read the original coverage for full details.