SharpLink Gaming (SBET), the Ethereum treasure backed by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, will join the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indices later this month, potentially opening the stock to new institutional demand from index-tracking funds.
The inclusion will come into effect after markets close on June 29 as part of the annual reconstitution of the FTSE Russell index, the company said on Tuesday.
The Russell indices are widely followed benchmarks for U.S. stocks, with approximately $12 trillion in assets tied to them through passive and active investment strategies, according to the press release. Membership in the Russell 2000, the benchmark index for U.S. small-cap stocks, could increase trading volumes and institutional ownership.
SharpLink has become one of the largest public holders of ether (ETH), part of a wave of companies that adopted crypto treasury strategies last year modeled after the bitcoin holder strategy (MSTR). Since then, most digital asset treasuries paused or changed course to sell their assets as their stock prices plummeted and crypto markets retreated.
The company held 872,984 ETH at the beginning of May, according to its latest quarterly earnings report, making it the second-largest public ETH treasury, behind Bitmine’s 5.4 million ETH. SharpLink’s stake is worth approximately $1.8 billion at current prices and has not reported any ETH purchases since October.
The stock has fallen about 95% since its peak speculative frenzy last May, when investors flocked to cryptocurrency treasury companies during a broader rally in digital assets. Still, shares remain at more than double their level before SharpLink pivoted to an Ethereum treasury strategy. The stock was down around 2% on Tuesday, similar to the price of ETH.
The index’s inclusion validates the company’s “institutional-grade ETH treasury strategy,” SharpLink CEO Joseph Chalom said, adding that it can strengthen the company’s “access to capital markets.”
