SharpLink Gaming, one of the largest Ether corporate treasuries, has initiated a $1.5 billion stock buyback program.
In a Friday announcement, SharpLink Gaming revealed the authorization for repurchasing $1.5 billion worth of shares as part of its “disciplined capital markets strategy.” No shares have been repurchased as of yet.
The firm’s Co-CEO Joseph Chalom mentioned that the company will consider buybacks when its stock trades at or below the net asset value of its Ether (ETH) holdings. “This program gives us the flexibility to act quickly and decisively if those conditions arise,” Chalom stated.
SharpLink is focusing on accumulating and staking Ether to enhance its ETH-per-share metric. The company indicated that repurchasing shares beneath the net asset value would improve that ratio.
SharpLink Gaming is fully committed to Ether
The betting platform has shifted to an Ethereum-based corporate treasury approach and appointed Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as chairman in late May. At that time, the company declared, “ETH will act as the Company’s primary treasury reserve asset.”
Related: SharpLink’s Joe Lubin aims to acquire ETH quicker than any other firm
In early July, Lubin asserted that ETH treasuries are essential for the growth of the Ethereum ecosystem. He mentioned that such companies represent “a great business to operate,” but also emphasized the importance of aligning supply and demand dynamics of Ether as more applications are developed.
Related: SharpLink acquires $667M in Ether at near record prices
Although sharply connected to the Ethereum ecosystem, SharpLink does not possess the largest Ether treasury in the industry. As per Strategic ETH Reserve data, that title is claimed by the former Bitcoin (BTC) mining-focused entity BitMine, which boasts 1.5 million Ether holdings, valued at $6.47 billion at the time of this writing.
SharpLink Gaming holds 740,800 Ether worth $3.14 billion, which is less than half of BitMine’s holdings. The company is currently experiencing an unrealized gain of nearly $600 million following recent increases in Ether’s price.
SharpLink Gaming Ether holdings chart. Source: Strategic ETH Reserve
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