ETH Reserve Companies Analysis: Four Star Enterprises and Their Driving Forces

By TechFlow

Translator: Naetitia

Recently, a notable trend has emerged: the market sentiment toward Ethereum is turning bullish once again.

From bold declarations like "Ethereum is the oil of the digital age" to chants of "ETH to $10,000" at EthCC, the question remains: what could reignite Ethereum's momentum?

The answer might not lie on the blockchain itself but rather within the U.S. stock market.

As "Bitcoin reserves" have become a popular strategy among publicly traded companies, Ethereum reserves are now gaining traction as Wall Street’s latest obsession.

For instance, last week, SharpLink Gaming Ltd. (NASDAQ: SBET) announced the acquisition of an additional 7,689 ETH, making it the publicly listed company with the largest Ethereum reserves. Following this announcement, its stock surged nearly 30% yesterday.

Similarly, BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc. (OTC: BMNR), a company primarily focused on Bitcoin mining, recently unveiled a $250 million Ethereum reserve initiative, aiming to mimic MicroStrategy’s playbook. Over the past month, BitMine’s stock price has skyrocketed by 16 times, delivering short-term gains that even surpass some meme coins.

Another Bitcoin mining firm, Blockchain Technology Consensus Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: BTCS), has adopted a similar approach. On Tuesday, the company announced plans to raise $100 million to purchase Ethereum. This news sent its stock price soaring by an impressive 110%.

Meanwhile, Bit Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: BTBT), which specializes in Bitcoin mining and Ethereum staking, has taken an even more aggressive stance. The company declared a full pivot to Ethereum and announced plans to liquidate its Bitcoin holdings. Yesterday, its stock saw an intraday spike of around 20%.

These four companies represent a snapshot of the recent enthusiasm surrounding Ethereum within the U.S. stock market. They have become the stars of the capital market, riding the wave of Ethereum’s growing narrative.

In a market where speculative capital has limited attention, companies are vying to secure their position with bold announcements and clear strategic commitments. Their aim is to capture the spotlight and establish a definitive market identity.

To provide deeper insights for investors interested in the interplay between cryptocurrencies and equities, we’ve analyzed these companies’ business models and the resources driving their strategies.

Different Business Models, United by the Quest for Profitability

SharpLink , BitMine, Blockchain Technology Consensus Solutions, and Bit Digital have all made bold moves to bet on Ethereum. While their stock prices have surged dramatically, the underlying business logic driving these decisions varies significantly across the four companies.

SharpLink : From Betting to Betting on ETH

SharpLink Gaming Ltd. primarily operates in the online sports betting sector. The company also collaborates with sports media organizations, offering strategic planning, product development, and innovative solutions.

However, in 2024, SBET reported revenue of only $3.66 million, marking a 26% year-over-year decline. The company managed to avoid losses that year by selling off parts of its business.

Before its transformation, SBET's market capitalization was approximately $10 million, with its stock price hovering near delisting levels (below $1) and shareholder equity under $2.5 million, placing it under compliance pressure. Limited growth in its traditional business made it difficult for SBET to stand out in the fiercely competitive betting industry.

In May 2025, SBET raised $425 million through private placements and aggressively purchased ETH, amassing 205,634 ETH as of July 9.

This massive financing and ETH acquisition have made SBET one of the largest publicly traded holders of ETH globally, second only to the Ethereum Foundation.

Public records indicate that over 95% of SBET’s ETH holdings are deployed in liquid staking protocols, generating 322 ETH in staking rewards so far.

While staking has improved SBET’s cash flow and balance sheet, more importantly, it has transformed the company from a struggling small-cap on the verge of delisting into one of the most sought-after crypto-themed stocks on the market.

Amid the bottlenecks in its core business and the ongoing Ethereum ETF frenzy, SBET’s transformation resembles a high-stakes gamble. Its heavy reliance on ETH makes it highly susceptible to price fluctuations, especially since ETH tends to experience more dramatic price swings than Bitcoin.

BitMine: From BTC Mining to ETH Treasury

As the name suggests, BitMine Immersion Technologies is a Bitcoin mining company that utilizes immersion cooling technology to operate its mining farms in Texas and Trinidad. The company generates Bitcoin revenue through both self-mining operations and hosting third-party mining equipment.

In Q1 2025, BitMine reported revenue of $3.31 million. However, high energy costs and low profit margins (with a net loss of $3.29 million in 2024) have hindered its growth. Before its transformation, BitMine had a market capitalization of just $26 million, with its mining business constrained by high operational costs and intense competition, leaving limited room for expansion.

On June 30, the company announced a private placement to fund the purchase of approximately 95,000 ETH, although the actual holdings have yet to be disclosed. Following the announcement, BitMine's stock price skyrocketed from $4.50 to $111.50, marking a staggering 3,000% increase since June.

This surge in stock price has also boosted BitMine's market capitalization, which now stands at approximately $5.7 billion. Unlike SharpLink (SBET), BitMine has retained its original Bitcoin mining operations, making its ETH reserve strategy feel more like a short-term narrative than a fundamental business shift.

Blockchain Technology Consensus Solutions: A Narrative Aligned with Business

Unlike the aforementioned companies, BTCS’s decision to reserve ETH aligns well with its historical business operations.

Founded in 2014, BTCS is one of the early blockchain enterprises listed on Nasdaq, specializing in blockchain infrastructure. Its core business revolves around Ethereum and other Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks, including operating Ethereum validator nodes and providing data analytics services via its ChainQ platform. These services cater to DeFi protocols and enterprises, offering staking and data solutions.

However, like its peers, BTCS has struggled financially.

In 2024, BTCS reported revenue of approximately $2.6 million, marking a 12% year-over-year decline due to high node operation costs and intensified market competition. The company posted a net loss of $5.8 million, highlighting a capital-intensive yet low-return financial dilemma.

BTCS has been holding ETH and operating validator nodes since 2021, accumulating 14,600 ETH—well ahead of the ETH reserve strategies of the other listed companies mentioned earlier. Between June and July 2025, BTCS accelerated its ETH accumulation through AAVE DeFi lending and traditional financing. On July 8, it announced plans for a $100 million fundraising initiative to further expand its ETH holdings.

From a business perspective, increasing ETH reserves can enhance BTCS’s staking capabilities for validator nodes, boosting gas fee income and improving its competitive edge in the market. Investors seem to agree; the announcement led to a single-day stock surge of over 100%, with BTCS’s share price jumping from $2.50 to $5.25.

Bit Digital: Selling BTC, Fully Pivoting to ETH

Bit Digita headquartered in New York, was established in 2015 and initially focused on BTC mining. Since 2022, the company has gradually shifted toward Ethereum staking infrastructure, along with GPU cloud computing and asset management services.

Financially, Bit Digital has also faced challenges. In Q1 2025, the company reported revenue of $25.1 million, but after accounting adjustments, its losses amounted to approximately $44.5 million.

In July 2025, Bit Digital raised $172 million through a public offering and sold 280 BTC to increase its ETH holdings to 100,603 ETH (valued at approximately $264 million). ETH now accounts for 60% of its assets, making Bit Digital the second-largest ETH holder among public companies, trailing only SharpLink.

It’s evident that all four companies share similar characteristics: poor financial performance, low market capitalization, and an affinity for ETH accumulation. These traits resemble certain low-market-cap protocols in the crypto space that lack revenue streams but experience rapid valuation increases after gaining narratives and attention.

Key Drivers Behind the Transformation

David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, offered a compelling insight into the phenomenon of ETH reserves in a recent article:

"The strategy is simple: put ETH on the balance sheet and sell the narrative of ETH to Wall Street... Ethereum itself has numerous narrative highlights; what ETH needs is someone energetic enough to excite Wall Street."

Connections and resources play a pivotal role in bridging the crypto narrative with traditional capital markets. From crypto industry veterans to investment banking magnates, each of the four companies mentioned above has its own set of influential figures driving their strategies forward.

SharpLink: Ethereum Co-Founder and His Crypto Allies

From the brink of delisting to becoming the largest public holder of ETH, SharpLink’s transformation owes much to the maneuvering of Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.

As the founder and CEO of ConsenSys, Lubin oversees key infrastructure within the Ethereum ecosystem, including the MetaMask wallet and Infura, which processes over 50% of Ethereum transactions.

In May 2025, Lubin joined SharpLink’s board as chairman and spearheaded a $463 million fundraising effort. This initiative was closely tied to crypto venture capitalists who have previously invested in various Ethereum ecosystem projects:

• ConsenSys itself led a $425 million private placement for SharpLink.

• ParaFi Capital, a top-tier DeFi venture capital firm known for backing Uniswap and Aave, joined the round.

• Pantera Capital, an early Ethereum investor managing over $5 billion in assets, also participated.

• Galaxy Digital, which manages Ethereum ETFs, was another notable participant.

While some community members have questioned whether this move is part of an Ethereum Foundation conspiracy, Lubin’s extensive network and the resources of ConsenSys undeniably position SharpLink as a potential pioneer in Ethereum’s Wall Street integration.

BitMine: Thomas Lee and Silicon Valley VC Collaboration

Thomas Lee, a renowned Wall Street strategist and co-founder of Fundstrat, is the driving force behind BitMine’s ETH reserve strategy.

Lee, who has been bullish on Bitcoin since 2017, predicted in 2024 that ETH would reach $5,000–$6,000. In June 2025, he announced his role as chairman of BMNR’s board.

In an interview, Lee explained his rationale for betting on Ethereum:

"To put it simply, the real reason I chose Ethereum is the explosive growth of stablecoins. Circle is one of the best IPOs in five years, with a P/E ratio of 100x EBITDA, delivering stellar performance to funds... Stablecoins are like ChatGPT for the crypto world—they’ve entered the mainstream and are evidence of Wall Street’s attempt to 'equity-ize' tokens. Meanwhile, the crypto world is 'tokenizing' equity, such as the dollar being tokenized."

Lee also stated on CNBC that BMNR aims to become "Ethereum’s MicroStrategy."

BitMine’s $250 million fundraising plan, proposed by Lee, has attracted notable Silicon Valley venture capital firms like Founders Fund, founded by Peter Thiel. Founders Fund has previously invested in SpaceX and Palantir and began heavily investing in crypto in 2021, including Ethereum, Solana, and Bullish Group (which acquired CoinDesk).

Other participants include Pantera Capital, FalconX, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, and DCG—crypto-native institutions that further solidify BitMine’s strategic pivot toward Ethereum.

Bit Digital: CEO with Bitfinex Advisory Experience

Samir Tabar, the driving force behind Bit Digital’s ETH reserve strategy, boasts a unique career spanning Wall Street and the crypto world.

Previously serving as the Head of Capital Markets at Merrill Lynch, Tabar transitioned into the crypto space as a strategic advisor to Bitfinex from 2017 to 2018. During his time there, he optimized USDT transaction processes on the Ethereum network. In 2021, he joined Bit Digital as CEO.

In a CNBC interview, Tabar described Ethereum as a “blue-chip asset reshaping the financial system,” highlighting its immense potential in stablecoin and DeFi applications. His combined expertise in traditional finance and crypto lends credibility to Bit Digital’s transformation, a view that dovetails with Ethereum’s ongoing narrative revival.

In June 2025, Bit Digital raised $172 million through an ATM (At-The-Market) offering to purchase ETH. Major investors included BlackRock and investment bank H.C. Wainwright, the latter of which has consistently supported Bit Digital’s financing efforts. H.C. Wainwright reaffirmed its “Buy” rating for BTBT in 2025, setting a price target of $5–$7.

BTCS: Leveraging AAVE Loans to Acquire ETH

Compared to the other leaders mentioned, Charles Allen, CEO of BTCS, maintains a relatively low profile. However, he is a seasoned veteran in the crypto industry.

Allen’s blockchain journey began with Bitcoin investments in 2011. By 2014, he turned his focus to Ethereum and in 2016 led BTCS to become the first blockchain company listed on NASDAQ.

In June 2025, Allen spearheaded BTCS’s move to acquire 1,000 ETH through a $2.5 million loan facilitated by AAVE, one of the leading decentralized lending platforms. In July 2025, BTCS plans to raise $100 million, with investors including ATW Partners and H.C. Wainwright. ATW Partners, based in New York, is a hybrid venture capital/private equity firm investing in both debt and equity, further emphasizing BTCS’s strategic financial planning.

Shared Traits Among These Four Companies

What stands out across these four companies is a commonality in their leadership and fundraising strategies. Each company is helmed by key figures with deep ties to the crypto industry, and their fundraising targets often overlap.

Crypto-focused funds and traditional investment firms that have previously backed Ethereum projects are the driving forces behind the ETH reserve trend. The expansive capital network behind Ethereum is yet another testament to the strength of its ecosystem.

Money never sleeps. As ETH reserve companies become the meme stocks of 2025, their strategic pivots are set to mint a new wave of winners. And for now, this crypto-equity feast shows no signs of slowing down.