SharpLink Gaming, a sports betting platform, has acquired 176,271 Ether for $463 million, becoming the largest publicly traded holder of ETH. The purchase was funded through a mix of private placement and at-the-market equity sales, with the average acquisition price at $2,626 per coin. Over 95% of the ETH acquired is now being deployed in staking, enhancing Ethereum's network security while generating yield. SharpLink aims to provide shareholders with significant economic exposure to ETH and follows a treasury model akin to MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy. Despite becoming the largest public holder, entities like the Ethereum Foundation and crypto ETFs manage larger holdings of ETH. Controversy arose following an SEC filing, causing a significant drop in SharpLink's stock price, which was clarified as routine regulatory procedure rather than insider selling.

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