Ethereum treasuries: Guide to the corporate crypto rush

The corporate Ethereum accumulation race is on, with a growing wave of companies holding ETH on their balance sheets. Unlike static fiat or Bitcoin stacks, these treasuries also unlock 3% staking rewards — here is an in-depth look at the pioneers and their strategies.

What is an Ethereum treasury?

An ETH treasury is a corporate reserve strategy that involves purchasing and keeping Ethereum’s ether (ETH) coins on a balance sheet. Amassing ether as part of financial reserves is a rapidly accelerating investment narrative.

Companies have only recently started broadening their crypto holdings beyond Bitcoin. In June 2025, SharpLink Gaming became a trailblazer, adopting ETH as its primary reserve asset — a landmark shift in treasury strategies.

Why do companies hold ETH?

While Bitcoin is "digital gold," ether is a “productive asset” with more compelling benefits for institutional players.

• Price appreciation (ETH is up 70.6% over the past year).
• Companies can harness passive income thanks to Ethereum's native consensus mechanism — delivering around 3% APY through staking rewards.
• Earning rewards does not require heavy computational resources — or even technical infrastructure.
• ETH treasuries provide shareholders with direct exposure to blockchain technology, showcasing forward-thinking and keeping up with the times.

While Bitcoin miners consume massive resources and energy to verify blocks, Ethereum's Proof-of-Stake mechanism guarantees security via staking. Liquid staking protocols provide an extra layer of rewards without the need to run validator's nodes that each require 32 ETH.

Who holds Ethereum treasuries?

As of August 25, 2025, 16 publicly traded companies have embraced such strategies, per Ethereum Treasuries. Collectively, their combined holdings amount to about 3.37 million ETH (approximately $15.88 billion). This represents roughly 2.79% of the total supply.

The Ethereum Foundation — the non-profit behind the ecosystem — is the fourth-biggest holder behind:

• BitMine Immersion Technologies — a US-based Bitcoin mining firm that pivoted to aggressive ETH accumulation in mid-2025, under the chairmanship of Fundstrat's Tom Lee.
• Ether Machine — an Ethereum yield and infrastructure company offering turnkey solutions for enterprises, DAOs, and builders.
• SharpLink Gaming — a marketing provider for the sports betting and iGaming industries that emerged as the largest corporate ETH holder by acquiring over 280,000 ETH by mid-July 2025.

On August 12, 2025, BitMine Immersion Technologies unveiled plans to expand its ETH buying spree. For this purpose, the company intends to raise up to $20 billion via stock sales (a 5x increase in issuance capacity).

Treasuries and ETH price

Treasury growth has been a powerful catalyst for ETH price surges. In the past two months, ETH has soared over 88%, trading above $4,700 for the first time since November 2021.

How Ethereum treasury strategy works

Ethereum treasuries require a radically different approach compared to traditional asset holdings. They expose corporate balance sheets to the wild volatility of the crypto market while unlocking multifaceted yield generation.

Raising capital

At-The-Market (ATM) sales or Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) deals are the primary fundraising channels — involving public and private note sales, respectively. ATM requires SEC clearance, while PIPE often includes a discount for buyers.

Buying crypto

Companies acquire ether via over-the-counter (OTC) purchases or by buying directly through partnered exchanges. That way, they avoid market impact and secure optimal execution, crucial for institutional-grade orders.

Staking ETH

Businesses have multiple staking options catering to different liquidity needs and risk tolerance levels.

• Native staking involves running validators directly, with 32 ETH staked per each. It requires technical infrastructure, but also unlocks maximum rewards and control.
• Liquid staking does not require proprietary infrastructure — businesses may stake any amount of ETH with existing protocols like Liquid Collective or Lido. The liquid tokens received in return (e.g., stETH or LsETH) are tradable and may be deployed in DeFi applications.
• Institutional staking services are available on dedicated platforms like Figment — they leverage robust, enterprise-grade infrastructure complete with anti-slashing safeguards and compliance features.

Generating yield

Ethereum's staking mechanisms allow companies to maintain liquidity while reaping additional rewards — currently, the annual percentage yield (APY) is around 3%.

This shatters the tradeoff between maintaining operational flexibility and having to lock up assets to generate yield. As institutions receive tradable tokens for their stakes, they bypass the typical TradFi limitations.

Managing liquidity

While withdrawing natively staked ether is subject to a seven-day delay, liquid staking tokens can be used instantly. They provide companies with flexible exit strategies:

• Trading liquid staking tokens on DEXs (decentralized exchanges)
• Restaking them to secure other networks for additional yield
• Using these tokens as DeFi collateral

Optimizing revenue

Staking rewards and reinvestment opportunities fuel a compounding effect on treasuries. Companies are free to use their rewards to buy more ETH, cover operational expenses, or venture beyond basic staking yields. Utilizing liquid staking tokens in yield-generating strategies may supercharge total returns.

Pros and cons of Ethereum treasuries

The world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency grants access to a spectrum of blockchain-fueled rewards, but enticing yield rates and DeFi perks come with inherent challenges that companies must navigate with extreme caution.

Advantages of holding ETH

Diversification

Ethereum is the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap and also the foundation of DeFi and Web3. Over the past decade, cryptocurrencies have eclipsed conventional assets like stocks.

As of August 25, 2025, ETH is up 42.22% YTD and 72.72% over the past year. In comparison, the S&P 500 index (SPX) is up 9.95% and 14.77%, respectively.

Ether’s meteoric price growth after the passing of the GENIUS Act — the first stablecoin regulation in the United States — highlights its potential for explosive capital appreciation. Due to the dual benefit of staking rewards and extra yield, businesses can mitigate portfolio risk and position themselves at the vanguard of digital innovation.

DeFi & network effects

Ethereum treasuries unlock a vast array of opportunities in DeFi, from lending to liquidity farming to yield optimization — exclusive benefits Bitcoin holders do not have.

The GENIUS Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 18, 2025, provides crucial regulatory clarity that directly benefits corporate ETH holders. Most stablecoins — fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies — operate on the Ethereum blockchain, where all transaction fees (gas fees) are paid in ETH. Read our full guide here.

Growing stablecoin adoption therefore drives transaction fee revenue. For treasuries, increased network value translates into potential asset appreciation, alongside potential fee burning — Ethereum's built-in scarcity mechanism.

Staking rewards

Ethereum staking opens lucrative prospects for passive earnings. SharpLink Gaming raked in 1,326 ETH (worth over $6 million) in staking rewards in 2.5 months — between June 2, 2025 (treasury launch) and August 18, 2025.

Staking yields hovering near 3% APY ensure a predictable cash flow. So far, less than a third (28%) of all ether coins are staked, which signals massive institutional potential for productive asset management.

Ethereum treasury risks

Bitcoin treasuries pose minimal technological risks — while ETH holdings come with distinct challenges linked to smart contracts and Ethereum’s consensus mechanism.

Slashing risk

Ethereum has a punitive mechanism for dishonest validators violating its rules. Those found guilty of double voting, proposing conflicting blocks, or extended inactivity can forfeit up to 10% of their stake.

Smart contract risks

Smart contracts are automated agreements based on if-then logic. They enable parties to transact without intermediaries, but technical vulnerabilities may lead to catastrophic loss of deployed funds. Specifically, users may encounter bugs, sophisticated protocol exploits, and oracle manipulations.

Companies that reinvest their staking rewards — e.g., restake ETH on platforms like EigenLayer — or pursue yield generation strategies in DeFi face elevated technical threats.

Liquidity constraints

Native ETH staking imposes a 7-day withdrawal period, which can hamstring a company’s liquidity. In times of market stress, this limitation may trigger cash flow challenges.

Liquid staking eliminates this hurdle — tokenized representations (stETH, LsETH) may be traded instantly while accumulating staking rewards. On the flipside, the issuing protocols (Lido, Liquid Collective) add an additional smart contract risk layer, and tokens may trade at steep discounts during market turmoil.

The enormous size of institutional positions makes exits challenging. Currently, stETH DEX liquidity totals roughly $274 million — potentially crippling large-scale selling for a multi-billion dollar treasury during market stress.

Market volatility and regulatory uncertainty

Due to the use of mark-to-market accounting, firms must value their assets based on their fluctuating market price. Ether's extreme volatility, which dwarfs that of equities or gold, creates balance sheet instability and wreaks havoc on quarterly earnings through unrealized gains and losses.

Companies holding ETH must manage their portfolios with military precision. A corporate holder with over 40% of its total assets (excluding cash and government securities) in ether risks being labeledan "investment company." Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, this classification bringsextensive regulatory requirements that severely restrict operations.

Wrapping up

While mainstream businesses still hold Bitcoin, productive assets like ether offer additional benefits and exposure to the thriving Ethereum ecosystem. Staking rewards create a passive income stream and provide exposure to a high-growth digital economy.

Ether represents a strategic evolution in treasury management — blending capital appreciation with yield generation in a single, dynamic asset. As regulatory clarity improves, treasury adoption could become a cornerstone of modern corporate finance strategy.