SharpLink allocates $200 million to Ethereum staking through Lido to diversify treasury returns
Key Facts
Lido said on August 13, 2026 that SharpLink had allocated $200 million from its Ethereum treasury to staking through the protocol, expanding the company's avenues for generating returns on its assets. The arrangement includes SharpLink holding wstETH tokens on its balance sheet, according to the protocol's announcement. Anchorage Digital provides custody for these tokens under the arrangement. The allocation adds liquid staking to a strategy that also includes deploying assets on the Linea network. SharpLink had completed deploying an equivalent value of Ethereum assets on that network by March 17, 2026, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Lido arrangement allows SharpLink to hold a token that can be redeemed through the protocol's withdrawal mechanism, according to Lido's statement. The token can also be sold or pledged as collateral, providing options for using staked assets in treasury management. wstETH balances remain constant, according to Lido's explanation of how the token works. Staking rewards are reflected in its conversion rate against stETH, rather than increasing the balance of tokens held. This mechanism combines the accrual of staking rewards with the ability to transact with the token the company holds, through the options outlined by the protocol.
The Linea arrangement began with a plan SharpLink announced in October 2025 to allocate $200 million in Ethereum for deployment on the network. This avenue includes working with Ether.fi and restaking through EigenCloud, alongside deployment on Linea. The company said in its filing that the strategy combines "native Ethereum yield and restaking rewards," as well as partner incentives. The initial commitment to transfer weETH tokens to Linea runs for 24 months, according to its quarterly report. Under the agreement, SharpLink is entitled to monthly protocol incentives funded by Ether.fi, Linea and EigenCloud, calculated based on the value of assets measured at month-end and subject to contractual limits.
These allocations build on a staking policy that predates the Lido agreement, according to comments by SharpLink's chief executive in February 2026. He said at the time that the company "stakes approximately 100% of its Ethereum holdings and has staked its holdings from the outset." Revenue from native staking rewards totaled $8,575 thousand in the three months ended June 30, 2026, according to the company's quarterly report. Revenue from the same source totaled $18,693 thousand in the six months ended on the same date. These revenues fall under native staking rewards, while the Linea agreement also provides for monthly incentives funded by protocol partners.
Treasury diversification also extended to a partnership with Galaxy that SharpLink announced in May 2026. The partnership included a $100 million commitment from SharpLink's staked Ethereum treasury to a joint fund, according to the company's statement. Galaxy, in turn, announced a $25 million commitment to the fund. SharpLink said Galaxy would manage the investment, adding a return-management avenue to its direct protocol allocations. The shift to an Ethereum treasury strategy began with the announcement of a private placement in May 2025, with expected gross proceeds of approximately $425,000,000 before placement agent fees and other expenses.
On its shareholder base, SharpLink said in a statement dated August 18, 2026 that institutional ownership had risen to nearly 60%. The increase was about 12 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to the statement. The company named Fidelity and BlackRock among its largest reported shareholders at the end of June. Alongside its use of institutional custody, SharpLink warned in its quarterly report of risks from smart contract vulnerabilities, protocol failures and validator issues. It said these risks could lead to "partial or complete loss of staked or deployed assets," which are covered by its treasury yield-generation strategies.