TL;DR:
- SharpLink, the world’s second-largest institutional Ethereum holder, noted that structural adoption indicators continue to grow.
- With 38.7 million ETH staked and exchange balances at multi-year lows, the supply available for selling is steadily shrinking.
- U.S. spot ETH ETFs recorded positive flows in April and BlackRock announced the tokenization of a multi-billion-dollar money market fund on Ethereum.
SharpLink, the world’s second-largest institutional Ethereum holder, published an analysis arguing that the structural indicators of institutional adoption of Ethereum continue to strengthen, even as the token’s price remains depressed relative to its all-time highs.
The company, formerly known as Sharplink Gaming, holds approximately 863,000 ETH valued at roughly $1.89 billion, though it has not made significant purchases since October 2025. Its central argument is that long-term fundamentals are decoupling from short-term price action.
The last few months have been volatile for the price of ETH. But in parallel, the structural indicators of long-term institutional adoption of Ethereum continued to build.
A look at the data. 🧵
— Sharplink (@Sharplink) May 12, 2026
SharpLink: Fundamentals That Ethereum’s Price Has Yet to Reflect
SharpLink highlighted that the total volume of ETH in staking reached 38.7 million units, equivalent to 32% of the total supply and valued at around $89 billion. Staking deposits did not slow even during the 50% drop from the 2025 peak, which the firm interprets as a signal of conviction in Ethereum’s yield layer.
Additionally, ETH balances on exchanges fell to 15 million units, a multi-year low, reducing the supply available for sale. Long-term holders, with positions of more than six months, did not liquidate during the most recent periods of volatility. Short-term buyers, for their part, are operating at breakeven with an MVRV of 1.0.
Ethereum as Financial Infrastructure
Flows into spot ETH ETFs in the United States returned to positive territory in April, after several months of net outflows. Meanwhile, BlackRock announced the tokenization of a multi-billion-dollar money market fund on Ethereum, and JP Morgan launched a second tokenized fund on the same network. Adding to this was the launch of a $125 million DeFi yield fund powered by Ethereum, a joint initiative by Galaxy, the firm of Mike Novogratz, and SharpLink itself.
Despite all of this, the price of ETH hovers around $2,300 and has fallen nearly 54% from its all-time high in August 2025. Markets have yet to price in the fundamentals the company describes.
