- Joe Lubin met Michael Saylor and decided to investigate holding Ether in a corporate treasury.
- His firm raised $425 million to buy Ether and set up staking validators.
- Plans include cautious fundraising, managing debt below 15%, and reinvesting staking rewards.
In 2024, Joe Lubin began considering a new approach to managing digital assets after a discussion with Michael Saylor. The conversation focused on holding cryptocurrency as part of a company’s treasury. Over the next few months, Lubin and his team explored the idea more deeply. This led to a decision to support a firm focused on Ether accumulation. The move came as Ethereum’s price fluctuated and interest in alternative treasury strategies grew. Lubin outlined the steps taken and the reasons behind the shift in a recent interview.
joe Lubin Invests in Ether Treasury Strategy
Approximately six months ago, during a private dinner event, the co-founder and CEO of a prominent Ethereum software company was introduced to the idea of deploying treasury capital into digital tokens. At that dinner with the most widely recognized advocate for holding large volumes of Bitcoin on corporate balance sheets, joe Lubin became intrigued by the potential for creating a similar vehicle for Ether. After returning to his firm, Consensys, he initiated a period of internal research and discussions. No significant due diligence on a company-wide scale had been carried out at that time, as the conversation was still in its early stages. By late 2024, the decision to form a new entity dedicated to purchasing and holding Ether was announced. Consensys provided seed funding and strategic support, leading a $425 million private placement for a gaming technology firm to become an Ether treasury company. Serving as chairman, the Ethereum co-founder determined that the potential risks were manageable and committed to moving forward with the plan. It was noted that Ether had declined by 26 percent over the first half of the year, while Bitcoin had gained about 11 percent. These contrasting performance metrics became central to the strategy discussion.
Collaboration Between joe Lubin and Michael Saylor
The initial spark for this strategic shift came from a dinner event featuring the CEO of a leading Bitcoin treasury company. The guest was the same advocate whose firm’s shares traded at roughly 14 times adjusted EBITDA, a level that sat between fast-growing payment processors and more mature exchange operators. joe Lubin and his colleagues observed how that premium reflected strong market appetite for a token-backed equity proxy. After the dinner, detailed conversations took place within Consensys about the feasibility of replicating that model with Ether. During those discussions, Lubin noted that key revenue streams on Bitcoin—such as issuance fees on stablecoin activities and interest income on reserves—provided a benchmark for potential future earnings of an Ether-backed vehicle. It also became clear that Ethereum’s role as the so-called “crypto commercial highway,” with thousands of decentralized applications in gaming and lending, offered additional utility that Bitcoin did not. By January 2025, formal plans were in place. The Ethereum co-founder, now serving as chairman of the gaming technology firm’s board, aligned with Saylor’s approach. The strategy mirrored stock issuances and convertible bonds used previously to raise funds for Bitcoin purchases. The dinner event that occurred around December 2024 proved to be the catalyst for this new type of crypto treasury vehicle.
SharpLink Gaming’s $425 Million Private Placement to Purchase Ether
In late May 2025, the sports betting and gaming technology firm announced the completion of a $425 million private placement. The funding round was led by Consensys, the Ethereum software provider founded by joe Lubin. The purpose was to acquire Ether for the firm’s treasury, with the goal of building a substantial position over time. At that moment, Ether was trading near $2,000 per token, down from its all-time high in late 2021. Additional capital was planned to be raised to expand the treasury. In comparison, the Bitcoin-focused company that adopted a similar strategy in 2020 had accumulated over 150,000 Bitcoin by mid-2025, valued at approximately $6 billion even after accounting for price volatility. That historical performance influenced the decision to replicate the model with Ether. The private placement was structured to offer a fixed price per share to selected investors, each share representing a claim on a specified amount of Ether net of operational expenses. Lubin emphasized a conservative approach to avoid overexposure. The first tranche represented nearly 10 percent of the total targeted treasury, with plans to issue further shares at intervals when market conditions aligned with the firm’s risk tolerance.
SharpLink Shares Surge and Subsequent Decline
Immediately following the May 27 announcement, SharpLink’s stock experienced dramatic movement. In the three trading sessions after the disclosure, share prices increased by roughly 1,000 percent, even though the stock had declined more than 50 percent over the previous three years. The rally reflected investor enthusiasm for a publicly traded Ether proxy, despite Ether’s broader market decline of 26 percent over the first half of 2025. By Monday, June 2, the stock had retraced approximately 40 percent of its gains, as short-term traders engaged in profit-taking once the price reached certain thresholds. Trading volumes during that first bounce were nearly five times the average daily turnover. Market sentiment played a significant role, coinciding with a short-lived rebound in cryptocurrency prices ahead of Ethereum’s scheduled mid-June network upgrade. Many retail investors had purchased shares expecting a sustained rise, but once they realized that the listing price was based on Ether’s value at the time of the private placement, sell orders surged. Institutional holders, which controlled a large portion of the available float, limited share supply, amplifying price swings. Despite this volatility, joe Lubin and other executives emphasized that these price movements were a secondary concern, since the primary objective was to accumulate Ether at reasonable prices and to set up staking operations that would secure the Ethereum network.
Fundraising Plans and Capital Allocation by joe Lubin
Following the initial placement, Lubin indicated plans for further capital raises. He referenced the model used in 2020 by the Bitcoin treasury firm, which had issued both equity and convertible bonds to finance token purchases. In April 2025, that Bitcoin-focused company had raised $1 billion through zero-coupon convertible notes, with proceeds earmarked specifically for Bitcoin. Lubin suggested a similar structure for raising additional capital for Ether, provided risk metrics stayed within predetermined thresholds. Equity issuances would offer new shares to accredited investors at a slight discount to the fair market value of Ether after operational costs. Convertible debt, with maturities of three to five years, would allow conversion into equity at a price set at approximately a 15 percent premium to Ether’s spot price at issuance. The company also planned strategic partnerships with institutional funds and family offices that maintained a long-term view on cryptocurrency, thereby reducing reliance on retail capital. As of late May 2025, the treasury held around 80,000 Ether, valued at roughly $160 million. Lubin expressed confidence that raising an additional $100 million to $150 million within the next quarter was feasible under stable regulatory conditions. That target would bring total treasury holdings to about 180,000 Ether, valued near $360 million at mid-2025 prices.
Managing Risk and Avoiding Over-Leverage
A crucial consideration in any token-backed treasury strategy is leverage. joe Lubin repeatedly stated that over-leveraging could pose significant risks if Ether’s price declined sharply. He noted that the Bitcoin treasury company had maintained a debt-to-asset ratio below 20 percent and had navigated a price drop of over 50 percent in 2022 without distress by timing debt maturities and having fixed-rate obligations. In comparison, the Ether treasury strategy aimed to maintain a debt ratio under 15 percent. Safe borrowing limits were established so that any convertible bond issuance would cap annual interest expenses at no more than 2 percent of total yield generated from staking Ether. Monthly stress tests projected scenarios in which Ether’s price might drop by 30 percent and staking rewards fall by 10 percent; under those conditions, the debt-to-assets ratio would rise to no more than 25 percent, still within acceptable historical ranges. A reserve allocation mandate required that at least 20 percent of all incoming capital be held in fiat or stablecoins to cover operating costs and bond interest payments for the first 12 months. These measures ensured that even if Ether’s value fell to near $1,200—their lowest point in 2025—the treasury vehicle could continue operating without forced asset sales. By June 2025, Ethereum’s total staked assets exceeded 20 million Ether in the network, demonstrating healthy security and yield opportunities. Lubin believed that prudent risk management would allow the company to capture staking yields while mitigating downside.
Market Demand for Ether and Future Outlook According to joe Lubin
By mid-2025, several firms had approached Lubin seeking guidance on replicating the Ether treasury model. He noted that demand for Ether would likely increase significantly as more treasury vehicles emerged. One key factor was the upcoming network upgrade scheduled for June 15, 2025, which aimed to improve network efficiency and reduce transaction fees by about 20 percent. At that time, Ethereum’s proof-of-stake mechanism provided an average annual percentage yield of around 4 percent, projected to decline to 3.5 percent by year-end due to increased validator participation. Even with that decline, staking remained a core incentive for treasury vehicles. Additionally, decentralized finance applications on Ethereum had reached a combined total value locked of $80 billion by May 2025, up from $50 billion at the start of the year. Many DeFi protocols required collateral in Ether, sustaining baseline demand. Institutional interest was also rising, with at least three hedge funds announcing intentions to launch Ether exchange-traded products by the fourth quarter of 2025. Investors focused on the narrative that Ether’s role as the foundational asset for decentralized applications would drive future value. By structuring a well-governed treasury and staking Ether, treasury companies could participate in network security, earn yield, and contribute to consensus without active trading.
Ethereum vs Bitcoin: joe Lubin’s Perspective on Value and Growth
While the Bitcoin treasury model had been proven over the past five years, the Ethereum-focused strategy presented unique considerations. Bitcoin’s narrative as “digital gold” was clear; Ether’s narrative had been less cohesive due to its broader utility across smart contracts, decentralized finance, and non-fungible token platforms. joe Lubin argued that Ether’s commercial uses would drive value over time, even if price volatility remained higher than Bitcoin’s. By the end of May 2025, Bitcoin had finished the first half of the year up 11 percent, while Ether was down 26 percent, despite a 15 percent rally in early June following a major upgrade. In terms of supply metrics, Bitcoin’s capped supply of 21 million coins contrasted with Ethereum’s issuance policy, which allowed for roughly 4 percent annual supply growth. However, the burn mechanism introduced by Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559 had removed approximately 1.2 million Ether from circulation during the first half of 2025. That deflationary pressure led Lubin to estimate that Ether’s net supply growth could drop to around 1 percent annually by the end of 2025. Gas fees on Ethereum had fallen from 50 gwei in early 2025 to 40 gwei post-upgrade, making transactions more affordable and encouraging higher on-chain activity. From a treasury perspective, the volatility meant firms needed a larger risk buffer when accumulating Ether. Nonetheless, with burn rates outpacing issuance, scarcity would support higher valuations over the medium term. While some investors shifted exclusively to Bitcoin, Lubin maintained that a diversified crypto treasury—including both Bitcoin and Ether—could offer balanced exposure. He believed that, as decentralized applications proliferated, Ether’s role as network fuel would become increasingly important. By staking Ether, treasury vehicles could earn yield and contribute to network security, reinforcing long-term value.
The Role of Staking in Treasury Companies Led by joe Lubin
One significant advantage of holding Ether as a treasury asset is staking tokens to secure the network and earn rewards. In early 2025, Ethereum’s proof-of-stake mechanism offered an average annual percentage yield of 4 percent, projected to decline to about 3.5 percent by year-end due to increased validator participation. Even if yields decreased, staking remained crucial for treasury vehicles aiming to combine asset appreciation with passive income. The treasury company under Lubin’s guidance planned to allocate an initial 10 percent of holdings, around 8,000 Ether, to set up dedicated validator nodes, each requiring 32 Ether. That meant configuring roughly 250 individual validators. Additionally, 20 percent of Ether holdings would be staked via reputable third-party services to diversify counterparty risk. The remaining 70 percent would stay in self-custody cold wallets, ensuring that only staking withdrawals required hot wallet access. This approach minimized security risks. Staking rewards would be reinvested monthly to compound yield, subject to network withdrawal constraints. By June 2025, a total of 20 million Ether—over 16 percent of the circulating supply—was staked across all networks, indicating a robust ecosystem. If the planned upgrade successfully lowered gas costs and increased transaction throughput by 15 percent, decentralized finance activity could accelerate, incentivizing further staking. The treasury modeled worst-case slashing scenarios, factoring potential losses up to 0.01 percent of staked assets. As of mid-2025, no significant slashing events had occurred on Ethereum’s mainnet since its September 2022 merge, reinforcing confidence in the staking strategy.
Potential for Long-Term Growth in the Ethereum Ecosystem
joe Lubin emphasized that his ambitions extended beyond short-term trading gains. He described himself as a builder in the Ethereum ecosystem, contrasting that identity with exploitative strategies often seen in speculative markets. He believed Ethereum’s evolving protocol—characterized by regular software upgrades and a shift toward sustainability—would underpin decades of growth. Scheduled improvements every six to twelve months, such as the planned Sharding v2.0 upgrade by late 2025, were expected to increase transaction capacity by up to 70 percent. Since implementing EIP-1559 in mid-2021, over 4 million Ether had been burned by May 2025, creating deflationary pressure. Institutional adoption was also on the rise, with at least five major financial institutions publicly disclosing exploratory projects on Ethereum by the second quarter of 2025. Developers building Ethereum-based applications totaled around 20,000 monthly active contributors by mid-2025, up 33 percent from early 2024. Given these metrics, treasury companies holding Ether could benefit from multiple tailwinds, including staking yields, protocol-driven scarcity, and broader enterprise integration. Lubin projected that if the total value locked in decentralized finance reached $120 billion by year-end—a 50 percent increase from May 2025—then Ether demand would outpace supply growth by a ratio of three to one. He maintained that a conservative approach to accumulating Ether, combined with strategic staking, could capture these growth opportunities without exposing the company to undue risk.
Conclusion
The decision to launch an Ether treasury company was influenced by a six-month research period initiated at a dinner with a prominent Bitcoin advocate. Following the model of equity issuances and convertible bonds, the firm raised $425 million in May 2025 to purchase Ether. Despite sharp stock volatility, with an initial near 1,000 percent rally followed by a 40 percent pullback, the strategy focused on accumulating Ether, staking assets for network security, and avoiding excessive leverage. With Ethereum’s ongoing upgrades, burning mechanisms, and rising decentralized finance activity, proponents believe the long-term outlook for Ether remains positive.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The article does not offer sufficient information to make investment decisions, nor does it constitute an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument. The content is opinion of the author and does not reflect any view or suggestion or any kind of advise from CryptoNewsBytes.com. The author declares he does not hold any of the above mentioned tokens or received any incentive from any company.
