SharpLink reports a book loss of $734 million: ETH staking business hits a new all-time high, institutions increase their investments

March 10 News, Nasdaq-listed company SharpLink (SBET) announced a net loss of $734.6 million for fiscal year 2025. Of this, $756.4 million did not come from the sale of Ethereum (ETH), but mainly from non-cash accounting expenses. Under US GAAP, the company must value digital assets based on market value. Due to ETH price declines in the second half of the year, SharpLink incurred an unrealized loss of $616.2 million, along with a $140.2 million impairment of Liquid Staking ETH (LsETH), which worsened the accounting loss. However, the company did not sell any ETH, maintaining stable inventory holdings. The net gain of $55.2 million from converting ETH to LsETH offset part of the loss.

Operationally, SharpLink’s Ethereum staking business performed well. Staking revenue in the fourth quarter reached $15.3 million, nearly 50% higher than the third quarter, with annual revenue totaling $28.1 million. Since launching the ETH treasury strategy in June 2025, the company has earned 14,516 ETH through staking rewards, with 66% from native staking, 33% from liquid staking, and 1% from liquidity re-staking. Additionally, the company internalized its treasury management business, reducing external management fees and leaving more profits for shareholders.

However, the “North Star” ETH per share metric stagnated in the fourth quarter, rising slightly from 4.00 in Q3 to 4.01, indicating that SBET has largely been unable to raise funds through value appreciation of equity. Despite this, institutional investors continued to build positions, with institutional ownership increasing from about 6% to 46%, reaching the highest level among listed ETH treasury companies. Chairman and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin pointed out that the trend of institutions launching stablecoins, tokenizing real-world assets, and DeFi solutions within the Ethereum ecosystem will continue to drive demand growth.

Market interpretations vary. “The Book of Ethereum” believes SharpLink’s corporate treasury management model has a significantly better effect on ETH than Bitcoin strategies, while Finsee remains cautious, viewing the stagnation of per-ETH share price as a potential risk signal. By the end of the year, the company’s cash and stablecoin reserves fell to $30.4 million, down from $37.8 million at the end of Q3. As Ethereum network upgrades approach, SharpLink’s 2026 outlook depends on whether ETH prices can recover, potentially reopening avenues for value-adding financing.