SharpLink Adds 10,000 ETH at a Loss as Tom Lee Calls Peak Fear
The Ethereum treasury firm paid $1,611 an ETH and was instantly underwater, even as Fundstrat's Tom Lee says crypto fear runs deeper than after FTX.
SharpLink bought 10,000 ETH this week and was underwater on it almost immediately. The Ethereum treasury company paid an average of $1,611 per coin, according to a company statement. ETH traded near $1,570 at press time. That left the fresh tranche in the red within days.
A buyback funded by new stock
The buy lifted SharpLink's stash to 886,725 ETH as of June 28, worth roughly $1.4 billion and second only to BitMine among corporate holders. SharpLink paired it with a stock buyback, repurchasing 2,132,773 shares at $4.69 for close to $10 million. The cash came from a $75 million stock offering priced at about a 41% premium last week. CEO Joseph Chalom framed both as one trade. "We had the opportunity to buy ETH and repurchase our stock at attractive valuations, so we did both," he said in a post.
Buying well above today's price
The timing is the story. ETH set a record near $4,946 in August 2025 and has since shed roughly 69% of its value, including about 23% in the past month. SharpLink built most of its treasury well above current levels, and the firm only recently resumed buying after an eight-month pause.
Tom Lee's contrarian case
Tom Lee, the Fundstrat strategist who chairs rival BitMine, says the mood is about as dark as it gets. "The fear greed index is worse today than it was after the FTX debacle. So, usually that's a good time to be buying something," he said in a recent interview, pointing to falling Google searches and a record-low RSI. BitMine, the largest Ethereum treasury firm, disclosed about 5.7 million ETH and $9.8 billion in crypto and cash this week, more than six times SharpLink's position.
Lee argues Ethereum's price is lagging its fundamentals, citing AI and tokenization, and has waved off funding worries tied to staff exits at the Ethereum Foundation. Staking income has helped firms like SharpLink paper over the slump's losses. Whether this week's buying marks a bottom or just deeper conviction is the part nobody can answer yet.
Sources
- Ethereum Whale Tom Lee Flags Peak Market Fear as SharpLink Buys 10,000 ETH · BeInCrypto
Disclosure
Our stories are produced with a combination of human writers and AI tools, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Read more in our editorial policy. This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or legal advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money — always do your own research.