❎ SEC Drops Binance Lawsuit. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed its civil case against crypto exchange Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao.
🪙 Trump Media to Buy BTC with $2.32B Raise. The company closed a private placement involving 50 institutional investors and will use the $2.32B in net proceeds to build a Bitcoin treasury.
☑️ Sui Backs Cetus Recovery Plan. After a $223M exploit, the Sui community approved a governance proposal to unlock $162M in frozen attacker funds and return them to Cetus via a multisig trust.
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Daily Market Snapshot: As the legal back and forth around Trump's tariffs kept risk assets jittery Friday, both BTC and ETH slid 2% on the day amid the policy fog.
Ethereum now has the Strategic ETH Reserve (SER)—a growing list of public organizations holding ETH on their balance sheets.
What started as a meme is quickly becoming a movement.
Just like Saylor used Strategy (fka MicroStrategy) to evangelize BTC, the Strategic ETH Reserve turns ETH into a treasury strategy—and a signal. From SharpLink to Coinbase to Bankless, companies are putting skin in the game and saying: Ethereum matters.
But what exactly is the Strategic ETH Reserve? Why would an organization do this? And what’s the upside of investing in SER-aligned companies instead of just buying ETH?
Let’s break it down.
Why Launch a Strategic ETH Reserve?
In short: to build conviction, create scarcity, and signal alignment with Ethereum’s long-term vision.
In other words…
It shows skin in the game ETH isn't just infrastructure. It's collateral, yield-bearing capital, and internet-native money. Holding it demonstrates belief in the protocol you're building on.
It unlocks Wall Street-style flywheels Just like Strategy did with BTC, companies like SharpLink ($SBET) are now issuing stock, buying ETH, staking it, and using that narrative to drive more interest and more capital.
It creates public ETH proxies Not all investors can hold ETH directly. SER-aligned companies give institutions and retail access to ETH exposure through equities, creating new capital funnels into the ecosystem.
It compresses supply Every time ETH moves into a strategic treasury, it comes off the market, which tightens float and potentially accelerates price discovery.
The SharpLink Playbook
The largest and loudest entry into the Strategic ETH Reserve so far came via SharpLink ($SBET), a microcap company that just raised $425 million to become a full-on ETH treasury vehicle. The deal flips 90% control to the ETH group—no SPAC, no IPO roadshow, just a Nasdaq ticker and 120,000 ETH (worth ~$425M at the time of the raise) headed into staking.
It’s the Strategy of Ethereum—but instead of Bitcoin maxis, it’s backed by Joe Lubin and ConsenSys.
Eric Conner summed it up perfectly:
4/ Flywheel: 1. Raise cash below net asset value 2. Buy + stake ETH 3. If stock trades above ETH per share, raise more cash 4. Repeat. MicroStrategy cycle, ETH edition.
Why Invest in the ETH Reserve Instead of Just ETH?
Holding ETH is great.
But SER-aligned equities offer something different: leveraged ETH exposure, recurring staking yield, and growth potential tied to a narrative with teeth.
Let’s say $SBET trades above its ETH-per-share value. That premium becomes a source of capital—letting the company raise more money, buy more ETH, and increase its flywheel velocity.
In other words: ETH, but with compounding upside (and risk).
SER companies are also easier for traditional investors to buy into. They’re listed on public markets, don’t require self-custody, and come with corporate disclosures. That makes them ideal ETH onramps for institutions.
How to Join the Strategic ETH Reserve
Joining the SER is simple:
Hold ETH on your balance sheet Whether you're a company, DAO, protocol, or media org, hold ETH as a core part of your treasury strategy. It can be staked, productive, or just conviction-based.
Submit your wallet address Once you’re ready to commit, share your ETH-holding wallet address atStrategicETHReserve.xyz. The community will verify and list your organization as part of the SER.
Bottom Line
Ethereum has gained its own Bitcoin-style treasury narrative, and it’s spreading fast.
It's not just a meme, either. It’s a bet on Ethereum as a reserve-grade asset. It’s a movement toward ETH-backed balance sheets. And it’s a new narrative for the next wave of capital to rally around.
ETH has returned over 850,000% since launch, more than any other investment in that time period. And as more companies and institutions are going long here, a new era of opportunity is upon us.
Unlock the power of Unichain – a fast, decentralized Ethereum Layer 2 network built to be the home for DeFi and cross-chain liquidity. To bridge tokens to Unichain and start swapping today, get started with Uniswap Labs’ web app or mobile wallet.
Not financial or tax advice. Bankless content is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time to time, we may add links in this newsletter to products we use. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless team holds crypto assets.
