Why Ethereum is Roaring
Ben Lilly explains that Ethereum soared recently due to a major, unannounced accumulation of ETH by a publicly traded company—SharpLink Gaming. The Ethereum Foundation sold 10,000 ETH via an OTC transaction on July 11, which typically signals a market peak. But this sale went entirely off exchange to SharpLink, which already held over 176,000 ETH and raised capital to keep growing its treasury—part of a newly emergent trend called Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs).
SharpLink isn’t alone—BitMine quickly followed with its own ETH purchases, pushing its holdings above 300,000 tokens. These corporate ETH treasuries are mimicking MicroStrategy’s successful bitcoin treasury approach, but for Ethereum.
Lilly also links this surge to the passage of stablecoin regulation—the GENIUS Act and Clarity Act—bringing clarity and confidence to on-chain stablecoins, of which over 55% reside on Ethereum. More than 85% of actively circulating stablecoins operate on Ethereum and its Layer-2 networks, fueling on-chain economic activity.
In essence: big institutional capital is now treating ETH as a treasury asset, supported by regulatory clarity and booming stablecoin usage—creating a powerful catalyst for further growth. The article argues this marks a historic “frenzy” that may ignite the broader crypto market.
