Buy Coins, New Wealth Code of US-listed Companies

On May 27th, in the NASDAQ trading hall, an obscure small stock caused a huge wave.

SharpLink Gaming (SBET), a small betting company with a market cap of only $10 million, announced it had acquired approximately 163,000 Ethereum (ETH) through a private equity investment of $425 million.

Once the news broke, SharpLink’s stock price skyrocketed, with gains exceeding 500% at one point.

Buying cryptocurrencies may be becoming a new secret to boosting stock prices for US-listed companies.

The story naturally begins with MicroStrategy (now renamed Strategy, stock code MSTR), the company that first ignited the fire, boldly betting on Bitcoin as early as 2020.

Over five years, it transformed from an ordinary tech company into a “Bitcoin investment pioneer.” In 2020, MicroStrategy’s stock was only in the teens; by 2025, it soared to $370, with a market cap surpassing $100 billion.

Buying crypto not only expanded MicroStrategy’s balance sheet but also made it a darling of the capital markets.

By 2025, this trend was intensifying.

From tech giants to retail giants and small betting firms, US-listed companies are using cryptocurrencies to ignite new valuation engines.

What secrets lie behind the wealth code of growing market value through buying crypto?

MicroStrategy, the textbook of crypto-stock integration

It all starts with MicroStrategy.

In 2020, this enterprise software company pioneered the crypto buying craze in the US stock market. CEO Michael Saylor once said Bitcoin is a “more reliable store of value than the dollar”;

While faith in this is exciting, what truly makes this company stand out is its approach in capital markets.

MicroStrategy’s strategy can be summarized as a “convertible bonds + Bitcoin” combination:

First, the company raises funds by issuing low-interest convertible bonds.

Since 2020, MicroStrategy has issued multiple such bonds, with interest rates as low as 0%, far below the market average. For example, in November 2024, it issued $2.6 billion in convertible bonds, with nearly zero financing cost.

These bonds allow investors to convert into company stock at a fixed price in the future, effectively providing investors with a bullish option, while enabling the company to obtain cash at very low cost.

Second, MicroStrategy invests all the raised funds into Bitcoin. Through multiple rounds of financing, it continues to add Bitcoin, making it a core component of the company’s assets.

Finally, MicroStrategy leverages the premium effect brought by Bitcoin’s price increase to activate a “flywheel effect.”

When Bitcoin’s price rose from $10,000 in 2020 to $100,000 in 2025, the company’s asset value surged, attracting more investors to buy its stock. The rising stock price then allowed MicroStrategy to issue bonds or stocks at higher valuations, raising more funds to buy more Bitcoin, forming a self-reinforcing capital cycle.

The core of this model lies in the combination of low-cost financing and high-return assets. By using convertible bonds to borrow at nearly zero cost, buying volatile but long-term bullish Bitcoin, and amplifying valuations through market enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies.

This approach not only changed MicroStrategy’s asset structure but also provided a textbook example for other US companies.

SharpLink, the shell game with no relation to alcohol

SharpLink Gaming (SBET) has optimized the above approach, using Ethereum (ETH) instead of Bitcoin as its asset.

But behind this, there is a clever combination of crypto circles and capital markets.

Its strategy can also be summarized as “shell game,” focusing on leveraging the company’s “shell” and crypto narratives to rapidly inflate valuation bubbles.

Originally, SharpLink was a struggling small company on the verge of delisting from NASDAQ, with its stock price below $1, shareholders’ equity less than $2.5 million, and heavy compliance pressure.

But it had a killer move—the NASDAQ listing status.

This “shell” attracted the attention of crypto giants: ConsenSys, led by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin.

In May 2025, ConsenSys, together with several crypto venture capital firms (such as ParaFi Capital, Pantera Capital), led a $425 million PIPE (private investment in public equity) to acquire SharpLink.

They issued 69.1 million new shares at $6.15 each, quickly gaining over 90% control of SharpLink, avoiding the cumbersome IPO or SPAC process. Joe Lubin was appointed chairman of the board, and ConsenSys explicitly stated it would cooperate with SharpLink to explore the “Ethereum treasury strategy.”

Some say this is the ETH version of MicroStrategy, but in fact, the approach is even more sophisticated.

The real purpose of this deal is not to improve SharpLink’s gambling business but to turn it into a bridgehead for entering the crypto capital market.

ConsenSys plans to use this $425 million to buy about 163,000 ETH, packaging it as an “Ethereum version of MicroStrategy,” claiming ETH is a “digital reserve asset.”

The capital market is all about “story premiums.” This narrative not only attracts speculative capital but also provides institutions that cannot directly hold ETH with a “public ETH proxy.”

Buying crypto is just the first step; SharpLink’s real “magic” lies in the flywheel effect. Its operation can be broken down into a three-step cycle:

Step 1: Low-cost fundraising.

SharpLink raises $425 million through PIPE at $6.15 per share, a much lower cost than IPO or SPAC, with no need for lengthy roadshows or regulatory procedures.

Step 2: Market enthusiasm drives up the stock price.

Investors are ignited by the story of “Ethereum version of MicroStrategy,” causing the stock to soar. Market enthusiasm far exceeds its asset value, with investors willing to pay prices well above the net value of its ETH holdings. This “psychological premium” rapidly inflates SharpLink’s market cap.

SharpLink also plans to stake these ETH tokens on the Ethereum network, earning an annualized yield of 3%-5%.

Step 3: Re-financing in a cycle. With a higher stock price, it can issue more shares to raise additional funds, buy more ETH, and repeat, causing the valuation to snowball.

Behind this “capital magic,” there are shadows of bubbles.

SharpLink’s core business—gambling marketing—is almost irrelevant; the $425 million ETH investment plan is completely disconnected from its fundamentals. Its stock price surges are driven more by speculation and crypto narratives.

The truth is, crypto capital can also use “shell + buying crypto” models to quickly inflate valuation bubbles by leveraging some small- and medium-sized listed companies’ shells.

The intention is not necessarily related to the company’s core business; sometimes, the shell is just a tool.

Imitation is not foolproof

While buying crypto seems to be a “wealth secret” for US-listed companies, it is not foolproof.

Many later entrants are following this path.

On May 28th, GameStop, the retail giant that once made headlines with retail investors’ battle against Wall Street, announced it would buy 4,710 BTC for $512.6 million, attempting to replicate MicroStrategy’s success. But the market reaction was tepid: after the announcement, GameStop’s stock fell 10.9%, and investors were not convinced.

On May 15th, Addentax Group Corp (stock code ATXG), a Chinese textile and apparel company, announced plans to buy 8,000 BTC and Trump’s TRUMP coin by issuing common stock. At current Bitcoin prices of $108,000, this purchase would cost over $800 million.

However, the company’s total market cap is only about $4.5 million, meaning its theoretical crypto purchase cost exceeds 100 times its market value.

Almost simultaneously, another Chinese US-listed company, Jiuzi Holdings (stock code JZXN), also joined the crypto buying frenzy.

It announced plans to buy 1,000 BTC within a year, costing over $100 million.

Public information shows Jiuzi is a Chinese company focused on new energy vehicle retail, founded in 2019. Its retail stores are mainly in third- and fourth-tier cities in China.

But its NASDAQ market cap is only around $50 million.

The stock price is indeed rising, but the key is the match between market cap and crypto purchase cost.

For many latecomers, if Bitcoin’s price drops and they actually buy, their balance sheets will face huge pressure.

Buying crypto is not a universal wealth secret. Without fundamentals support and with excessive leverage, gambling on crypto may just be a risky path to a bubble burst.

Another way out

Despite the risks, the crypto buying craze still has the potential to become a new normal.

In 2025, global inflation pressures and US dollar depreciation expectations persist, and more companies are beginning to see Bitcoin and Ethereum as “inflation hedges.” Japan’s Metaplanet has already increased its market value through Bitcoin treasury strategies, and more US-listed companies are accelerating their imitation of MicroStrategy.

Under this trend, cryptocurrencies are increasingly appearing in global political and economic arenas.

Is this not a form of “breaking out” that crypto circles often talk about?

Overall, the main paths for cryptocurrencies to break into the mainstream are twofold: the rise of stablecoins and crypto reserves on corporate balance sheets.

On the surface, stablecoins provide a stable medium for payments, savings, and remittances in the crypto market, reducing volatility and promoting widespread crypto adoption. But fundamentally, they are an extension of dollar hegemony.

Take USDC as an example. Its issuer, Circle, has close ties with the US government and holds large amounts of US Treasuries as reserves. This not only reinforces the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency but also, through stablecoin circulation, further extends the influence of the US financial system into the global crypto market.

The other path is the one discussed earlier—companies buying crypto.

Crypto-buying companies attract speculative capital through crypto narratives, pushing up stock prices. But aside from a few leading companies, how much can the fundamentals of other imitators really improve their core business?

Whether through stablecoins or crypto assets on corporate balance sheets, crypto assets seem more like tools to continue or reinforce existing financial structures.

Whether it is a “harvest” for the latecomers or a form of financial innovation depends on which side of the coin you are sitting on at the card table. **$TRX **$HTX