This surge in institutional demand is fueled by strong ETF inflows, as well as ETH’s staking and DeFi utility. It also contributed to Ethereum’s recent price outperformance. Major players like BitMine Immersion Technologies, Sharplink, and newcomer Ether Machine are leading the charge, collectively amassing over 1.4 million ETH. Standard Chartered predicts that corporate entities could eventually hold up to 10% of ETH’s total supply.
Corporations Race to Buy Ethereum
Corporations are increasingly turning their attention to Ethereum, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, as a preferred treasury asset. A new report by Standard Chartered revealed that Ethereum-focused treasury firms acquired 1% of ETH’s total supply since the beginning of June 2025.
Over the same period, these firms doubled the pace of investment compared to their Bitcoin-focused counterparts. This contributed a lot to Ethereum’s outperformance against Bitcoin.
ETH held by Ethereum treasury companies (Source: Standard Chartered)
This growing appetite for ETH among institutional investors is being attributed to several key drivers. Standard Chartered mentioned that strong inflows into US spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), alongside robust corporate demand, fueled the recent gains in ETH’s price. Although Ethereum is still trading more than 21% below its all-time high of $4,890 that was reached in November 2021, the bank still has a bullish year-end price target of $4,000 and suggests that continued accumulation could drive prices even higher.
Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum offers additional yield-generating opportunities through staking and decentralized finance (DeFi). Standard Chartered pointed out that corporate ETH treasuries can capitalize on both, unlike Ethereum ETFs in the US, which are currently restricted from participating in staking. This gives Ethereum a unique edge as a treasury asset, and the bank predicts that these firms could eventually control up to 10% of the entire ETH supply. This is a tenfold increase from current holdings.
BitMine Immersion Technologies is the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, as it now holds about 625,000 ETH—about 0.52% of the circulating supply. The company announced a $1 billion stock repurchase plan, and plans to increase its ETH holdings to 5% of the total supply.
Close behind is Sharplink, a Nasdaq-listed firm that recently spent $290 million to acquire over 438,000 ETH in less than a week. A new player, the Ether Machine, also announced plans to build one of the largest on-chain ETH treasuries, targeting more than 400,000 ETH worth $1.5 billion and a future listing under the ticker “ETHM.” Collectively, these moves suggest that institutional conviction in Ethereum’s long-term value proposition is stronger than ever.
