The total value of the second largest cryptocurrency on the balance sheets of companies reached $10.53 billion. According to Strategic ETH Reserve, 65 companies hold 2.73 million ETH on their balance sheets, or 2.26% of the total Ethereum supply.
The largest holder of Ether is Bitmine Immersion Tech. The company linked to Fundstrat researcher Tom Lee has reached 625,000 ETH ($2.41 billion) in “digital holdings,” up 283% in the last 30 days.
In second place is SharpLink, whose chairman is Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin. According to Lookonchain, the company spent 43.09 million USDC on July 31 to buy 11,259 ETH at $3,828 per coin. The company now has 449,276 ETH in its reserves, worth approximately $1.73 billion.
The Ether Machine moved into third place in the ranking. On July 30, the company reported the acquisition of 15,000 ETH worth $56.9 million at a price of $3,809.97 per coin.
The volume of Ether on the company's balance sheet reached 334,757 ETH, significantly exceeding the figure of the non-profit organization Ethereum Foundation (~234,600 ETH).
It is noteworthy that The Ether Machine has an extremely low Multiple on Net Asset Value (MNAV) of only 0.14. For comparison, Bitmine has 1.74, and the second on the list, SharpLink, has 1.49.
MNAV is calculated as the ratio of the company's capitalization to the dollar value of the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. Many investors view an MNAV below 1 as a warning sign — it may indicate miscalculations in strategy, an opaque structure, and/or low operational efficiency. In such cases, even an increase in crypto reserves cannot compensate for the decrease in this indicator.
For Ethereum's Anniversary
The Ether Machine representatives emphasized that the latest acquisition is timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
“We couldn’t imagine a better way to commemorate Ethereum’s 10th birthday than by deepening our commitment to Ether,” Keys stated. He added that the company was “just getting started. Our goal is to accumulate, grow, and support Ethereum for the long term — not just as a financial asset, but as the foundation of a new internet economy,” said co-founder Andrew Keys.
The Ether Machine was formed in 2025 through the merger of The Ether Reserve and Nasdaq-listed Dynamix Corp. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The combined company then plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ETHM and raise $1.6 billion.
Over the past 24 hours, the price of Ethereum has increased by 1.5%. The asset is trading around $3,865, according to CoinGecko.
Bitwise Warns
Companies with Ethereum reserves have contributed to the popularity of the second-largest cryptocurrency among participants in TradFi, says Bitwise investment director Matt Hougan. According to him, corporations have “packaged” the asset in a format understandable to traditional investors.
The expert emphasized that for a long time Ethereum “could not offer” the profitability options that are typical for TradFi.
"But if you take $1 billion of ETH and you put it into a company and you stake it, all of a sudden, you're generating earnings. And investors are really used to companies that generate earnings," Hougan said.
In the 10 years since its mainnet launch in July 2015, Ethereum has evolved from a niche project for internet enthusiasts into an institutional-grade asset, as evidenced by growing interest from major players.
However, the expert warned that it is important for companies accumulating Ether through bond placements and share issues to carefully manage their debt levels and interest expenses to avoid financial risks.
Hougan advised companies using Ethereum in treasury reserves as a hedge against inflation to take a long-term approach, saying short-term volatility could hurt those hoping for quick gains.
He pointed out that companies also face currency risks – the mismatch between assets and liabilities in different currencies. This is especially relevant against the backdrop of a potential market collapse, in which case there is likely to be a shortage of funds to cover expenses.
However, Hougan stressed that the risk of a mass liquidation of cryptocurrency reserves to pay off debts may remain low due to the even distribution of corporate loan maturities.
“I think people's image of a catastrophic unwind is wrong, even in a bad scenario. A slow, partial unwind is what would actually happen,” the expert noted.
Hype Around ETFs
Spot ETFs have had 19 consecutive days of net inflows, bringing their total assets under management (AUM) to 5.88 million ETH ($22.71 billion, or nearly 5% of Ethereum’s market supply). In the last seven days alone, the figure has grown by 261,900 ETH.
Over the same period, only 18,600 ETH were issued on the Ethereum network, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Against the backdrop of growing interest in corporate reserves (which increased by 168,700 ETH over the week), there is a noticeable imbalance: demand from large holders significantly exceeds supply.
The cumulative inflow into spot Ethereum ETFs since the instruments were launched in July last year has reached $9.62 billion. The highest AUM belongs to the ETHA instrument from financial giant BlackRock - $11.27 billion.
New Market Architecture?
The potential launch of an Ethereum ETF with staking functionality in the US could attract large institutional capital and create competition for Bitcoin ETFs, some analysts believe.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, 10x Research's head of research Markus Thielen noted that the new functionality will improve returns on ETF investments and could be a game-changer for the market.
NovaDius Wealth Management President Nate Geraci wrote that following the recent SEC and Nasdaq 19b-4 filing to add staking to BlackRock's ETHA product, this "may put the mechanism under regulatory scrutiny."
Thielen believes that the potential rise in yields could boost demand for spot Ethereum ETFs and invigorate activity in the options market.
According to him, arbitrage between spot ETFs and Ether futures already brings in about 7% per annum. Income from staking increases this figure by another 3%.
“The final return without leverage is about 10%. With leverage of 2-3x, institutional investors can expect 20-30% per annum from this strategy,” the expert noted.
He added that the approval of new instruments could significantly increase the influx of investment capital into Ethereum, “marking a new era.”
