Nasdaq-Listed SharpLink Taps Linea and EigenCloud for Institutional DeFi Expansion
SharpLink Gaming, a Nasdaq-listed tech and iGaming company, has unveiled plans to deploy $200 million worth of Ether (ETH) on Consensys’ Linea network — marking one of the largest corporate decentralized finance (DeFi) allocations to date.
According to the company’s Tuesday announcement, the initiative will utilize Linea’s zkEVM layer-2 scaling infrastructure to generate onchain yields from staking and restaking strategies through ether.fi and EigenCloud. The move aims to enhance capital efficiency while unlocking risk-adjusted ETH-denominated returns.
“We’re strategically leveraging Linea’s next-generation DeFi infrastructure to make our treasury work harder,” a SharpLink spokesperson said. “Our objective is to responsibly capture onchain yield while maintaining institutional-grade security.”
Major centralized exchanges have also joined the DeFi yield trend — Coinbase partnered with Morpho to let users earn up to 10.8% on USDC, while Crypto.com plans to integrate Morpho into its Cronos blockchain for ETH-based lending vaults later this year.
$200 Million Deployment Represents 5.6% of SharpLink’s Treasury
SharpLink currently holds 859,853 ETH — approximately $3.57 billion, or 0.71% of the total ETH supply, according to CoinGecko data. The planned $200 million deployment represents about 5.6% of its Ethereum treasury.
The assets will be custodied through Anchorage Digital Bank, an institutionally regulated crypto custodian, ensuring compliance and security.
The company said its multi-year strategy will generate returns through a mix of:
- Native ETH staking,
- Restaking via EigenCloud’s decentralized verification services (AVSs), and
- Incentive rewards from Linea and ether.fi.
This approach reflects the broader shift among corporates seeking to move idle crypto assets into productive DeFi ecosystems while maintaining regulatory and operational safeguards.
DeFi Adoption Accelerates Among Major Institutions
SharpLink’s move follows a string of institutional DeFi allocations this year. In September, ETHZilla deployed $100 million of ETH into ether.fi to optimize yield. Earlier, the Ethereum Foundation allocated 45,000 ETH into Spark and Compound as part of its updated treasury diversification policy.
SharpLink’s $200 million Linea strategy underscores the institutional evolution of DeFi, where blockchain-native yield mechanisms are becoming integral to treasury management.
The deployment not only enhances ETH capital efficiency but also signals how regulated firms are increasingly bridging traditional finance with the onchain economy — a move that could reshape how corporate treasuries interact with DeFi in the years ahead.
Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves risk and may result in financial loss.