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SharpLink Gaming has deployed close to $170 million worth of Ethereum on Linea, a zkEVM Layer 2 network built on Ethereum, as it targets higher on-chain yields for its ETH treasury. The company stated that the move uses an ‘enhanced yield strategy’ to combine several reward streams while keeping assets under institutional custody.
SharpLink disclosed the deployment in early January 2026 and announced that the move aims to increase the productivity of its Ethereum holdings for shareholders. According to the recent update, the company holds 864,840 ETH, valued at nearly $2.7 billion, and stakes all of it through custodians.
SharpLink noted that the Linea allocation blends native Ethereum staking yield with restaking rewards through EigenLayer. It also includes direct incentive programs from Linea and EtherFi, a staking and restaking protocol. The firm framed the approach as a structured way to add yield to standard staking returns.
The company began funding the position on January 3 with about 7,000 ETH, worth approximately $22.5 million at the time. It then added more tranches and lifted total deposits to nearly 53,000 ETH by January 6. SharpLink described the sequence as part of a multi-year plan it introduced in October, when the firm announced it may invest up to $200 million in Linea.
SharpLink stated that Anchorage Digital is the qualified custodian for the assets involved in the strategy. The firm highlighted the custody setup as central to its structure, as it wants to operate on-chain while maintaining institutional safeguards.
SharpLink also described the staking route as a permissioned, validated liquid staking framework designed for institutional participants. The company said the structure aims to consolidate multiple yield sources into a single workflow. It also stressed that the process includes liquid staking and bridging while the assets remain under qualified custody.
SharpLink tied the deployment to “Linea Surge,” an initiative that aims to increase total value locked and draw developers to the ecosystem. The company said its inflows supported Linea’s TVL growth during the first week of January. In an update, it noted that TVL rose above $340 million during that period, with SharpLink accounting for a meaningful share of the inflows.
However, Linea has also seen volatile TVL trends since it introduced its token in September. DefiLlama data cited in the reports suggested that Linea TVL peaked near $1.64 billion about two weeks after the token launch. The same dataset showed TVL later fell to about $185.74 million, which highlights the competitive and fast-moving nature of the Layer 2 market.
SharpLink also reinforced its ties to Linea’s broader governance and institutional narrative. It participates in the Linea Consortium, which helps manage LINEA token distribution, and it has links through Consensys, the firm that incubated Linea.
Moreover, reportedly, SharpLink plans to launch a governance token, SHARP, in Q3 2026, with distribution expected to include early-staker airdrops and a public sale. Meanwhile, SharpLink stock (SBET) rose about 1.4% on the day of the announcement, closing at $10.28, according to the report.
Also Read: Ethereum News Today: Crypto Whale Purchases $4B in Ether, Surpassing SharpLink’s $3.5B ETH Stack
