Institutional investors are increasingly favouring Ethereum treasury companies over US spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to Standard Chartered’s Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoff Kendrick.
Kendrick argues that companies like Sharplink Gaming (NASDAQ: SBET) provide better exposure to Ethereum (ETH) than ETFs by combining direct ETH price upside with staking rewards and regulatory benefits.
Since early June 2025, Ethereum treasury firms have collectively bought an amount of ETH equivalent to 1.6% of its circulating supply, matching inflows into US spot ETH ETFs during the same period. As these firms accumulate ETH, their net asset value (NAV) multiples—market cap relative to ETH holdings—have started normalizing near 1.0, indicating that treasury companies offer investors value closely aligned with their underlying ETH assets.
Standard Chartered says Ethereum treasury firms now ‘very investable,’ better than US spot ETH ETFs https://t.co/2c92hYz9eO
— The Block (@TheBlock__) August 6, 2025
For example, Sharplink Gaming currently trades just above a NAV multiple of 1.0 and has notably increased its ETH holdings to over 255,000 tokens, buying 50,000 ETH recently. Kendrick highlighted that there is no expectation for NAV multiples to fall below 1.0, reinforcing the attractiveness of these firms for investors looking to benefit from ETH exposure along with additional income streams from staking rewards.
Ethereum treasury firms have quietly amassed over 2 million ETH so far, with Standard Chartered forecasting that this holding could grow to 10 million ETH or approximately 10% of the total supply. This contrasts with spot ETFs, which face regulatory restrictions on staking and direct exposure.
The rise of Ethereum treasury companies also comes amid turbulent activity in the spot ETF market. After inflows of $5.4 billion in July, US spot ETFs saw significant outflows in early August, including a record single-day outflow of $465 million, partly driven by BlackRock’s ETHA ETF.
Notably, the upcoming August 15 earnings report from SBET is expected to shed light on the expansion and viability of Ethereum treasury companies as a distinct asset class.
Standard Chartered’s endorsement underscores a shifting institutional landscape where treasury firms’ operational flexibility and staking benefits present compelling alternatives to traditional ETF approaches for gaining regulated Ethereum exposure.
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