ETH Supremacy

1️⃣ Lubin’s Big Buy

Joe Lubin’s Sharplink Gaming (SBET) is quietly turning into one of the biggest ETH treasuries in the world — leapfrogging even the Ethereum Foundation.

On Thursday, Sharplink filed an updated prospectus showing plans to raise up to $6B by selling stock to buy more ETH, increasing the amount by $5B over its previous target. According to Arkham, the company’s treasury now holds over $961M in ETH, most of it in LSETH — a yield-bearing staking token issued by Liquid Collective.

Currently, it’s the largest corporate ETH position on record — behind Tom Lee’s Bitmine. And judging by the filing, they’re not slowing down anytime soon.

2️⃣ Record ETH ETF Inflows

Ethereum ETFs kicked into overdrive this week, sucking in cash like a black hole as inflows went parabolic. Barring one day of outflows on July 2, ETH ETF assets under management have been up-only throughout July, raking in an astonishing ~$3.2B of net inflows on the month.

BlackRock’s ETHA led the charge, posting two consecutive days of record-breaking inflows on the 16th and 17th, leading to ETH ETF inflows flipping BTC on Thursday as well as Friday. In total, spot ETH ETFs have experienced over $7.5B of net inflows since their inception last year.

Ethereum trading activity continues to concentrate on Wall Street, potentially signaling growing institutional excitement. According to The Block, spot ETH ETF volumes as a share of total ETH spot market volumes have surged to all-time highs north of 10% on a seven-day trailing basis.

This week, BlackRock also sought the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval to stake its ETHA bags. If permitted, the asset manager will likely begin offering yield to its ETF holders.

3️⃣ Crypto 401(k)s

On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that would open up $9T in retirement savings to alternative investments, including digital assets, precious metals, and private equity.

The executive order will allegedly instruct financial regulatory agencies to investigate and remove any remaining hurdles that prevent such investment categories to be included in professionally managed funds used by 401(k) savers. 

Previously, Trump’s Department of Labor reversed prior guidance that encouraged 401(k) plan managers to exercise “extreme care” before adding cryptocurrency to investment menus, claiming, “investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not D.C. bureaucrats.”

While certain 401(k) plan managers already offer crypto exposure to their clients, the vast majority of all investments made through these retirement savings accounts are concentrated in stocks and bonds.

4️⃣ Crypto Week Complete

The crypto industry is rejoicing in a string of major legislative wins this week after the House of Representatives voted to approve the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.

President Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law on Friday, meanwhile, the remaining two pieces of House-originated legislation were forwarded to the Senate for further debate and approval.

Clear rules of the road for digital asset regulation are expected to empower an increased number of regulated financial institutions, like banks, to interact with blockchain-based technologies. With the enactment of the GENIUS Act, stablecoins may soon come to play a greater role in every-day financial transactions.

5️⃣ Bankless TV Goes Live

To celebrate ETH’s surge, Ryan and David teamed up for a new content format: Bankless TV. The livestreamed broadcast premiered to X on Friday and delivered three uninterrupted hours of ETH-centric programming.

Six prominent voices from the Ethereum ecosystem made appearances in ~30 minute segments, including StrategicETHReserve.xyz creator Fabdarice, Daily Gwei host Anthony Sassano, and Etherealize’s Vivek Raman.

Catch up on the full broadcast on X with the link here.