Sharplink to Deploy $200M ETH Staking Allocation with Lido

One of the world's largest corporate holders of ETH adds wstETH
to its treasury to enhance DeFi yield

Miami, FL, Aug. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sharplink, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBET), one of the world's largest corporate holders of Ether ("ETH") and a prominent advocate of Ethereum adoption, today announced that it will stake $200M of ETH through Lido, the largest liquid staking protocol on Ethereum. Sharplink will receive wrapped staked ETH (“wstETH”), a token representing staked ETH and its associated staking rewards, to be held in custody with Anchorage Digital. The allocation continues Sharplink's effort this year to make its ETH treasury maximally productive for shareholders and adds Lido to Sharplink's existing staking and restaking strategy.

Lido accounts for a majority of all liquid staked ETH, with roughly $16.5B of ETH staked through the protocol. Its wstETH token is integrated across more than 100 protocols, with roughly $10B in active-use as collateral. wstETH can be used across Ethereum DeFi while the underlying ETH continues to earn staking rewards, giving Sharplink direct exposure to ETH plus access to additional onchain yield.

"This is an exciting expansion in making our ETH even more productive, leveraging wstETH’s composability while maintaining institutional-grade risk standards," said Joseph Chalom, Chief Executive Officer of Sharplink. "Adding a staking protocol of Lido's caliber deepens the diversification of our treasury strategy and gives us access to one of the most liquid and widely integrated assets in Ethereum DeFi. It reflects our commitment to working with the top Ethereum protocols.”

"I'm excited to see Sharplink increasing the use of Ethereum native staking protocols and the DeFi ecosystem. Being bullish ETH is being bullish on major Ethereum-based applications,” said Vasiliy Shapovalov, Executive Director, Lido Labs Foundation.

"We are seeing a clear shift in how institutions hold Ethereum, and Sharplink's allocation is a strong example," said Kean Gilbert, Head of Institutional Relations, Lido Institutional. "Treasuries want their ETH working for them without losing liquidity, and Lido has become the standard for doing it at scale. With wstETH, a holder of Sharplink’s size can stake while keeping the flexibility its deployment strategy demands."

About Lido Institutional

Lido Institutional represents a dedicated group of contributors focused on advocating for the use of Lido's open-source, liquid staking middleware by non-retail users. Lido's middleware provides a way to participate in the blockchain network validation process and earn staking rewards for this activity. With a mission to democratize staking, Lido middleware lets users connect with node operators and stake their digital assets without the need to individually maintain hardware. For further information, please visit lido.fi/institutional. Follow Lido on X at x.com/LidoFinance.

About Sharplink, Inc.

Sharplink (Nasdaq: SBET) is a leading institutional-grade Ethereum treasury platform designed to give public market investors smarter, more productive exposure to ETH. Ethereum underpins the majority of global stablecoin, tokenized real-world assets and decentralized finance settlement. Sharplink was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida. Learn more at sharplink.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-Looking Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and these forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such statements include, but are not limited to, goals and expectations regarding the Company's strategy and potential partnerships; the intended use of proceeds, including potential share repurchases; the Company's Ethereum treasury strategy and expected common stock per-share effects; and other statements accompanied by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward looking. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, including without limitation, the Company's ability to achieve and sustain profitable operations; volatility in the market price of ETH and its resulting impact on the Company's accounting and financial reporting; changes in government regulation of cryptocurrencies and online betting; changes in securities laws or other applicable regulations; fluctuations in customer demand and overall economic conditions; competitive pressures, including competing products, pricing, and sales cycles; the protection and enforcement of the Company's proprietary rights; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Annual Report and other filings with the SEC. Under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, entities are generally required to measure certain crypto assets at fair value, with changes reflected in net income each reporting period. Changes in the fair value of crypto assets could result in significant fluctuations to the balance sheet and income statement results. Additionally, for other certain types of crypto assets, the Company uses the historical costs less impairment model. This model may require the Company to record an associated impairment charge reflected in net income as a result of a decrease in the market price of the crypto assets below the cost value at which the Company's crypto assets are carried on its balance sheet. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this press release. There can be no assurance that any repurchases will be made under the program, and any repurchases may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time and are subject to market conditions and applicable legal requirements.

CONTACT:
Sharplink’s Investor Relations Contact:
Sean Mansouri, CFA or Aaron D’Souza | Elevate IR
Phone: (720) 330-2829
Email: ir@sharplink.com

Sharplink’s Media Contact:
Email: media@sharplink.com