Bernstein Initiates SharpLink Coverage With Outperform Rating for Ethereum Treasury

Core Viewpoint - Analysts at Bernstein initiated coverage of SharpLink Gaming with an "outperform" rating, projecting that the company's shares could nearly double as the Federal Reserve lowers borrowing costs [1] Group 1: Price Target and Current Valuation - Bernstein set a price target of $24 per share for SharpLink, indicating an 80% increase from the current price of approximately $13.08 [1] - The shares previously peaked at $124.12 earlier this year [1] Group 2: Investment Vehicle and Strategy - Analysts expect SBET to become a compliant-first institutional investment vehicle for accessing Ethereum as an investment and yield-generating asset [2] - The anticipated lower interest rate environment is expected to increase investor appetite for SBET's sustainable Ethereum yield, which is projected to outperform the industry Ethereum staking yield [2] Group 3: Cryptocurrency Holdings and Management - SharpLink currently holds 859,400 Ethereum, valued at approximately $12.65 billion [2] - The management team, including Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, is noted for being strongly aligned with the Ethereum ecosystem [4] Group 4: Yield Generation and Future Plans - SharpLink plans to deploy $200 million of its Ethereum holdings into Ethereum layer-2 Linea, developed by Consensys, to enhance yield generation [4] - The company aims to generate incremental yield from multiple sources through a process known as restaking [5] - Analysts believe that SBET's differentiation could lead to more sustainable economics and improved access to institutional debt and equity markets [5]