Standard Chartered says Ethereum treasury firms now 'very investable,' better than US spot ETH ETFs

Ethereum treasury companies are now “very investable,” according to Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research Geoffrey Kendrick, who says they present a stronger case for investors than U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Kendrick says Ethereum treasury companies' net asset value (NAV) multiples — their market cap divided by value of ETH held — have now "started to normalize" and are expected to stay above 1, making them a better asset to buy than U.S. spot ETH ETFs. “I see no reason for the NAV multiple to go below 1.0 because I see these firms as providing regulatory arbitrage opportunities for investors,” Kendrick said in an email to The Block on Wednesday.

He added that with the NAV multiples normalizing, ETH treasury companies offer better access to ether price appreciation, staking rewards, and ETH-per-share growth — unlike U.S. spot ETH ETFs, which currently cannot stake or participate in decentralized finance.

Kendrick particularly highlighted the NAV multiple for SharpLink Gaming (ticker SBET), backed by Consensys and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, which has been around the longest of the now large ETH treasuries. SBET’s NAV multiple has now eased back to just above 1, he said.

NAV multiple for SBET

Source: Standard Chartered

Ethereum treasury companies have now also bought 1.6% of all ETH in circulation since June, matching the pace of ETH ETF purchases over the same period, Kendrick noted. The update follows last week's report in which he predicted ETH treasury firms could grow to hold 10% of all ether in circulation — 10 times their holdings at the time.

Net buying since June 1 (in ‘000 ETH)

Source: Standard Chartered

Last week, Kendrick said Ethereum treasury companies “are just getting started” and offer stronger upside than bitcoin-focused ones, thanks to their ability to earn staking rewards (around 3%) and access DeFi leverage — features not available to ETFs, particularly in the U.S.

The rise of ETH treasury firms mirrors the earlier bitcoin trend, where Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) led a wave of corporate BTC buying. ETH treasury holdings are expected to grow faster, Kendrick said, due to greater institutional acceptance of crypto as a corporate reserve asset and ETH’s ability to generate yield.

BitMine (ticker BMNR) remains the largest ETH treasury company, with a stated goal of accumulating 5% of all ETH. Kendrick said more entrants are likely, and that SharpLink’s upcoming Q2 earnings report on August 15 could provide further clarity on this fast-growing asset class.

ETH, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, is currently trading at around $3,650, up about 2% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block’s ETH price page.