The Defiant

Olivia Capozzalo & Camila Russo
July 21, 2025

Happy Monday, Defiers!

Today’s big story:

The Ether Machine launches with $1.5 in committed capital, which would overtake Joe Lubin’s SharpLink as the “MicroStrategy of ETH”

In other news:

Crypto markets are mixed after U.S. regulatory milestone on Friday
Bullish, CoinDesk’s parent company, has filed for a an IPO
Altcoin treasury firms pump stock prices, but underlying crypto assets aren’t getting the same boost, report finds
Crypto ventures now make up a key part of the Trump family fortune
Investment policy statements: Ending misalignment and empowering long-term vision in decentralized organizations [SPONSORED]
DIA's Infra Gardens Event Recap: Building the Future of Crypto & DeFi [MEDIA PARTNERSHIP]

Read more below! But first, please give our sponsors some love; they make this newsletter possible.

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We’re back! Here’s what you need to know in web3 today

📈 Markets in the last 24 hrs:

TICKER	VALUE	24H
Bitcoin	$117,686	-0.37 %
Ethereum	$3,761.18	0.17 %
XRP	$3.59	2.26 %
BNB	$764.51	1.95 %
Solana	$195.79	8.02 %

MessariPortals	MINDSHARE Rank	MINDSHARE % Change (7d)
		74.97%
		-8.32%
		-30.85%
Powered by Messari Portals

Today’s Big Story

The ETH Institutional Bid Is Heating Up with Ether Machine

There are now two contenders for the title of “MicroStrategy of ETH” and it’s the best fight ETH holders could hope for.

A new public vehicle, the Ether Machine, is preparing to launch on Nasdaq with over $1.5 billion in ETH on day one, which would make it the single largest institutional treasury of Ethereum to date. Last week, on-chain data showed that Joe Lubin’s SharpLink had bought an additional 20,000 ETH for its stockpile, just days after the firm announced it was the largest corporate holder of Ether — with nearly 281K ETH as of mid-July — for a total of about $1.1 billion in its treasury, at current prices.

The Ether Machine is formed through a SPAC merger with Dynamix (Nasdaq ticker DYNX) and is designed to operate as an “ether generation platform,” meaning it won’t just hold ETH but will actively deploy it through staking, restaking, and DeFi.

Screenshot from ethermachine.com

Backers include heavyweights like 1Roundtable Partners/10T Holdings, Archetype, Pantera Capital, Kraken, Blockchain.com, Electric Capital, and Consensys alumnus Andrew Keys, and plans to hold 400,000 ETH on its balance sheet from the outset. The new treasury firm is set to trade under the ticker ETHM, and, if the deal closes as expected in Q4 2025, it will become a major gateway for capital markets to get liquid, yield-bearing ETH exposure.

The Ether Machine isn’t the first mover, though. That title belongs to SharpLink (Nasdaq ticker SBET). Formerly a sports betting tech firm, under the leadership of Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, SharpLink acquired ETH from the Ethereum Foundation and the open market, and declared itself a long-term ETH treasury vehicle. As of July 2025, it holds more than 280,000 ETH and is signaling it wants a lot more.

Sharplink vs. Ether Machine

There’s an undeniable overlap between the two projects.

Both ETHM and SBET are betting on Ethereum as the settlement layer for the next generation of internet services. Both are tapping public markets to offer investors ETH exposure through a familiar equity wrapper. Both are using ETH not just as a store of value, but as a productive asset — staking it, deploying it into DeFi, and supporting Ethereum-native development. Both have prominent investors involved, including overlap from Pantera and Electric Capital.

And both trace their origin stories to Consensys: Ether Machine via Andrew Keys, SBET via Joe Lubin. This is very much an Ethereum insider movement spilling into public equity.

There are some differences in their execution. Ether Machine is launching with more capital committed and a Nasdaq SPAC structure. SharpLink was a publicly traded legacy gaming marketing company that added an ETH treasury and appointed an Ethereum co-founder to lead its board, with a smaller float, and more retail-driven momentum.

Crypto Treasuries Taking Off

The broader trend here is crypto corporate treasuries are becoming increasingly popular. Michael Saylor kicked it off in 2020 when MicroStrategy started buying Bitcoin as a treasury asset. Now that playbook is being rewritten for Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.

This shift is happening against the backdrop of a broader ETH rally. Ether is up more than 50% over the past month, breaking multi-month highs and just crossing $3,700 for the first time since December, mostly driven by institutional flows. Spot ETH ETFs are finally pulling in serious capital, seeing over $726 million in net inflows in just one day last week, The Defiant reported.

And yet, as I wrote here last week, under the hood, Ethereum hasn’t fundamentally changed. Gas usage is stable, DeFi volumes are ticking up, but remain far from their 2021 highs, and Layer 2s are still absorbing much of the user activity. The technology is marching forward at its usual pace, but this rally isn’t about an uptick in on-chain activity. It’s about positioning. Institutions are buying ETH and the Ether Machine’s debut is another sign that this new class of buyer has arrived.

With love,

Cami, founder of The Defiant

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🎬WATCH

Euler’s Comeback: From Devastating Hack to Top-10 DeFi Protocol

On the latest episode of The Defiant Podcast, The Defiant founder Cami Russo sat down with Michael Bentley, co-founder and CEO of Euler Labs, to explore one of the most remarkable comeback stories in DeFi history.

From a devastating $200M exploit in 2023 to surpassing $1B in outstanding loans, Euler Labs has redefined resilience and innovation in the crypto space. We also dive into the evolution of Euler Labs, the launch of V2, and their groundbreaking innovations in DeFi lending, borrowing, and stablecoins.

Top News in Web3

Crypto Markets Mixed, Bitcoin Holds Steady on Monday Most large-cap crypto assets posted modest gains or traded flat following major weekend developments — including President Donald Trump signing the GENIUS Act into law on Friday evening. ETH and XRP are both up over 20% on the week.
Peter Thiel-Backed Exchange Bullish Files for NYSE IPOBullish, a U.S. crypto exchange backed by Peter Thiel, has filed paperwork with the U.S. SEC for an IPO and plans to list on the NYSE. The firm, which acquired CoinDesk in 2023, was launched by Blockone, the developer of the EOS blockchain (now Vaulta).
Altcoin Treasury Mania Pumps Stock Prices, But Underlying Tokens Remain Muted: Animoca Stocks of companies that adopt an altcoin treasury strategy have surged, but the altcoins themselves do not show the same performance, according to a new report from Animoca Brands. The report also revealed that many announcements focus on capital raising and planned altcoin purchases, rather than completed transactions.
FEATURE: Trump’s Crypto Assets Now Comprise a Key Part of Family Fortune Worth Billions Since launching his re-election campaign in 2024, one that heavily focused on the adoption of cryptocurrency, President Donald Trump and his family have aggressively entered the crypto space with a series of ventures, from memecoins to crypto ETFs. Reports place the total sum of Trump’s net worth derived from crypto ventures in the eight- to nine-figure range.