Ethereum Demand Soars as Treasuries and Whales Accelerate Accumulation

Ethereum is attracting strong interest from corporate treasuries and institutional investors. A new report from Standard Chartered revealed that companies have bought 1.26 million ETH in just two months. That amount equals roughly 1% of the total ETH supply. This pace nearly matches the 2 million ETH acquired by ETFs over the same period. Analysts called it the strongest buying wave ever seen for Ethereum ETFs. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, expects this trend to intensify.

Treasuries Eye 10% of ETH Supply

According to Kendrick, ETH-focused treasury companies are still in the early stages. He believes they could eventually control over 10% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. For context, Bitcoin treasuries currently hold 4.4% of BTC, with Strategy alone accounting for 3%.

ETH offers added utility compared to BTC. These companies can earn staking rewards of around 3% and leverage Ethereum’s DeFi tools. U.S.-based ETFs cannot access these benefits yet, giving treasuries an advantage.

BitMine (BMNR), the largest ETH treasury firm, plans to accumulate 5% of ETH supply. That goal requires buying another 6 million ETH. SharpLink Gaming (SBET), backed by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin and Consensys, now holds 438,000 ETH. Their latest 77,210 ETH purchase exceeds the total ETH issued last month.

Kendrick noted that regulatory arbitrage plays a role. Companies gain ETH exposure where direct ownership faces restrictions. As a result, their stock values often trade above asset value due to this unique access.

Whales Drive Ethereum’s Strong Bull Run

Over the last six weeks, Ethereum has seen an impressive surge, according to expert Ali. The price of the cryptocurrency remained stable until the end of the month, having begun trading between $2,400 and $2,500 in mid-June. But in the first few days of July, Ethereum saw a dramatic increase, going from roughly $2,500 to over $3,800. This was almost a fifty percent increase in value.

Ali also noted that whales, or large investors, purchased over 220,000 ETH worth around $840 million in just 48 hours, reinforcing growing market confidence.

Zodia Raises $18M to Expand

Meanwhile, Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Markets secured $18.25 million in Series A funding, according to a Bloomberg report. The crypto brokerage platform plans to expand geographically and build cross-border stablecoin payment solutions.

Launched in 2021 through SC Ventures and OSL Group, Zodia targets institutional crypto trading. It focuses heavily on compliance and fiat access, differentiating itself from Coinbase Institutional and Galaxy Digital. With this funding round, Standard Chartered’s stake drops from 84% to 60%, but it still maintains control and strategic oversight.