Author: TechFlow
On May 27th, a little-known small stock stirred up massive waves in the Nasdaq trading hall.
SharpLink Gaming (SBET), a small gambling company with a market cap of only $10 million, announced the purchase of approximately 163,000 ETH through a $425 million private equity investment.
As soon as the news broke, SharpLink's stock price rocketed, rising by over 500% at one point.
Buying crypto might be becoming a new wealth code for listed US companies.
The origin of the story naturally lies with MicroStrategy, the company that first ignited the fire, boldly betting on Bitcoin as early as 2020.
Over five years, it transformed from an ordinary tech company to a "Bitcoin investment pioneer". In 2020, MicroStrategy's stock price was just over $10; by 2025, the stock had soared to $370, with a market cap exceeding $100 billion.
Buying crypto not only expanded MicroStrategy's balance sheet but also made it the darling of the capital market.
In 2025, this trend continued to escalate.
From tech companies to retail giants to small gambling enterprises, listed US companies are using crypto to ignite a new engine of valuation.
What exactly is the secret behind growing market cap by buying crypto?
MicroStrategy: A Textbook of Crypto-Stock Integration
[The rest of the translation follows the same professional and accurate approach]
On May 28, GameStop, the game retail giant once famous for retail investors' collective battle against Wall Street, announced the purchase of 4,710 Bit coins for $512.6 million, attempting to replicate MicroStrategy's success. However, the market reaction was cold: GameStop's stock price dropped 10.9% after the announcement, and investors were not convinced.
On May 15, Addentax Group Corp (stock code ATXG), a Chinese textile and clothing company, announced plans to purchase 8,000 Bit coins and $TRUMP coins through the issuance of ordinary shares. At the current Bit coin price of $108,000, the purchase cost would exceed $800 million.
In contrast, the company's total market capitalization is only around $4.5 million, meaning the theoretical cost of purchasing coins is over 100 times the company's market value.
Almost at the same time, another Chinese-listed US stock company, Jiuzi Holdings (stock code JZXN), also joined this Bit coin buying frenzy.
The company announced plans to purchase 1,000 Bit coins within the next year, at a cost of over $100 million.
Public information shows that Jiuzi Holdings is a Chinese company focusing on new energy vehicle retail, established in 2019. The company's retail stores are mainly distributed in third and fourth-tier cities in China.
The company's total market capitalization on Nasdaq is only around $50 million.
The stock price is indeed rising, but the matching of company market value and Bit coin purchase cost is crucial.
For more latecomers, if Bit coin prices fall, such a purchase could put enormous pressure on their balance sheets.
The Bit coin buying strategy is not a universal wealth code. Buying Bit coins without fundamental support and with excessive leverage may be just an adventure leading to bubble burst.
Another Way of Breaking Out
Despite the risks, the Bit coin buying frenzy may still become a new norm.
In 2025, global inflation pressure and US dollar depreciation expectations continue, and more companies are beginning to view Bit coin and ETH as "anti-inflation assets". Japan's Metaplanet has enhanced its market value through a Bit coin treasury strategy, and more US-listed companies are following MicroStrategy's path faster.
In the big trend, crypto is increasingly appearing in global political and economic fields.
Is this the "breaking out" that crypto people often talk about?
By comprehensive observation of current trends, crypto's path to mainstream primarily has two routes: the rise of stablecoins and crypto reserves on corporate balance sheets.
On the surface, stablecoins provide a stable medium for payment, savings, and remittances in the crypto market, reducing volatility and promoting widespread crypto application. However, its essence is an extension of US dollar hegemony.
Take USDC as an example: its issuer Circle has close ties with the US government and holds large amounts of US Treasury bonds as reserve assets, which not only strengthens the US dollar's global reserve currency status but also further penetrates the US financial system's influence into the global crypto market through stablecoin circulation.
The other breaking out path is the aforementioned listed companies buying Bit coins.
Buying Bit coin companies attract speculative funds through crypto narratives and drive up stock prices, but except for a few leading companies, for later imitators, how much can the fundamentals of their main business be improved remains a mystery.
Whether stablecoins or crypto assets entering listed companies' balance sheets, crypto assets seem more like a tool to continue or strengthen previous financial patterns.
Whether it's cutting leeks or financial innovation is like looking at two sides of a coin, depending on which side of the table you're sitting on.
