“Joining the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 is a meaningful validation of Sharplink's institutional-grade ETH treasury strategy and we believe will broaden SBET's shareholder base while strengthening our access to capital markets,” said the firm’s CEO Joseph Chalom in a statement.
The firm, which holds 874,351 ETH valued around $1.8 billion, is currently trading at a discount to its Ethereum holdings with a market cap of around $1.22 billion as of the end of the trading day Tuesday, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
The firms’ respective inclusions in the Russell Indexes places them inside a basket of U.S. indexes with more than $12.2 trillion in benchmarks or investments.
“We believe index inclusion will expand our shareholder base, improve trading liquidity, and increase visibility among long-term institutional investors,” said Forward Industries CEO Ryan Navi in a statement.
Shares in the firms have reacted differently amid the news, with shares in Sharplink (SBET) dipped around 0.8% on Tuesday to $6.18 per share. Meanwhile, Forward (FWDI) shares rose 2.62%, changing hands around $4.70 at the close of trading.
