[TEMP CHECK] ETH as a treasury asset for Gitcoin
TLDR
- MicroStrategy pioneered the idea of putting BTC on its balance sheet as a strategic reserve, turning its stock into a proxy for Bitcoin exposure.
- SBET, Joe Lubin’s new vehicle, aims to do the same with ETH—holding and staking it to build an ETH-native regenerative treasury.
- Gitcoin could adopt a similar approach: acquiring and staking ETH to fund public goods long-term, while reinforcing alignment with Ethereum’s success.
MicroStrategy: The Bitcoin Balance Sheet Pioneer
MicroStrategy, under the leadership of Michael Saylor, was the first publicly traded company to aggressively adopt Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. Starting in 2020, the firm reallocated its cash holdings into BTC, citing inflation hedging and long-term value preservation. As of mid-2025, MicroStrategy holds over 200,000 BTC—worth tens of billions of dollars—making it the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.
Their strategy:
- Use cash flow, convertible debt, and equity issuance to acquire BTC.
- Frame BTC as superior to cash and gold for preserving shareholder value.
- Position the company as a proxy for Bitcoin exposure in traditional capital markets.
This strategy transformed MicroStrategy into a quasi-Bitcoin ETF and significantly boosted its stock price, aligning shareholder incentives with Bitcoin’s success.
SBET: Joe Lubin’s Ethereum Treasury Strategy
Joe Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of ConsenSys, recently launched SBET as an Ethereum-native parallel to MicroStrategy’s play. SBET is designed to:
- Acquire and hold ETH as a core asset.
- Explore ETH staking and restaking strategies for yield.
- Serve as a vehicle for investors seeking long exposure to Ethereum without dealing with custody or infrastructure.
SBET represents a maturation of ETH as a treasury-grade asset, emphasizing Ethereum’s utility, programmable yield, and alignment with the smart contract economy.
Gitcoin’s Opportunity: ETH as a Regenerative Treasury
Gitcoin, as a mission-driven steward of Ethereum public goods, could pursue a similar strategy tailored to its values and purpose:
- Acquire ETH using a portion of surplus funds, protocol revenue, or treasury diversification.
- Stake ETH to earn yield that sustainably funds grants, operations, or protocol development.
- Signal conviction in Ethereum’s long-term trajectory while reducing dependency on short-term token sales.
A Gitcoin ETH treasury would:
- Anchor its funding in Ethereum’s base layer value.
- Align Gitcoin’s long-term sustainability with the health of the ecosystem it serves.
- Reinforce Gitcoin’s role as an infrastructure-aligned public goods institution.
This could evolve into a regenerative treasury model, where capital grows while also feeding back into funding coordination, OSS, and Ethereum resilience—turning ETH itself into an engine for public goods.
Steelmanning the Case: ETH Treasury for Gitcoin
The Case For:
- Strategic alignment: ETH is the native asset of the ecosystem Gitcoin exists to support. Holding it deepens mission alignment.
- Yield generation: Staking or restaking ETH could fund operations without depleting core capital.
- Signal strength: It shows conviction in Ethereum’s future and positions Gitcoin as a long-term steward.
- Protocol resilience: ETH-backed treasuries reduce reliance on volatile native token dynamics or short-term funding cycles.
The Case Against:
- Volatility risk: ETH price drops could impact Gitcoin’s financial resilience at critical moments.
- Opportunity cost: Funds in ETH might be better deployed toward growth, hiring, or ecosystem investments.
- Governance complexity: Treasury decisions about ETH allocation, staking, and risk become politically and operationally sensitive.
- Regulatory: Depending on jurisdiction, holding and staking ETH might create compliance burdens or tax liabilities. The regulatory arbitrate available to SBET/Strategy in trad stocks may not be available to Gitcoin.