Ethereum treasury firm Sharplink and Solana-focused Forward Industries are both set to be included in the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes when the semiannual reconstitution takes effect on June 29, the companies announced Tuesday.
The two firms join BitMine Immersion Technologies as the latest crypto treasury companies to gain entry into the Russell indexes. BitMine will also be included in the Russell 1000 index, which tracks the top 1,000 U.S. companies by market capitalization.
Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom welcomed the news, saying in a statement: "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."
Sharplink currently holds 874,351 ETH valued at approximately $1.8 billion. Despite that, the company is trading at a discount to its Ethereum holdings, with a market cap of around $1.22 billion as of Tuesday's close, according to Yahoo Finance data.
Forward Industries, a former medical design company that pivoted to accumulating Solana, also announced its inclusion in the Russell 2000 and 3000 indexes. The company purchased $1.58 billion worth of SOL last year at an average price of around $232 per token. However, SOL is now trading at just $83.78 — a decline of roughly 64% since the firm's large-scale purchase.
As a result, Forward Industries' Solana holdings are currently valued at approximately $588 million, which is still substantially above its market cap of $350 million. At that valuation, the firm is about 2.4 times larger than the smallest market cap member of the Russell 2000, according to the index fund's website.
Inclusion in the Russell indexes places both companies within a basket of U.S. benchmarks and investment vehicles representing more than $12.2 trillion in assets.
"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 two companies reacted differently to the announcements. Sharplink (SBET) slipped approximately 0.8% on Tuesday, closing at $6.18 per share. Forward Industries (FWDI) moved in the opposite direction, rising 2.62% to close around $4.70.
Why it matters
Inclusion in the Russell indexes means both companies will appear in benchmarks tracked by passive funds, potentially broadening their shareholder base beyond investors who actively seek out crypto treasury stocks.
Both Sharplink and Forward Industries are currently trading at a discount to the market value of their crypto holdings, meaning investors buying shares are not paying a one-to-one premium for the underlying assets.
Forward Industries' experience illustrates the volatility risk inherent in corporate crypto treasury strategies: a large-scale token purchase can lose a significant portion of its dollar value if the underlying asset declines sharply before the company can realize gains.
