- Sharplink and Forward Industries will join Russell indexes on June 29.
- The move gives traditional index investors indirect exposure to ETH and SOL treasury strategies.
- The inclusion marks one of the first major Russell entries for non-bitcoin crypto treasury firms.
Crypto treasury companies focused on Ethereum and Solana are set to enter mainstream equity benchmarks after Sharplink and Forward Industries confirmed their inclusion in the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes.
The additions will take effect following FTSE Russell’s annual rebalancing on June 29 and could significantly increase institutional exposure to crypto treasury models beyond bitcoin.
Sharplink currently operates as the second-largest public Ethereum treasury company behind Bitmine and holds approximately 868,699 ETH valued near $1.8 billion. The company said joining the Russell indexes should improve institutional visibility and increase access to passive capital from index-tracking funds.
Forward Industries, meanwhile, has become the largest publicly traded Solana treasury firm with roughly $585 million worth of SOL on its balance sheet. The company described the inclusion as an important milestone for its strategy of increasing “SOL-per-share” over time.
According to FTSE Russell, roughly $12.2 trillion in investor assets are benchmarked against its U.S. indexes, making inclusion highly valuable for public companies seeking institutional exposure.
The development also highlights how crypto treasury strategies are evolving beyond bitcoin. While companies like Strategy became popular as leveraged BTC proxies in recent years, Sharplink and Forward are among the first large-scale treasury firms centered around Ethereum and Solana to enter major equity benchmarks.
Sharplink has positioned Ethereum as infrastructure for tokenization, stablecoins, and onchain finance, while also generating yield by staking ETH and deploying it into DeFi strategies. Chairman Joseph Lubin recently argued that tokenized equities, Treasurys, and ETFs could eventually migrate onto Ethereum-based infrastructure.
Despite the milestone, both stocks have struggled in recent months. Sharplink shares are trading near yearly lows around $6.15, while Forward Industries has fallen more than 87% from its highs reached shortly after announcing its Solana treasury strategy.
