Author: Blue Fox Notes
Two U.S.-listed companies related to Ethereum (ETH), Sharplink SBET and BitMine BMNR, will be officially added to the U.S. Russell Index on June 29, 2026, at the opening of U.S. markets.
The current situation is:
- SBET (Sharplink) confirms inclusion in the Russell 2000 (Small-Cap Index) and Russell 3000.
- BMNR (BitMine) has entered the preliminary list for inclusion in the Russell 3000 and has a high likelihood of being added to the Russell 1000 (large-cap index).
How to understand it?
Imagine the U.S. has a super massive passive investment "automatic shopping system"—such as passive index funds, ETFs, pension funds, 401(k) plans, and more.
They do not select stocks on their own; instead, they automatically purchase shares strictly according to the companies listed in the Russell Index and their respective weightings.
The addition of SBET and BMNR to the list is equivalent to:
Opened the floodgates for passive capital to SBET and BMNR, enabling millions of ordinary investors who don’t trade crypto or understand Ethereum to automatically hold them—effectively channeling Ethereum’s opportunities into the mainstream of traditional finance.
Specifically,
The amount of capital tracking the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 globally is extremely large (in the trillions of dollars).
Once officially included, these funds must purchase the corresponding stocks to match the index.
Previously, only proactive investors who researched cryptocurrencies would buy these stocks.
Now that they’re in the index, those mainstream investors—who are “too lazy to pick stocks and just buy index funds”—including a large number of retail and institutional investors—will automatically direct their money toward SBET and BMNR.
It naturally integrates Ethereum-related investment opportunities into mainstream U.S. traditional investment portfolios.
Passive fund buying creates real demand, often providing short-term price support around the time of index inclusion (known as the "index inclusion effect").
In the long term, it will also enhance stock liquidity and the proportion held by institutions (many mature companies have passive holding ratios exceeding 20-25%).
It should be noted that the passive fund purchases shares of SBET and BMNR, not ETH. To track the index, the fund must buy these two stocks and does not directly purchase ETH on exchanges. However, it indirectly encourages the companies to buy more ETH.