Ethereum edged lower on Thursday amid profit-taking after the cryptocurrency surged to a five-month high on Wednesday, driven by a growing wave of publicly listed companies adding ETH to their treasuries.

Earlier this month, Minnesota-based SharpLink Gaming announced a $225 million Ethereum acquisition, according to a press release issued Tuesday. The company had pivoted from online gambling marketing to crypto treasury strategy in May after raising $425 million in funding and appointing Ethereum co-founder and Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin to its board.

This move made SharpLink the largest public holder of Ethereum, with a treasury reaching 280,000 ETH — equivalent to roughly $884 million at current prices. The firm’s stock (SBET) has surged over 1,000% since its shift to crypto, according to TradingView.

Similarly, BitMine Immersion Technologies last month announced the creation of its own ETH treasury. The Bitcoin mining firm raised $250 million in late June to build an Ethereum reserve, appointing Fundstrat’s Tom Lee as chairman.

Since then, BitMine has purchased over $500 million worth of Ethereum, and its shares (BMNR) have jumped more than 1,100% following its first ETH acquisition. Notably, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund disclosed a 9.1% stake in the company on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Bit Digital, another Bitcoin miner, announced in June it would halt mining operations to focus on Ethereum-based treasury and staking strategies. Last week, the company fully converted its reserves into Ethereum, now holding 100,603 ETH — worth over $316 million. On Monday, it announced a $67.3 million stock sale to acquire more ETH.

“Ethereum is no longer just a speculative asset,” said Kevin Rasher, founder of crypto lending platform RAAC, in a note to Decrypt. “It’s now a yield-generating programmable financial asset that institutions see as a store of value. That’s a major factor supporting ETH’s price, as corporate treasuries reduce circulating supply and reflect long-term confidence.”

These developments reflect a broader trend of public companies leveraging crypto treasuries to boost stock performance, echoing Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin strategy.

For example, Canadian firm Cannabis Sativa rebranded as Dogecoin Cash after acquiring $3.5 million worth of DOGE. More recently, a group of investors revealed a $540,000 purchase of meme token Dogwifhat on Solana, announcing plans to go public via a reverse merger in an attempt to ride the wave of institutional crypto adoption.

At the time of writing, Ethereum was down 0.2% at $3,389.8 on CoinMarketCap, as of 21:13 GMT.

Oil prices climbed on Thursday amid escalating security tensions in the Middle East and following upbeat US economic data that boosted optimism over demand.

Oil fields in Iraq's Kurdistan region were subjected to ongoing drone attacks for a fourth consecutive day, leading to a reduction in the region's crude output by an estimated 140,000 to 150,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters.

Positive data on US retail sales and jobless claims further supported sentiment toward the American economy and local demand growth.

At settlement, Brent crude futures for September delivery rose by 1.5%, or $1, to $69.52 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for August delivery increased by 1.75%, or $1.16, to close at $67.54 a barrel.

In a new research memo outlining potential scenarios if President Donald Trump were to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, analysts warned that regardless of how events unfold, “it would be chaotic.”

Tobias Marcus and Chutong Zhu of Wolfe Research wrote in a client note: “We expect, as most do, that the outcome would be sharply negative for markets, including broad-based selling in equities and an unwarranted rise in long-term yields.”

Wolfe Research predicted that the Supreme Court might ultimately have to decide whether Trump has the authority to remove Powell “for cause.”

The analysis came just hours after reports shook the perceived stability of Powell’s leadership at the central bank—reports that were quickly walked back.

CNBC had reported Wednesday morning, citing a senior White House official, that Trump had told a group of Republican lawmakers on Tuesday evening of his intention to “fire Powell soon.”

But during a press Q&A in the Oval Office, Trump swiftly denied his own official’s comments.

“We are not planning to do that,” Trump said, adding: “I never rule anything out… but I think it’s highly unlikely unless [Powell] is involved in fraud.”

Still, Trump is known for unpredictability and has a long history of firing officials shortly after publicly expressing support for them.

In Powell’s case, Trump has criticized him for months, accusing him of refusing to lower interest rates in line with White House demands.

Analysts call the idea ‘disastrous’

Roger Altman, founder of Evercore and former Deputy Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, told CNBC’s Closing Bell: “There are a lot of bad ideas, but firing the Fed Chair—or trying to, because it’s unclear if it would succeed—is among the worst.”

Altman called the idea “horrifying,” highlighting the clear difference in economic performance between countries with truly independent central banks, like the United States, and those where monetary policy is government-controlled, such as Turkey and Argentina, which have seen double-digit inflation in recent years.

“I don’t believe Powell would resign if asked to,” Altman added, suggesting the matter would “end up in the courts.”

Potential chaos scenarios

Wolfe Research analysts agreed with Altman’s view, writing: “If Trump actually proceeds with firing Powell instead of just pressuring him to resign, Powell would likely sue to block the move.”

They asked: “The first question is, would Powell still be considered fired during the legal process?”

They noted that Trump had previously fired commissioners at independent agencies during his second term, and while some filed lawsuits to reclaim their positions, those efforts “failed.”

The memo added: “The exception with Powell is that he heads the agency he leads—unlike prior dismissals of commissioners who were not chairpersons, after Trump had already appointed a new chair.”

“In those cases, the new agency head could enforce dismissals. But at the Fed, there is no one with the authority to remove Powell.”

Wolfe Research outlined three possible scenarios if Trump goes through with the firing:

- Powell continues to function as Fed Chair while Trump seeks a court order to remove him.

- Powell voluntarily resigns and sues the government seeking reinstatement.

- Powell refuses to leave while Trump attempts to remove him via executive order.

The memo warned that the third scenario would be the most dramatic, referencing a recent incident in March when police were called to remove staffers from the US Institute of Peace after Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” accused them of trespassing.

“It goes without saying,” the note read, “that the image of Powell being escorted out of the Fed by police would be profoundly unsettling for markets.”

Will the Supreme Court intervene?

If the matter escalates to a legal case, it is likely to reach the Supreme Court.

Analysts noted that the Court recently signaled in an unrelated case that it views the Fed as distinct from other independent agencies in terms of the protections afforded to its leadership.

The majority opinion stated: “The Federal Reserve is a unique, quasi-private entity that falls within a historically distinct tradition beginning with the First and Second Banks of the United States.”

Wolfe Research wrote: “We believe Powell has a good chance of winning in court, but it’s not guaranteed.”

They added that the core issue isn’t just whether the Court will uphold the ‘for cause’ removal protection for the Fed Chair, but also whether it will restrict the President’s authority to define what constitutes ‘cause.’

They raised another potential scenario: that a lower court might issue an injunction preventing Trump from carrying out the dismissal, and that such an order could remain in effect while the case proceeds.

The memo concluded that this would be enough to allow Powell to complete his term as Fed Chair.

US stock indices rose during Thursday’s trading as markets turned their attention to quarterly corporate earnings results.

The second-quarter earnings season for companies listed on Wall Street has officially begun, starting with bank earnings, most of which have shown strong data.

Government data released today showed that US retail sales rose by 0.6% month-on-month in June, exceeding Dow Jones estimates, which had pointed to a 0.2% increase.

Other data showed that initial jobless claims in the US declined by 7,000 to 221,000 in the week ending July 12, while expectations had pointed to an increase to 233,000.

As for trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.3% (or 125 points) to 44,380 points as of 16:28 GMT. The broader S&P 500 gained 0.4% (or 23 points) to 6,287 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.7% (or 140 points) to 20,871 points.