Century-Old FG Nexus Bets on 10% of Ethereum’s Total Supply: Whale Entry or “Moonshot” Hype?
Another giant has stepped into the crypto arena — but this time, it’s not targeting BTC. Instead, the focus is on ETH, accompanied by a bold claim to acquire 10% of Ethereum’s total supply.
US-listed, long-established financial enterprise Fundamental Global Inc. (now renamed FG Nexus) has announced a market-shaking goal — to ultimately purchase ETH equivalent to 10% of Ethereum’s total supply through multiple rounds of financing. The news instantly ignited industry-wide discussion: a traditional financial institution with nearly a century of history, facing recent revenue fluctuations and a declining market cap — can it really shoulder such a responsibility? Or is this just another “big-spending” marketing stunt? This article will dive into FG Nexus’s strategic motives, execution capability, potential risks, and the impact on Ethereum’s ecosystem from multiple perspectives.
Fundamental Global’s Century-Long Background and Current Status
Founded in 1932, Fundamental Global Inc. is a diversified financial services company whose business scope covers reinsurance, asset management, and investment banking. Despite its long history, its business performance in recent years has been volatile, with revenue hovering in the tens of millions of dollars. Its stock price has continued to fall since 2021 and now sits at only 8.6% of its historical peak, with average daily trading volume once dropping to just tens of thousands of dollars. This reality has fueled skepticism: can a “former giant” still find a foothold in the fiercely competitive crypto market?
On the other hand, Fundamental Global recently announced its rebranding to FG Nexus and publicly unveiled its ambitious plan to acquire 10% of ETH’s total supply — a target far beyond the current Ethereum holdings leader, BitMine. This high-profile stance both signals its determination to transform and draws market attention to its funding strength and execution capability.
- The Core of FG Nexus’s Strategic Transformation: Building the World’s Largest ETH Holding Company
On July 30, FG Nexus announced plans for a $200 million private placement to issue 40 million prepaid common stock warrants, with the proceeds dedicated to building an Ethereum reserve. In early August, the financing was officially completed, attracting heavyweight crypto institutions such as Galaxy Digital, Kraken, Hivemind Capital, Syncracy Capital, and Digital Currency Group. Galaxy Digital was also appointed as a strategic advisor, responsible for managing the Ethereum treasury.
Going a step further, FG Nexus submitted an S-3 registration to the US SEC, planning to issue up to $5 billion in securities to raise large-scale funds for Ethereum purchases. The flexible “at-the-market” issuance mechanism allows the company to issue securities in batches according to market conditions, maximizing adaptability to capital market fluctuations.
However, based on current ETH prices, FG Nexus would need over $50 billion to buy 10% of the total supply (around 12 million ETH) — far exceeding its current financing scale. Even considering the $5 billion issuance capacity, the funding gap remains huge. How it builds the capital chain and arranges the financing schedule will be the key test of its strategic execution.
- Team Background and Differentiated Advantages
From a personnel standpoint, FG Nexus has assembled a group of senior executives with deep experience in both crypto assets and Wall Street finance, aiming to build a professional edge:
Maja Vujinovicd, CEO of the crypto asset division, has over a decade of crypto investment experience. She has driven blockchain pilot projects for global financial giants like JPMorgan and State Street, and participated in managing more than 40 innovative crypto companies. She emphasizes that Ethereum is not just infrastructure but also a conviction, with FG Nexus’s vision being to create an “institutional-grade Ethereum vault.”
Theodore Rosenthal, President of the crypto asset division, founded the hedge fund TMR Capital, which manages over $2 billion in capital with an annualized return of 28.8%, and follows Warren Buffett’s value investing philosophy.
Jose Vargas, Head of Business Development, is a serial entrepreneur and seed investor with multiple successful exits and extensive experience.
This lineup provides FG Nexus with strong fintech and crypto asset management capabilities. Its diversified yield enhancement strategies, along with participation in staking and DeFi protocols, reflect a revenue-driven approach to ETH holdings.
- Mixed Market Reactions
On one hand, institutional investors such as Everstar Asset Management, Vanguard Group, Renaissance Technologies, and BlackRock hold FG Nexus shares, indicating recognition of its strategic potential.
On the other hand, the scale of funding and pace of execution remain “question marks.” As one analyst put it: “This feels more like a heavyweight strategic declaration. It sends a signal that Ethereum still has enormous institutional appeal, but the real test lies ahead.”
What FG Nexus Means for the Ethereum Ecosystem
Whether FG Nexus ultimately achieves its 10% target or not, its aggressive positioning itself is already an important sign of Ethereum’s move toward institutionalization and large-scale adoption. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly supported the concept of “Ethereum reserve companies,” believing it will broaden ETH investment channels and increase market participation.
To date, more than 70 companies collectively hold about 3.49 million ETH worth nearly $15 billion — around 2.9% of total supply. As a new whale, FG Nexus aims to leverage its capital strength and professional team to drive Ethereum treasury building, shifting ETH from a matter of personal conviction to an institutional asset.
This further reinforces Ethereum’s role as global digital financial infrastructure. With staking and DeFi participation, ETH assets are not only a store of value but also a sustainable yield-generating tool.
Risks and Challenges Facing FG Nexus’s Grand Plan
Huge Funding Gap — The $50 billion scale is no small number; market volatility, financing costs, and share price pressure could all impact progress.
Execution Concerns — The company’s revenue and stock performance have been weak, and after the private placement its stock price briefly spiked before pulling back — suggesting investor doubts about its ability to sustain strategic momentum.
Crypto Asset Volatility Risks — ETH’s sharp price swings could impact staking, re-staking, and leveraged positions. A major drop could trigger a chain reaction of forced liquidations.
Regulatory and Market Uncertainty — US and global crypto regulations are still evolving, and policy risk remains.
Conclusion
FG Nexus’s strategic transformation and 10% ETH holding plan undoubtedly inject strong momentum into the crypto market — but also bring substantial uncertainty. For a financial brand with nearly a century of history, this move is both a model case of traditional finance embracing digital assets and a high-stakes test of its fundraising, execution, and market adaptability.
For Ethereum, growing institutional participation is a sign of ecosystem maturity. While risks remain, in the long term this trend could help solidify Ethereum’s status as a flagship global digital asset.
