The rebranded firm, now holding 94,675 ETH, is betting big on Ethereum’s long-term value, with backing from Polychain, Founders Fund, and key DeFi founders.
Summary
- ETHZilla debuts on NASDAQ with a $419m Ethereum treasury, rebranding from biotech firm 180 Life Sciences.
- Backed by Polychain, Founders Fund, and DeFi leaders, ETHZilla aims to be a major corporate ETH holder.
According to a press release dated August 18, ETHZilla Corporation has officially completed its rebranding and transition from biotech firm 180 Life Sciences to a dedicated Ethereum (ETH) treasury vehicle.
The company’s shares began trading under the new ticker “ETHZ” on the same day, marking a strategic shift toward accumulating and managing one of the largest corporate ETH holdings in public markets.
“Today, we are embracing our identity as ETHZilla and our commitment to developing a market-leading strategy that seeks to bring the value of Ethereum to investors in the public markets,” McAndrew Rudisill, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, said.
With 94,675 ETH acquired at an average price of $3,902 and now worth approximately $419 million, the move signals a growing institutional embrace of Ethereum as a treasury asset.
ETHZilla’s institutional backing and pivot into Ethereum
According to ETHZilla’s announcement, its treasury strategy is designed to leverage Ethereum’s dual role as both a store of value and a yield-generating asset. The company said it has partnered with Electric Capital to maximize returns through staking, DeFi lending, and liquidity provisioning, positioning the firm to benefit from Ethereum’s expanding utility beyond mere price appreciation.
The pivot from biotech to Ethereum treasury management came after ETHZilla raised $565 million in private funding, with backing from over 60 institutional and crypto-native investors.
The list features both a deep bench of both institutional capital and Ethereum-native builders. Polychain Capital, Electric Capital, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund anchor the institutional side, while key DeFi founders, including EigenLayer’s Sreeram Kannan, Lido’s Konstantin Lomashuk, and Compound’s Robert Leshner, lend credibility to the venture. Their participation suggests confidence not just in ETHZilla’s model, but in Ethereum’s long-term viability as a cornerstone of decentralized finance.
While ETHZilla’s treasury strategy dominates headlines, the company hasn’t abandoned its roots entirely. The company said its legacy biotech assets remain part of the portfolio, with plans to monetize intellectual property, and its gaming division continues to operate. This diversified approach could provide stability if crypto markets turn volatile, though the firm’s future now hinges on Ethereum’s performance.
