 ▲ Peter Thiel exits… Is ETHZilla’s Ethereum treasury strategy nearing its end? / ChatGPT-generated image |
Peter Thiel has stepped away from his bet on an Ethereum treasury strategy, as shares of the related publicly listed company ETHZilla have plunged 97% from their peak.
According to DL News on February 18 (local time), filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that billionaire investor Peter Thiel and his investment firm Founders Fund sold their entire 7.5% stake in ETHZilla by the end of 2025. Thiel had been a major shareholder as recently as August last year.
ETHZilla was originally a biotech company called 180 Life Sciences, but after completing a $425 million private fundraising round in August last year, it overhauled its business model. The company transformed into a corporate Ethereum treasury strategy firm, aggressively purchasing Ethereum (ETH), drawing significant market attention. Following the announcement, its stock price surged to $174.
However, ETHZ (ticker: ETHZ) is currently trading at around $3.5 on the Nasdaq, marking a decline of more than 97% from its peak last summer. During Tuesday’s session, the stock fell more than 8% intraday before recovering some of its losses. The sharp drop is seen as a sign that the crypto treasury strategy boom that spread like a trend between 2024 and early 2025 is cooling.
At the time, numerous publicly traded companies shifted strategies to raise billions of dollars to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum, but as of last December, only one company had outperformed the S&P 500. ETHZilla was launched amid that trend, but investor confidence has been significantly shaken following the departure of its backers.
Nevertheless, the company continues to expand its tokenization business. On February 5, it announced the acquisition of a mortgage portfolio, which it plans to tokenize on a private Layer 2 network. On February 12, it also revealed plans to tokenize two commercial jet engines purchased for $12.2 million. However, with the exit of a major investor and the collapse in its stock price, questions are growing about the sustainability of the corporate Ethereum treasury strategy model.
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