Thiel-backed Ethereum treasury fund ETHZilla completes rebrand as it continues ETH accumulation, deployment strategy

Nasdaq-listed ETHZilla completed its corporate rebrand, according to an announcement on Monday, signaling the firm’s newfound focus on providing exposure to ether through U.S. public markets.

Formerly known as 180 Life Sciences Corp., which traded under the ticker ATNF, the newly rebranded ETHZilla's common stock and public warrants will begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbols ETHZ and ETHZW.

ETHZilla now holds approximately 94,675 ETH, worth approximately $419 million, after raising $565 million through a $425 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal and a $156.25 million convertible note offering. Its average token acquisition price is around $3,900, which is below the recent peak price of over $4,700, according to The Block’s price page.

The firm is part of a growing trend of so-called digital asset treasury (DATs) companies that raise capital to fund token purchases, offering investors exposure to crypto. Unlike Strategy, the bitcoin-only holding company that kickstarted the investment frenzy, firms that invest in proof-of-stake assets like Ethereum and Solana can bring in additional revenue by staking or through various DeFi strategies.

Electric Capital, the external asset manager for ETHZilla, is pursuing a "differentiated, onchain yield generation program designed with the goal of outperforming traditional ETH staking," according to the announcement.

Over 60 institutional and crypto-native investors participated in ETHZilla's PIPE transaction, including Borderless Capital, GSR, and Polychain Capital, as well as notable angel investors like Eigenlayer’s Sreeram Kannan, Gauntlet’s Tarun Chitra, and Superstate’s Robert Leshner. Ethereum powerhouse lobbying group Etherealize co-founders Danny Ryan, Grant Hummer, and Vivek Raman are also named backers.

Perhaps most notably, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund acquired a 7.5% stake in the company earlier this month.

"We are launching this new brand and our new treasury strategy with significant interest from the market and valuable partnerships with prominent Ethereum ecosystem founders and leaders,” Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company McAndrew Rudisill said in a statement.