With the backing of the Ethereum treasury, Ethereum has recently surged, surpassing $4,700, just $150–200 away from reaching its all-time high (ATH).

Notably, the two standout players in the Ethereum treasury space, BitMine and SharpLink, have been particularly dazzling. In just two to three months, BitMine has accumulated 1.2 million ETH, while SharpLink holds nearly 600,000 ETH. BitMine and SharpLink represent two typical paths: one aligned with Wall Street and the other with Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys founder Lubin.

Beyond these two paths, another Ethereum DAT (Decentralized Autonomous Treasury) company has recently emerged. It is the Nasdaq-listed company 180 Life Sciences, now renamed ETHZilla.

After announcing its Ethereum treasury strategy, ETHZilla’s stock price surged over 10x in one month, and its ETH holdings now rank among the top 5 Ethereum treasury companies, with an mNAV (market-adjusted net asset value) as high as 6—far exceeding BitMine’s 1.8 and SharpLink’s 1.07.
Who stands behind ETHZilla? What makes its Ethereum treasury strategy unique? Golden Finance dug deeper.

Who is ETHZilla?

ETHZilla began its journey just half a month ago.

On July 29, Nasdaq-listed 180 Life Sciences announced the signing of a PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) financing agreement, raising $425 million to implement its Ethereum treasury strategy. Upon completion of the transaction, the company was renamed ETHZilla.

On August 4, it announced the completion of a $425 million private placement. On August 11, it announced the issuance of $156 million in convertible notes. The convertible notes carry an annual interest rate of 0.00% for the first six months, followed by 4.00% for the next six months until maturity.

On August 12, ETHZilla announced the purchase of 82,186 ETH at an average price of $3,806, totaling approximately $349 million. ETHZilla currently holds about $238 million in cash equivalents.

Notably, the PIPE transaction attracted over 60 institutional and top DeFi founders, including Harbour Island, Electric Capital, Polychain Capital, GSR, Omicron Technologies, Konstantin Lomashuk (co-founder of Lido), Sreeram Kannan (founder of EigenLayer), Mike Silagadze (founder of Ether.fi), Danny Ryan (co-founder of Etherealize), Vivek Raman (co-founder of Etherealize), Sam Kazemian (co-founder of Frax), Grant Hummer (co-founder of Etherealize), Robert Leshner (founder of Compound), Tarun Chitra (founder of Gauntlet), and several other prominent Ethereum ecosystem founders and leaders.

What Makes ETHZilla Unique Among Other ETH DATs?

1. Peter Thiel Holds Nearly 30% of ETHZilla
   According to SEC filings, Peter Thiel and several funds under his Founders Fund hold shares in ETHZilla—FF Consumer Growth II (5.8%), The Founders Fund Growth II Management (5.8%), FF Upper Tier GP (5.8%), FF Consumer Growth (1.7%), The Founders Fund Growth Management (1.7%), and Peter Thiel (7.5%)—totaling a staggering 28.3% ownership. Although the filings state these do not constitute a "group acting in concert."
   Public records show Peter Thiel holds stakes in two Ethereum treasury companies. The first is BitMine, controlled by Tom Lee, but SEC filings reveal Thiel owns only about 9% of BitMine, suggesting a more financial investment.

The second is ETHZilla. Unlike BitMine, Thiel holds nearly 30% of ETHZilla.

As a top-tier U.S. investor and political power broker, Thiel’s deep involvement may be one reason ETHZilla’s mNAV is as high as 6.

2. Vitalik and the Ethereum Foundation Join the Fray
   According to ETHZilla’s announcement, Etherealize CEO Vivek Raman will serve as a strategic advisor to ETHZilla. Additionally, Etherealize will collaborate with a leading alliance of DeFi builders to form a DeFi Council, advising ETHZilla on how to leverage capital for超额收益 (excess returns).

All three co-founders of Etherealize have invested in and supported ETHZilla.

Behind Etherealize lies Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation (EF).

Etherealize, an Ethereum ecosystem institutional marketing and product division, was established in January 2025 to promote Ethereum to Wall Street financial institutions. Etherealize accelerates institutional adoption by: educating institutions about Ethereum as a store-of-value asset and technological platform, and connecting institutions to Ethereum by building products that onboard assets and users into the ecosystem.

Market rumors suggest Etherealize was established under the impetus of the Ethereum Foundation. Even before its founding, Etherealize received investment from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation. In March 2025, during a period of extreme ETH price lows, Danny Ryan, a heavyweight at the Ethereum Foundation and lead coordinator of The Merge upgrade, joined Etherealize as a co-founder.

In June 2025, Etherealize published a research report stating that ETH is "digital oil," poised to become the infrastructure supporting the global economy, powering the global financial system and broader digital economy. ETH should be viewed as a core allocation in institutional strategies, particularly those prioritizing long-term value creation, technological exposure, and future-proof financial infrastructure.

3. Focus on DeFi and On-Chain Strategies
   According to ETHZilla, Etherealize will collaborate with a leading alliance of DeFi builders to form a DeFi Council, exploring how to generate excess returns. Council members bring extensive experience as creators of many critical DeFi protocols (see the DeFi founders participating in ETHZilla’s financing).

Electric Capital will serve as ETHZilla’s external asset manager, implementing a differentiated on-chain yield generation program. This program aims to go beyond traditional ETH staking while maintaining robust risk management, combining staking, lending, liquidity provisioning, and customized private agreements.

Conclusion

The three points above highlight what sets ETHZilla apart from other Ethereum treasury companies.

ETHZilla brings together seasoned Wall Street investors, Ethereum OGs, and top DeFi founders under one publicly traded entity. It not only buys ETH but also focuses on DeFi, deploying a series of Ethereum-driven on-chain strategies to compound ETH’s value and maximize per-share ETH value.

As Wall Street and real-world assets (RWA) move on-chain, ETHZilla may be pioneering a new path in leveraging Ethereum’s on-chain yield potential.