ETHZilla now holds $350 million in Ethereum. As a result, its ATNF stock has jumped more than 200% in just two days.
A tiny biotech company has turned into one of the market’s hottest crypto plays. 180 Life Sciences, now rebranded as ETHZilla (ATNF), has seen its shares soar more than 200% in just two days after announcing a massive purchase of Ethereum. The move mirrors the high-profile Ethereum strategy of BitMine Immersion Technology (BMNR) and has investors piling in.
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ETHZilla Builds a Massive Ethereum Treasury
ETHZilla revealed that it now holds 82,186 ETH, valued at about $349 million. The coins were purchased at an average price of $3,806 each. Alongside its Ethereum stash, the company has $238 million in cash, giving it more than $587 million in liquid assets.
Executive Chairman McAndrew Rudisill said the goal is to create a “differentiated Ethereum treasury vehicle” by building one of the largest ETH holdings among public companies. The firm plans to stake much of this Ethereum with Electric Capital to earn yield, aiming to beat the returns available from standard staking programs.
This strategy positions ETHZilla as a corporate Ethereum whale almost overnight. It is an aggressive change for a company that was once focused on biotech.
Big Fundraising Powers the Transformation
The sudden crypto buying spree was made possible by a $425 million private placement and $156 million in convertible notes. These deals raised a combined $581 million in fresh capital. The notes carry zero interest for six months and then 4% annually, converting into shares at $3.445.
This type of financing allowed ETHZilla to accumulate Ethereum without draining its balance sheet. The high level of trading volume in its stock also helps. This lets the company raise funds by selling shares without heavily impacting the market price.
By securing this funding in advance, ETHZilla could move quickly to buy Ethereum in size before prices moved even higher.
Peter Thiel’s Backing Lifts Market Confidence
One of the biggest confidence boosters for investors is the involvement of Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, which now holds roughly 7.5% of ETHZilla. Thiel is best known for co-founding PayPal and Palantir and being an early Facebook investor.
His stake has been widely viewed as an endorsement of the company’s vision. It also puts ETHZilla in the same conversation as other Thiel-backed projects, which often attract significant media and market attention.
When a billionaire with Thiel’s track record takes a position, it tends to draw more speculative interest from traders looking for the next big winner.
ATNF Stock Price Explodes on Crypto Shift
The market’s reaction was exuberant. ETHZilla shares jumped 207% on Tuesday, then gained another 55% in Wednesday’s premarket trading, pushing the stock above $15. The rally has more than tripled the company’s market value in less than 48 hours.
The speed of the move shows how quickly sentiment can change when a small-cap company makes a high-profile pivot into crypto. Traders are betting that Ethereum’s price will rise over the coming months and that ETHZilla’s holdings will appreciate sharply.
The rebranding to ETHZilla and the clear focus on building ETH per share has also created a simple, memorable story for the market to latch onto.
Why This Move Could Pay Off, and Why It’s Risky
The strategy mirrors Strategy’s (MSTR) bet on Bitcoin and BitMine Immersion Technology’s aggressive accumulation of Ethereum, both of which transformed their market profiles. If Ethereum becomes a larger part of the global financial system as ETHZilla predicts, the value of its holdings could soar and so could the stock.
However, this is not without risk. Ethereum remains volatile, and a sharp downturn could wipe out hundreds of millions in asset value. Regulatory uncertainty, changes in staking rewards, or problems in the DeFi ecosystem could also weigh on returns.
