Overview

• Entities affiliated with Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund disclosed a 7.5% passive stake in 180 Life Sciences, which has rebranded as ETHZilla, in a Schedule 13G filed August 11.
• ETHZilla shares more than tripled intraday after the filing, closing 207% higher.
• Company filings report holdings of 82,186 ETH at an average cost of $3,806.71, valuing the ether reserve at roughly $349 million alongside about $238 million in cash equivalents.
• To finance rapid ether accumulation, ETHZilla secured $425 million through a private placement followed by $156 million in senior secured convertible notes due 2028.
• ETHZilla plans to deploy its ether into staking and DeFi yield strategies managed by Electric Capital, a plan that has prompted warnings from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin about the risks of overleveraging.