180 Life Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: ATNF) has unveiled plans for a dramatic transformation, announcing a $425 million private placement and a strategic pivot that will convert the company into ETHZilla Corporation. The move positions the publicly listed entity as one of the largest Ether-focused treasury players in traditional equity markets, signaling a bold attempt to bridge Ethereum-native financial innovation with public market accessibility.
The announced private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal, expected to close by August 1, 2025, brings together over 60 prominent institutional and crypto-native investors. These include Harbour Island, Electric Capital, Polychain Capital, and influential figures from the Ethereum ecosystem. The financing is aimed at building a treasury reserve composed primarily of Ether (ETH), with the company’s management team touting a differentiated on-chain yield strategy.
Pending customary closing conditions, 180 Life Sciences will formally adopt the new ETHZilla brand, appoint a DeFi-heavy advisory council, and launch an institutional-grade ETH yield platform managed externally by Electric Capital.
Why is 180 Life Sciences rebranding to ETHZilla and shifting its treasury strategy to Ethereum?
The decision to rebrand as ETHZilla Corporation stems from 180 Life Sciences’ intent to reposition itself as a gateway for public market investors to access Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem. The pivot includes adopting a treasury strategy centered around Ether (ETH), with proceeds from the $425 million PIPE used to acquire and deploy ETH across a variety of yield-generating protocols.
This transition marks one of the most aggressive moves by a U.S.-listed company to pivot away from its legacy life sciences operations toward a digital asset-focused treasury model. As part of this realignment, the board has endorsed the appointment of McAndrew Rudisill as chairman, with Blair Jordan continuing as CEO. The strategic overhaul also includes the anticipated launch of up to $150 million in debt securities post-PIPE, adding more firepower to the ETH accumulation plan.
Rudisill noted that the Ethereum network’s more than $450 billion market capitalization presents a unique opportunity. He emphasized that ETHZilla’s role is to act as a scalable access point for investors seeking exposure to Ethereum-backed yield, stablecoins, and tokenized asset markets.
What makes the ETHZilla treasury strategy different from traditional crypto treasury holdings?
Unlike passive ETH-holding strategies used by some digital asset funds or crypto-focused companies, ETHZilla aims to actively manage its treasury through a yield-enhancement program curated by Electric Capital. The approach is designed to outperform basic ETH staking returns and will include staking, lending, liquidity provisioning, and custom private agreements.
The strategic blueprint also introduces a “DeFi Council,” composed of Ethereum ecosystem founders such as Vivek Raman, Sreeram Kannan, Grant Hummer, Danny Ryan, and Robert Leshner. These advisors are expected to provide guidance on how to deploy the treasury to both maximize yield and contribute to Ethereum ecosystem sustainability.
Electric Capital will act as ETHZilla’s external asset manager, building infrastructure and governance systems around on-chain risk management and secure yield generation. This program is expected to provide superior transparency, reduced counterparty risk, and flexible capital allocation in both retail and institutional-grade DeFi markets.
How has the investor community responded to ETHZilla’s $425 million raise and ecosystem-first model?
Institutional and crypto-native investors have responded positively to ETHZilla’s vision, with the PIPE round oversubscribed. The caliber of participation suggests strong market interest in hybrid models that blend traditional public equities with decentralized finance exposure.
According to the company, the strategic equity placement was led by a consortium of Ethereum ecosystem leaders and backers including Electric Capital, Lido co-founder Konstantin Lomashuk, Ether.fi’s Mike Silagadze, Eigenlayer’s Sreeram Kannan, Compound and Superstate founder Robert Leshner, and Frax co-founder Sam Kazemanian. The investor syndicate also includes influential builders from Etherealize, a key ETHZilla partner.
Blair Jordan, CEO of 180 Life Sciences, described the transaction as transformative, stating that the reimagined entity is designed to give mainstream investors “a straightforward opportunity to participate in the growth of Ethereum through the public markets.”
What role will the DeFi Council and ecosystem partnerships play in ETHZilla’s future?
ETHZilla’s governance framework is built to include deep ties with Ethereum-native builders, marking a departure from traditional corporate crypto plays. The DeFi Council—formed by core developers and founders of major DeFi protocols—is expected to play an advisory role in capital deployment decisions.
The partnership with Etherealize adds further depth, bringing embedded Ethereum relationships, ecosystem access, and marketing value. This close integration with key Ethereum actors allows ETHZilla to benefit from first-look deal flow, early adoption of DeFi primitives, and stronger on-chain governance participation.
Vivek Raman, CEO of Etherealize, emphasized that the initiative is intended to be “community-designed and strategically deployed,” adding that this model aligns with Ethereum’s original vision of decentralization and collaborative infrastructure-building.
What could ETHZilla’s emergence mean for public market access to Ethereum and DeFi strategies?
If successful, ETHZilla could pioneer a new template for digital asset treasury vehicles in public markets—especially at a time when investor appetite for blockchain-based financial yield is growing amid global interest rate shifts. The model echoes elements of Bitcoin treasury strategies adopted by firms like MicroStrategy but expands the scope into active ETH yield harvesting, DeFi collaboration, and community engagement.
Market observers note that while risks remain—including regulatory uncertainty and ETH price volatility—the company’s positioning within the Ethereum value chain may offer asymmetric upside. The firm’s structure allows institutional investors to bypass self-custody and regulatory complexity while gaining indirect access to native Ethereum protocols.
As the ten-year anniversary of Ethereum’s launch approaches, ETHZilla may serve as a bellwether for how decentralized finance evolves alongside traditional capital markets.
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