ETHZilla, a U.S.-listed company, said it will rename itself Forum Markets and operate under the brand name Forum, marking a strategic shift away from its former identity as an Ethereum treasury company and toward real-world asset tokenization. After the announcement, the company’s stock climbed more than 13% on Wednesday and reached about $3.91, its highest level in nearly a month.
According to the company’s statement, its common stock is expected to begin trading under the new Nasdaq Capital Market ticker FRMM starting at the open on March 2, pending Nasdaq approval. The rebrand signals a clear reset in how the company wants to be positioned, moving away from a business model closely tied to Ethereum holdings.
Reducing reliance on an Ethereum treasury strategy
ETHZilla was previously known as 180 Life Sciences, an underperforming biotech stock. Last year, it raised $565 million and attracted investment from Peter Thiel before pivoting into an Ethereum reserve strategy. At its peak, the company held more than 100,000 ETH. Even with crypto markets recovering recently and Ether rising about 12% in a single day to reclaim the $2,000 level, the token is still down more than 50% since ETHZilla began buying heavily in August last year.
The company has also been dealing with a broader reset in market expectations. Peter Thiel has since exited his entire stake, and the stock, which once surged above $100 on enthusiasm around its treasury strategy, has been under pressure. To ease repayment pressure tied to convertible debt, ETHZilla sold $40 million worth of Ether in October and another $74.5 million in December, cutting exposure to a single crypto asset.
New focus on tokenized housing loans and aircraft engines
In 2026, the company accelerated its move into tokenized real-world assets. Earlier this month, it spent $4.7 million to acquire a loan portfolio backed by 95 manufactured housing loans. Those assets are expected to be tokenized on an Ethereum Layer 2 network, with a target annualized yield above 10%.
Forum has also expanded into aviation-linked assets. Through a partnership with Liquidity.io, an alternative trading system regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company purchased two CFM56-7B24 aircraft engines used on Boeing 737 jets for tokenization. ETHZilla still holds 69,802 ETH worth about $145 million, making it the world’s sixth-largest corporate Ether holder.