Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund has fully exited ETHzilla Corp., according to a U.S. SEC filing that shows Thiel-linked entities no longer hold any shares in the company. The filing marks a complete reversal from the 7.5% stake disclosed in August. The exit comes after ETHzilla sold more than $100 million worth of ether as it dealt with pressure from the crypto market slump, using the proceeds for stock buybacks and debt repayment.
From biotech name change to ether treasury model
ETHzilla is based in Palm Beach, Florida, and rebranded in 2025 from biotech firm 180 Life Sciences Corp. into a digital asset treasury centered on ETH holdings. At its peak, the company held more than 100,000 ETH. That balance sheet strategy left it heavily exposed once the market turned lower.
Company disclosures cited in the report show ETHzilla sold $40 million in ether in October 2025 and another $74.5 million in December. Those two sales add up to more than $114.5 million. December’s sale was described as the firm’s second major crypto liquidation since October, with the cash directed toward buybacks and retiring debt.
Flash-crash fallout kept building after October 2025
The report places ETHzilla’s troubles within the broader market shock that followed the Oct. 10, 2025 flash crash. During that event, the crypto market saw the largest liquidation cascade on record, wiping out nearly $20 billion in leveraged positions within hours. Before the crash, the sector had climbed to a peak market capitalization of $4.3 trillion.
In the months that followed, the market went through a prolonged deleveraging cycle. Total valuation fell by more than 40%, dropping to roughly $2.4 trillion. The article says that compression pushed several institutional players and digital asset treasury firms into difficult territory, including Strategy, identified in the report as the largest bitcoin treasury company, which was said to be carrying more than $6 billion in unrealized paper losses.
New focus: tokenized equity in leased jet engines
ETHzilla is now redirecting its business toward real-world asset tokenization. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, ETHzilla Aerospace, the company is offering blockchain-based access to equity in leased jet engines. That is a clear break from the original crypto-treasury model. The company is moving away from an approach built around holding ether and toward an infrastructure-linked asset strategy tied to aviation equipment.
The sequence is now clear in public filings and company actions: Thiel’s fund has exited, ETHzilla has sold down a large portion of its ether exposure, and the firm is repositioning itself around tokenized jet engine equity.