Peter Thiel’s venture firm, Founders Fund, sold its entire position in ETHZilla by the end of last year, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The move erased a stake that had stood at 7.5% in early August last year, taking it down to zero within a matter of months.
ETHZilla, based in Palm Beach, built its story around an ether treasury strategy modeled on the balance-sheet playbook associated with Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR). The company became one of the better-known names in the digital asset treasury trade as investors chased firms accumulating large token holdings.
From failed biotech stock to ether treasury vehicle
The company began life as 180 Life Sciences, a biotech stock that later abandoned that path and pivoted sharply into Ethereum treasury management. At its peak, ETHZilla had accumulated more than 100,000 ETH. The SEC filing does not disclose the prices or exact timing of Founders Fund’s purchases and sales, but the fund’s initial disclosure came when ETHZilla shares were surging. In August, the stock reached an all-time high of nearly $107.
That rally came during a period when crypto treasury and digital asset treasury stocks were drawing heavy interest. Multiple companies leaned into the same model, hoping to benefit from investor appetite for publicly traded firms holding large crypto reserves.
Asset sales and a steep share-price collapse
The trade later unraveled. ETHZilla sold $40 million worth of ether in October and another $74.5 million in December, with the stated aim of reducing debt tied to convertible notes. By Dec. 30, the stock had dropped to just $4.99 per share, representing about 95% value destruction from its summer high.
Founders Fund’s exit came as that broader enthusiasm faded. The company’s stock decline and ether sales captured the pressure facing firms that had tied their market narrative to token accumulation.
Another pivot as DAT stocks lose momentum
ETHZilla changed direction again in February this year, spinning out ETHZilla Aerospace. The new unit was designed to offer investors tokenized slices of leased jet engines. Even with that shift, the SEC filing makes one point clear: Founders Fund is no longer invested in ETHZilla.