Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has exited ETHZilla Corp. after the company sold $74.5 million worth of Ethereum to manage financial pressure.
A recent SEC filing shows that Thiel and his venture firm, Founders Fund, no longer hold shares in ETHZilla. The company previously built a large crypto treasury but has now reduced its holdings significantly.
At its peak, ETHZilla held over 100,000 ETH, according to data from DefiLlama. However, falling crypto prices have forced the firm to liquidate part of its stash to cover debt and buy back stock.
The company, formerly known as 180 Life Sciences Corp., rebranded to ETHZilla in August and shifted fully into cryptocurrency management. The move came just as the broader market turned bearish.
Ethereum has dropped nearly 60% from last year’s peak and was trading around $2,000 at the time of writing. The decline put heavy pressure on ETHZilla’s balance sheet.
In October, the firm sold around $40 million worth of ETH to repurchase shares. It later sold another $74.5 million to repay senior secured convertible notes.
ETHZilla has since launched a new unit called ETHZilla Aerospace, which plans to offer tokenized equity in leased jet engines. The shift suggests the company is looking beyond pure crypto holdings as market volatility continues.
