This crypto stock skyrockets 182% after Peter Thiel makes surprise investment

Time of India

3 days ago

180 Life Sciences' crypto pivot is more than a headline-
On August 12, 2025, an otherwise quiet ticker — 180 Life Sciences Corp. — tripled in value almost overnight. Rebranded as
ETHZilla
, the company announced it now holds 82,186 Ethereum worth roughly $349 million and has raised more than $581 million through private placements and convertible notes to fund an aggressive Ethereum treasury strategy.
Adding to the shock factor, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund disclosed a 7.5 percent stake. That single revelation lit a fire under the stock, sending shares up as much as 207 percent in one session.
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This was no biotech bump on a promising trial result — it was institutional crypto ambition making a decisive entrance into public markets.
Stock and key market data
Current price
: Approximately
$10.24
, reflecting a
206.6% gain in just the past 24 hours.
Market capitalization
: Stands at about
$1.58 billion
, up sharply over the past week .
Daily trading range
: Between
$4.88 and $12.74
, with a 52-week span stretching from
$0.66 to $17.75.
Shares outstanding
: Approximately
154.0 million.
How a biotech firm became Ethereum's poster child
Corporate pivots aren't rare, but this one is in a league of its own. Five years ago, struggling biotechs often leaned on licensing deals or buyouts to survive. ETHZilla, instead, abandoned its original lane and embraced Ethereum with both arms.
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The company isn't just buying and holding ETH; it's actively deploying it through sophisticated on-chain strategies — staking, lending, and liquidity provisioning — designed to generate yield beyond simple appreciation. To guide this, ETHZilla formed a dedicated DeFi Council, bringing together seasoned capital markets professionals and blockchain innovators to manage the treasury like a revenue-producing asset.
This isn't a panic pivot. It's a calculated reinvention.
Cash and crypto reserves fueling the rally
According to PR materials and recent company announcements:
Ethereum holdings
: 82,186 ETH acquired at an average price of
$3,806.71
, currently valued at about
$349 million.
Cash reserves
: Around
$238 million
in USD cash equivalents.
Funding fuel
: The company raised
$425 million through a PIPE offering
and an additional
$156 million via convertible notes
late July and early August. The convertible notes carry a 4% annual interest after six months and are due in 2028.
Why Peter Thiel's stake changes the game
The Founders Fund's 7.5 percent stake is no casual trade — it's a signal. Thiel has a history of backing technology plays that reshape financial systems, and his earlier investment in a Bitcoin-to-Ethereum treasury pivot hinted at his growing conviction in this model.
ETHZilla now offers him a public vehicle that doesn't just accumulate ETH but seeks to generate returns from it. Comparisons to MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy are inevitable, yet ETHZilla's approach adds a layer of active income generation. By tying Ethereum holdings to per-share growth, the company positions itself as more than a passive store of value — it's aiming for operational performance.
Key questions investors are asking
Is this speculation or a sustainable model?
Critics worry about the potential for ongoing share dilution in crypto-treasury companies. Ethereum also lacks Bitcoin's hard cap, which some argue makes it less compelling as a pure scarcity play.
Yet ETHZilla's model relies on yield creation, not just asset appreciation, giving it an additional revenue stream that could counterbalance those concerns — if execution matches the ambition.
What risks should be on the radar?
Ethereum's price can swing by double-digit percentages within days, creating inevitable volatility in ETHZilla's balance sheet. Regulatory uncertainty looms large as well, with questions over how U.S. agencies might treat yield-bearing crypto products or Ethereum's classification itself.
The company does maintain a $240 million cash reserve and retains intellectual property from its biotech days, providing some fallback options. Still, the risk profile remains high.
What this means for the crypto-treasury movement
ETHZilla isn't alone. A growing number of small-cap public companies are exploring similar ETH-backed treasury models. The broader adoption of Ethereum in decentralized finance and stablecoin settlement adds further weight to the asset's long-term demand story.
Corporate treasuries using yield-bearing crypto assets are no longer a fringe experiment — they're shaping up to be a legitimate, if risky, financial strategy.
What to watch next
Execution
: Can ETHZilla deliver the yields it promises while managing crypto market volatility?
Regulation
: Will U.S. authorities provide clarity that could either support or constrain this model?
Peer adoption
: Could ETHZilla's early success inspire a wave of Ethereum-backed treasury plays similar to Bitcoin's corporate adoption phase?
Whether ETHZilla becomes a case study in innovation or a cautionary tale will depend on how well it navigates the execution, the markets, and the regulators. For now, the market is watching — and so is the rest of the corporate world.
FAQs:
Q1: What is 180 Life Sciences' new crypto strategy?
It's now ETHZilla, holding Ethereum and using DeFi strategies to generate yield.
Q2: Why did Peter Thiel invest in ETHZilla?
He sees it as a public vehicle to back Ethereum's growth with active returns.