When markets turn, strategies change fast.
ETHZilla has sold 24,291 ETH worth $74.5 million, using the proceeds to settle outstanding debt tied to its senior secured convertible notes. The Nasdaq-listed, Peter Thiel–backed company confirmed the move on Monday.
Even after the sale, ETHZilla still holds 69,802 ETH, valued at roughly $207 million. But the message is clear: Ethereum is no longer the centerpiece of its strategy.
This is the company’s second major ETH sale. Back in October, ETHZilla offloaded $40 million in Ethereum to help fund a $250 million stock buyback.
DAT Strategy Unravels 🚨
— Nfoz (@N_fozz) December 22, 2025
Peter Thiel-backed ETHZilla just sold $74.5M in ETH to pay debt, abandoning its crypto treasury (DAT) playbook. They're pivoting to "real-world asset tokenization" as their new story.
Reality check: The "hold crypto on balance sheet" hype is crashing… pic.twitter.com/lvlkXJzpz1
The Ethereum Treasury Experiment Is Over
Just six months after adopting a digital asset treasury model, ETHZilla is abandoning it.
Going forward, the company says its valuation will be driven by revenue and cash flow from real-world asset tokenization, not the size of its crypto wallet. That’s a meaningful pivot—and a telling one.
In July, ETHZilla raised $425 million through a PIPE deal involving more than 60 investors, specifically to build an Ethereum-heavy balance sheet. The move mirrored a broader trend among smaller Nasdaq firms trying to recreate the success of Bitcoin treasury plays.
But the results didn’t stick.
Less Crypto Transparency, More Traditional Reporting
ETHZilla also announced it will shut down its mNAV dashboard, a tool that compared its market capitalization with net crypto asset holdings in real time.
Instead, investors will receive periodic balance sheet updates, signaling a shift away from crypto-native transparency toward more conventional financial disclosures.
What’s Next: Real-World Asset Tokenization
The company isn’t retreating from blockchain entirely—it’s refocusing.
ETHZilla is now targeting the tokenization of:
- Auto loans
- Manufactured home loans
- Aerospace equipment
- Real estate
The timing matters. Ethereum is down nearly 30% over the past three months, trading around $3,000, putting pressure on companies that tied their valuations too closely to ETH prices.
Market Reaction and the Bigger Trend
Investors didn’t love the news. Shares fell nearly 4% to $6.64 following the announcement. That’s a sharp contrast to August, when the stock surged over 90% after Thiel’s involvement became public.
ETHZilla’s move highlights a growing issue across digital asset treasury firms:
stock prices are falling faster than the underlying crypto assets.
Many now trade below the net asset value of their token holdings, making it harder—and less attractive—to raise capital just to buy more crypto.
For ETHZilla, the conclusion is simple: crypto exposure alone isn’t enough. Sustainable revenue is back in the driver’s seat.
