Ethereum

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Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund has fully exited Ether treasury company ETHZilla, according to a Tuesday filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).&nbsp;
Entities linked to Thiel now <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1690080/000199596426000003/xslSCHEDULE_13G_X01/primary_doc.xml" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">report</a> owning zero shares in the company in a 13G amendment filed on Tuesday, after <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1690080/000141588925021455/xslSCHEDULE_13G_X01/primary_doc.xml" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">disclosing</a> a 7.5% stake on Aug. 4, 2025.&nbsp;
At that time, the group beneficially owned 11,592,241 shares of what was then known as 180 Life Sciences Corp., representing 7.5% of the 154,032,084 shares outstanding and worth about <a href="https://fintel.io/chart/us/atnf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$40 million</a> based on trading at around $3.50 per share in early August.
<figure><img alt="Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund dumps ETHZilla stake as ETH treasuries face pressure" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-02/019c6fcb-cc06-7052-a541-513e265b2439.png" title="">
 <figcaption>Founders Fund 13G Filing with SEC. Source: S<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1690080/000199596426000003/xslSCHEDULE_13G_X01/primary_doc.xml" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">EC</a>
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<h2 id="180-life-sciences-rebrands-to-ethzilla">180 Life Sciences rebrands to ETHZilla</h2>
180 Life Sciences <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/down-99-biotech-firm-180-life-sciences-pivots-crypto-eth" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">raised $425 million in July 2025</a> to launch an Ether treasury strategy and rebrand as ETHZilla.&nbsp;
The company later moved to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethzilla-raises-350m-expand-ether-holdings-defi-yield" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">raise another $350 million via convertible bonds</a> in September to expand its Ether (<a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETH</a>) holdings and deploy them across decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenized assets, at one point holding more than 100,000 Ether.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmine-staked-ether-holdings-annual-staking-revenue" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitmine’s staked Ether holdings point to $164M in annual staking revenue</a>
ETHZilla began unloading tokens as markets turned, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethzilla-liquidates-ether-redeem-convertible-debt" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">liquidating 24,291 Ether for $74.5 million</a> in December 2025 at an average price of $3,068.69 per token, to repay debt, leaving about 69,800 ETH on its balance sheet.
<h2 id="strain-on-ether-treasury-company-models">Strain on Ether treasury company models</h2>
Thiel’s exit is the latest stress signal for public companies with crypto treasuries built around Ether rather than Bitcoin (<a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>).&nbsp;
Other large Ether accumulators are taking different approaches. BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest listed Ethereum holder, acquired a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmine-buys-40-613-eth-during-sell-off-as-ether-strategy-faces-deep-drawdown" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">further 40,613 ETH</a> on Feb. 9, lifting its total holdings to <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/treasuries/companies/bitmine" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">more than 4.325 million ETH,</a> worth about $8.8 billion at current prices.
Trend Research, on the other hand, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trend-research-reduces-eth-holdings-325k-187k-eth-binance" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">began unwinding its entire Ethereum position</a> this month, selling 651,757 ETH for about $1.34 billion on Feb. 8, locking in an estimated <a href="https://x.com/lookonchain/status/2020345960610902440" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$747 million</a> realized loss.
ETHZilla has since tried to diversify by <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethzilla-tokenized-jet-engines-rwa-ethereum-liquidity-io" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">launching ETHZilla Aerospace</a>, a subsidiary offering tokenized exposure to leased jet engines. However, Thiel’s exit magnifies how volatile Ether‑heavy treasury strategies have become in a market still digesting last year’s peak.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/china-stockpiling-gold-yaun-global-reserve-us-dollar/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Big Questions: Is China hoarding gold so yuan becomes global reserve instead of USD?</a>

Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund dumps ETHZilla stake as ETH treasuries face pressure

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