ETHZilla Raises $156M to Boost Ethereum Holdings

ETHZilla ($ATNF) that used to be 180 Life Sciences raised 156 million in senior secured convertible notes. These notes are of three years. Their interest rates are 0 percent with a six months term and 4 percent going forward. The company will have used the funds to acquire additional Ethereum ($ETH). The move makes it more dominant as a large corporate Ethereum holder.

What is the Convertible Notes Strategy?

Convertible notes are instruments which capture the nature of both debt and stocks. The notes by ETHZilla present investors priority as a senior secured creditor. The interest-free period cuts direct money pressure. The annual interest rate of 4% is considerably less than the interest rates of other conventional debts, which indicates a high investor confidence level. There is no need to realize immediate equity dilution, which works in favor of companies aiming at transitioning to new markets. The value of the conversion, however, is subject to future stock performance and market price of Ethereum where both are changeable factors.

According to SEC filing, billionaire investor Peter Thiel has disclosed a 7.5% share in ETHZilla. He got a stake in an earlier $425M financing round. The fact that Thiel has a background of crypto investments gives credit to ETHZilla to their Ethereum-specific change of direction. The stock of the company $ATNF increased by 57 percent overnight after the announcement. This tremendous increase indicates that investors are optimistic in regards to the involvement of Thiel as well as the future development of Ethereum.

ETHZilla Multi-Sector Approach

This $156M will be primarily purchasing Ethereum, but ETHZilla are not going to use it as simply spending money. The company will invest in yield-bearing assets and enter into the iGaming. It will also commercialise its historical biotech material. This portfolio of projects diversifies risk though it may be a threat to operational clarity. The Ethereum investment is speculative, the iGaming industry experiences regulatory challenges, and the biotech is unclear in terms of biotech monetization.

Trend of Ethereum Treasury

ETHZilla adds to the list of the growing number of public firms that own Ethereum. This reflects the approaches such as the Bitcoin treasury model of MicroStrategy. Corporations are interested in Ethereum because of its involvement in stablecoin settlements and staking rewards. ETHZilla is an asset-Managed Index run by Electric Capital. It also possesses a DeFi Council which possesses members such as Etherealize, which they advise on strategy. Nevertheless, ETHZilla has failed to reveal the number of Ethereum it has so far and the investors are wondering.

Market reaction and mood

The responses to the news about social media have fallen into different categories, including interest and a demand of transparency. Increase in $ATNF stock demonstrates great short term mania. Nevertheless, absence of Ethereum holding data confines certain investors to be vigilant. Ethereum currently is trading at approximately 3,200 as of August 12, 2025 with a gain of 5% in the last 24 hours- likely due to the ETHzilla news.

The greatest risk is volatility of the price of Ethereum. This may impact operations because of regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Asia and the U.S. The entrepreneurship of ETHZilla relies on how to avoid losing the track of its multiple endeavors. When prices of Ethereum increase to a high level, this firm may enjoy high returns. Otherwise, the high stake attitude might play against themselves.

Final Outlook

Due to the $156M raise led by ETHZilla and the support of Thiel, it has been positioned to take some big moves in the corporate investment in Ethereum. The convertible note financing offers a suspension of all its assets accumulation before the establishment of interests. However, there is a lack of Ethereum holding disclosures, complexities in the operation and the volatility of the market that investors need to be wary about. The second big update would be upon the disclosure of the size of Ethereum treasury by ETHZilla.