Thiel-Backed Whale ETHZilla Dives Into Liquid Restaking, Injecting $100M ETH Into EtherFi

On September 2, 2025, ETHZilla Corporation, a Nasdaq-listed firm backed by outstanding traders together with Peter Thiel, announced a $100 million deployment of its Ethereum reserves into EtherFi, a liquid restaking protocol.

The determination marks ETHZilla’s first direct integration with DeFi infrastructure. The agency seeks to generate larger yields on its holdings whereas strengthening Ethereum’s community safety.

ETHZilla Leverages EtherFi to Unlock Yield on ETH Holdings

Executive Chairman McAndrew Rudisill described the shift as a “strategic evolution” in treasury administration. “By deploying $100 million into liquid restaking, we’re reinforcing Ethereum’s safety whereas unlocking incremental yield alternatives to boost returns on our treasury holdings.

Partnering with EtherFi marks a pivotal step in our engagement with DeFi,” Rudisill stated within the launch.

The allocation represents a portion of ETHZilla’s 102,246 ETH reserves, valued at roughly $456 million as of August 31. In addition to its crypto holdings, the corporate maintains $221 million in money equivalents and has greater than 166 million shares excellent.

According to information from the corporate’s capital summaries, ETHZilla aggressively expanded its Ethereum place by means of August, buying over 20,000 ETH at a median buy worth of $3,949.

EtherFi, the protocol chosen for the funding, gives enhanced yield by means of restaking, a course of that enables staked ETH to be rehypothecated into extra safety layers and companies past Ethereum’s core validation.

Mike Silagadze, founder and CEO of EtherFi, referred to as ETHZilla’s entry a watershed second.

“Their dedication highlights the rising institutional confidence in decentralized protocols and showcases a singular technique of bridging conventional finance with the Ethereum ecosystem,” Silagadze stated.

The transfer follows ETHZilla’s rebranding from 180 Life Sciences Corp. in late July, when the corporate pivoted to digital property and adopted Ethereum as its central treasury reserve.

Backed by greater than 60 institutional and crypto-native traders, the agency introduced plans to boost $425 million by means of a personal funding in public fairness (PIPE) deal, supplemented by $150 million in potential debt securities.

Proceeds from the financing have been earmarked for ETH acquisitions, treasury operations, and transaction prices. ETHZilla’s treasury technique is managed in partnership with Electric Capital, which is overseeing an on-chain yield program supposed to outperform commonplace ETH staking.

The firm has acknowledged that its broader plan includes a mixture of lending, liquidity provisioning, and structured agreements, designed to stability yield optimization with danger controls.

ETHZilla Evolves Into Educator and Investor as Ethereum Restaking Gains Traction

ETHZilla just lately canceled 1.3 million excellent shares held by Elray Resources in a $1 million settlement, streamlining its capital construction because it deepens its give attention to crypto. The transfer follows its broader push to place itself not solely as an investor but in addition as an educator.

Its “Ethereum School” publishes weekly lessons on financial coverage and staking economics, with latest materials emphasizing how Ethereum’s price burn and issuance mannequin have decreased web annual issuance for the reason that 2022 Merge to simply 0.139%, displaying its deflationary potential.

Meanwhile, liquid restaking continues to develop throughout the ecosystem. Total value locked in Ethereum protocols has climbed to $30 billion, pushed by validators shifting away from native staking. EtherFi leads the sector in TVL, forward of Eigenpie by providing customers restaking yields through EigenLayer.

Corporate demand for Ether stays robust. According to SER data, Tom Lee’s BitMine holds about 1.8 million ETH, whereas Joe Lubin’s SharpLink ranks second with 837,000 ETH. SharpLink added 39,008 ETH between August 25 and 31 at a median worth of $4,531, elevating its treasury worth to $3.6 billion.

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