Publicly traded biotech company 180 Life Sciences is raising $425 million to star an Ethereum treasury—and taking on a monstrous new moniker in the process. Now calling itself ETHZilla—and wielding the catch phrase “Unleash the zilla”on social media Tuesday—the firm expects to secure $425 million via a private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering at a purchase price of $2.65 per share.
After closing of the transaction, which included participation from more than 60 institutions and crypto-native investors, the firm plans to seek an additional $150 million via debt securities to buy ETH. “ETH is one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world because it can be used for people to build apps and financial tools to manage assets and generate yield,” incoming ETHZilla Chairman of the Board McAndrew Rudisill told Decrypt. “A true yield curve will be built on Ethereum, and we can generate yield holding Ethereum.”
The biotech company becomes the latest publicly traded firm to look to Ethereum’s robust financial ecosystem as a way to be more proactive with its treasury. It follows in the footsteps of firms like SharpLink Gaming, which actively stakes its ETH to provide additional yield for shareholders. ETHZilla plans to offer something similar when it works with external asset manager Electric Capital, using what it calls a “differentiated, on-chain yield generation program” designed to outperform traditional ETH staking and generate between 3-10% yield depending on the market.
According to Rudisill, Electric Capital’s experience in generating yield on Ethereum will help the firm stand out from the growing pack of ETH treasury firms. “The business will generate EBITDA and positive FCF from the yield generated by Electric’s programs, which we can reinvest in the business. No other treasury vehicle currently has this structure,” he said. “ETHZilla is an operating business with a high-margin profile and large fixed operating leverage.”
Shares in the company (ATNF) closed up more than 10% on the day at $3.22. The stock is currently down 99.91% from its all-time high of more than $3,685 per share. But now it has a new focus: to become a major player among ETH treasury vehicles. And the Godzilla-inspired branding is meant to signal those ambitions to become an imposing force in the growing treasury sector. “ETHZilla was born to acquire a large amount of ETH and to redeploy cash flow generated from yield to acquire more ETH,” said Rudisill. “The name comes from our focus to be one of the largest holders of ETH in the world.”
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