Shares of Ethzilla (Ethz), formerly known as biotech company 180 Life Science, fell almost 30% on Friday after its shareholders revealed they had filed for up to 74.8 million shares.
The offering has sparked concerns about dilution. This is a process in which existing shareholder interests lose value as they enter the market. For investors, that means that the ownership slice will shrink even if the overall value of the company remains the same.
According to filings, after the issuance of the initial shares, the company’s outstanding shares will increase by approximately 46% from 164.4 million, to 239.3 million. The company does not receive revenue from shareholders selling converted shares.
Earlier this month, Ethzilla reformed into the Crypto Treasury Company, holding 82,186 ether, and it has a cash equivalent of approximately $349 million worth of its current price, with a cash equivalent of $238 million. Ether was acquired at an average price of $3,806.71 per token. News of the size of the pivot and holdings surged stocks on August 11, lifting 80% of the stocks from the start of the year ahead of a sharp turnaround on Friday.
The strategic change has also attracted heavyweight supporters.
Peter Thiel, who publicly supported Ethereum, holds a 7.5% stake in Ethz through the Founders Fund. The fund also owns 9.1% of Bitmine Immersion Technologies and has recently raised $250 million to build its own Ether reserves. Thiel’s involvement highlights the broader bets by influential investors that Ethereum can lock in the next generation of financial infrastructure.
The ether itself regained momentum in 2025 after falling behind other altcoins last year. Tokens have grown 38% since the start of the year, surpassing the 24% rise in Bitcoin and the 17% rise in Coindesk 20 index. Due to context, Bitcoin rose 121% in 2024, while Ether added just 31%. The turnaround coincides with US regulations clarity, prompting Wall Street institutions to adopt Ethereum as the foundational layer for launching new financial products and services.
Despite a surge in prices and interest from investors, ETHZ shares opposed the broader trends on Friday. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow all went high after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but the ether itself has risen 9% in the past 24 hours.
Seloff highlights Etaz’s promise as a massively publicly traded etheric treasury and the tension that investors are worried about short-term dilutions. The company’s balance sheet will become one of the largest ether holders in the corporate world, but shareholders are considering whether their promises can outweigh the risk of being cut into smaller pieces.
