180 Life Sciences: ETHZilla’s $425M Crypto Gamble 🎲

by

If you blinked, you might’ve missed 180 Life Sciences’ pivot from anti-inflammatory drugs to becoming ETHZilla, the latest crypto titan with a side of sarcasm. 🦠➡️🤖

Based in Palo Alto, where innovation means “slightly less Silicon Valley,” this biotech firm has decided that staking Ethereum is just as exciting as curing inflammation. With $425 million in private placement funds—backed by Ethereum’s most enthusiastic spreadsheet enthusiasts—it’s rebranding as ETHZilla. Because nothing says “long-term vision” like betting your entire treasury on a blockchain that can’t decide if it’s a currency or a casino. 🧪➡️💰

  • 180 Life Sciences traded lab coats for crypto bro gear, raising $425M to become ETHZilla and build a corporate ETH treasury so big, it’ll make Vitalik Buterin cry (with pride, probably). 😭
  • Their strategy? Electric Capital will manage staking, liquidity, and lending—because who needs sleep when you can outperform passive holdings? 😴💸
  • Standard Chartered says corporate ETH treasuries could hold 10% of total supply. Good luck explaining that to your grandpa. 👴

According to a press release dated July 29, Nasdaq-listed 180 Life Sciences has entered into agreements to convert its treasury into ETH. If this were a movie, it’d be called *The Emperor’s New Coin*. 🎬

The funding round, led by crypto’s A-team (Polychain, Lido, Compound, etc.), is set to close by August 1. If they pull this off, ETHZilla will join the ranks of crypto’s biggest players—though I’m still waiting for someone to explain what “DeFi” actually means. 🤷♂️

From Biotech to Blockchain: The ETHZilla Playbook 📜

ETHZilla’s bet is that Ethereum is both a store of value and a yield engine. Unlike Bitcoin, where the plan is to hoard coins until they’re worth a house, ETHZilla wants to *do things* with its ETH. Like stake it, lend it, and maybe even lose it in a DeFi Ponzi scheme. 🏦🔥

Electric Capital, the firm managing ETHZilla’s assets, plans to stake for rewards, provide liquidity, and engage in private lending. Because why just hold ETH when you can gamble with it? 🎰

“This planned strategy reflects a strong, long-term investment approach,” said Blair Jordan, CEO of 180 Life Sciences. “We plan to execute a differentiated investment approach.” 🤷♂️

Translation: We’re doing something no one understands, and it’ll be amazing. Or a total disaster. 🌟💣

The list of backers reads like a crypto Hall of Fame: Polychain, Lido’s Konstantin, Eigenlayer’s Sreeram, Compound’s Robert. Their support is a nod to ETHZilla’s thesis: corporations should actively engage with crypto protocols. Because who needs stability when you can have volatility? 🤪

The Corporate ETH Arms Race Heats Up 🏹

ETHZilla isn’t alone in this mad dash. Standard Chartered reports corporate ETH treasuries now hold 1% of circulating supply. That’s 1.26 million ETH, accumulated while the rest of us were binge-watching Netflix. 🍿

Analyst Geoffrey Kendrick predicts these holdings could hit 10% of supply. Firms like BitMine and SharpLink Gaming are already playing the game. It’s like *Monopoly* but with more rug pulls and fewer houses. 🏠💸

For ETHZilla, this is a high-stakes experiment. Managing on-chain yield requires navigating smart contract vulnerabilities, liquidity crunches, and regulatory gray zones. Even DeFi natives struggle with these, but hey, at least it’s not biotech anymore. 🧪➡️💻

If this works, public companies might start seeing crypto as a way to actively participate in finance. If not? Well, at least they’ll have a great story for their next pivot. 🚀💥

Read More

2025-07-29 22:08