Billionaire investor Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund has fully exited its stake in Ether treasury company ETHZilla, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund previously held a 7.5% position worth approximately $40 million, disclosed in August 2025. This move highlights growing strain on public companies with Ether-heavy treasuries, as ETHZilla sold portions of its holdings and other firms like BitMine and Trend Research take opposing strategies amid market volatility.
Founders Fund, linked to billionaire Peter Thiel, has completely exited its position in Ether treasury company ETHZilla. The exit was reported in a 13G amendment filed with the SEC on Tuesday.
Previously, the group beneficially owned 11.6 million shares representing 7.5% of the company, worth about $40 million in early August. This stake was disclosed in an earlier SEC filing on Aug. 4, 2025.
ETHZilla was originally known as 180 Life Sciences Corp., which raised $425 million in July 2025 to launch an Ether treasury strategy. The company later aimed to raise another $350 million via convertible bonds to expand its Ether holdings.
At one point, ETHZilla held more than 100,000 Ether, but it liquidated 24,291 ETH for $74.5 million in December 2025. This sale was to repay debt, leaving about 69,800 ETH on its balance sheet.
Thiel’s exit is seen as a stress signal for public companies with crypto treasuries built around Ether rather than Bitcoin. Other large Ether accumulators are taking divergent approaches, as data shows.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest listed Ethereum holder, acquired an additional 40,613 ETH on Feb. 9. This lifted its total holdings to more than 4.325 million ETH, worth about $8.8 billion.
In contrast, Trend Research began unwinding its entire Ethereum position, selling 651,757 ETH for about $1.34 billion on Feb. 8. This sale locked in an estimated $747 million realized loss.
ETHZilla has tried to diversify by launching a subsidiary called ETHZilla Aerospace. However, Thiel’s exit magnifies the volatility of Ether‑heavy treasury strategies in the current market.
