Remember when companies had to actually do something to make their stock price explode? Yeah, those days are apparently over. Meet 180 Life Sciences, a biotech company that just pulled off the corporate equivalent of “I’m not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom” by ditching drug development for crypto hoarding—and somehow convinced Peter Thiel to throw money at them.
The company, which is rebranding itself as “ETHZilla” (because nothing says serious business like adding “-zilla” to your name), just saw its stock rocket over 400% after announcing they’re sitting on 82,186 Ethereum tokens worth about $349 million. That’s like finding out your neighbor who collects vintage lunch boxes suddenly has a Picasso collection.
The Peter Thiel Stamp of Approval
Here’s where it gets interesting: PayPal co-founder and professional contrarian Peter Thiel decided this pivot made perfect sense and bought a 7.5% stake through his Founders Fund. When a guy who helped create the digital payment revolution starts backing your crypto treasury play, people notice. The stock jumped 90% just on the news of his investment.
Think of it this way: 180 Life Sciences was like that friend who spent years trying to become a doctor, then suddenly announced they’re becoming a day trader instead. Except in this case, the day trader is actually making bank.
The New Corporate Playbook
This isn’t just some random pivot—it’s part of a growing trend where companies are becoming “Digital Asset Treasuries” (DATs). Basically, instead of developing products or services, they’re becoming publicly-traded crypto funds. It’s like if your local pizza place decided to stop making pizza and just buy Bitcoin instead, but somehow the pizza got more expensive.
The company raised $425 million in a private placement earlier this month, with over 60 participants including some heavy hitters like Electric Capital and Polychain Capital. They’re not just buying and holding either—they’re planning to generate yield through staking and other on-chain strategies with Electric Capital managing the show.
The MicroStrategy Playbook (But With Less Debt Drama)
Unlike MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, who’s been borrowing money like it’s going out of style to buy Bitcoin, ETHZilla’s leadership says they won’t over-leverage. Translation: they’re not going to bet the farm and potentially have to sell their crypto stash if things go sideways. It’s the difference between going all-in at poker versus playing with money you can afford to lose.
The timing couldn’t be better either. Ethereum has been outperforming Bitcoin this year, and institutional demand is surging. When you combine that with Thiel’s backing and a clear strategy that doesn’t involve potentially catastrophic debt, you’ve got a recipe for investor excitement.
Whether this trend of companies abandoning their core business to become crypto treasuries is genius or madness remains to be seen. But for now, 180 Life Sciences—sorry, ETHZilla—is laughing all the way to the blockchain bank.