PayPal and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel dumped shares in a major Ethereum holder

Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has completely sold his stake in cryptocurrency ETHZilla, which is among the top ten largest public holders of Ethereum. The former biotech startup tried to replicate Strategy's business model, but was forced to part with a significant portion of its assets with the arrival of cryptozyme.

Structures managed by Peter Thiel reported on February 17 that they have withdrawn from the ownership of ETHZilla shares, according to Bloomberg. At the same time, back in August 2025, they owned a stake of 7.5%. The investor exit coincided with a difficult period for the business model: Ethereum, the second most capitalized cryptocurrency after bitcoin, has fallen in price by almost 60% from last year's peak. When the crypto market began to collapse in October, ETHZilla was one of the first to sell off assets, realizing more than $100 million worth of Ethereum to buy back shares and pay down debt, the agency wrote. Despite the sale, the company is still among the top 10 largest Ethereum holders whose shares are traded on the exchange: 69,800 tokens worth about $140 million remain on its balance sheet, Crypto Briefing notes.

ETHZilla is one of the many firms that have tried to copy Michael Saylor's strategy of turning enterprise software developer Strategy into a bitcoin exchange. But ETHZilla's trajectory has been far more turbulent, Bloomberg states. Founded as biotech startup 180 Life Sciences, the company rebranded in August 2025 and refocused on buying Ethereum. ETHZilla had more than 100,000 tokens on its balance sheet at its peak, but the company soon saw its price plummet. After a forced sale of crypto-assets, it announced another change of business model: through its new subsidiary Aerospace, ETHZilla now sells tokenized stakes in leased aircraft engines.

ETHZilla shares fell 3.1% on the Nasdaq exchange's premarket on Feb. 18. The company has lost 28% of its market value since the beginning of 2026. According to FactSet, there is only one strategist who covers ETHZilla securities analytically, advising them to buy (Buy rating).

On February 18, the Ethereum exchange rate fell by 0.55% to $1981, continuing its decline, which amounted to 38% over the last month and 27% over the year. The consensus forecast formed by Trading Economics suggests a reversal of the trend: the price is expected to recover to $2140 by the end of the quarter and further growth to $2571 in the coming year.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor