ETHZilla Deploys $100M with EtherFi Protocol

ETHZilla Corporation, the Ethereum digital asset treasury backed by Peter Thiel, announced on Tuesday its intention to invest $100 million in ETH using the liquid restaking protocol EtherFi. This investment aims to pursue higher yield returns. According to ETHZilla Executive Chairman McAndrew Rudisil, "By deploying $100 million into liquid restaking, we're reinforcing Ethereum's security while unlocking incremental yield opportunities to enhance returns on our treasury holdings." The liquid restaking protocols on Ethereum have recently gained significant traction, with the total value locked (TVL) across platforms soaring to $30 billion. This increase coincides with a rise in withdrawals from native ETH staking, as validators seek alternative opportunities. EtherFi allows users to access restaking yields via EigenLayer, and it currently stands as the leading liquid staking protocol based on TVL, surpassing Eigenpie. ETHZilla’s Ethereum holdings have risen recently, exceeding 100,000 tokens, and it is traded on Nasdaq under its ticker. Last month, ETHZilla successfully closed a $425 million private placement with over 60 participants, including Electric Capital, Polychain Capital, GSR, and major industry figures like Konstantin Lomashuk and Sreeram Kannan. After the announcement of Peter Thiel's stake in the company, ETHZilla's shares surged over 90% last month. Tom Lee's BitMine and Joe Lubin's SharpLink are leading among digital asset treasuries focused on acquiring Ethereum, holding approximately 1.8 million ETH and 837,000 ETH, respectively. At the time of publication, ETHZ shares decreased by 1% to $2.78, giving it a market capitalization of around $480 million.