180 Life Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: ATNF) has completed a dramatic strategic pivot from biotechnology to cryptocurrency treasury management, raising a combined $581 million through two separate financing rounds to establish itself as a public company focused on Ethereum accumulation and yield generation.
The company closed a $425 million private placement in August 2025, followed by an additional $156 million convertible notes offering on August 8, 2025. The proceeds will be used primarily to rapidly increase the company's ETH holdings as part of what it describes as a "pioneering ETH treasury strategy."
Strategic Transformation and Rebranding
180 Life Sciences plans to rebrand as ETHZilla Corporation, positioning itself as "an ETH accumulation vehicle built for the community, by the community." The company intends to focus a significant portion of its non-legacy operations on becoming a benchmark for on-chain treasury management among public companies.
"The team we are assembling is an accomplished group of well-regarded veterans across decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional finance," said McAndrew Rudisill, who has joined as Chairman of the Board of Directors. "Our collaboration with some of the builders and pioneers of the Ethereum ecosystem is expected to help us shape the future of the Ethereum network."
Institutional and Crypto-Native Backing
The private placement was led by Electric Capital and Harbour Island, with participation from institutional and crypto-native investors including Borderless Capital, Polychain Capital, and GSR. Notable individual investors include prominent Ethereum ecosystem founders such as Konstantin Lomashuk (Co-Founder of Lido), Sreeram Kannan (Founder of Eigenlayer), and Robert Leshner (Founder of Compound and Superstate).
Electric Capital will serve as the external asset manager for the company and plans to implement a differentiated, on-chain yield generation program designed to outperform traditional ETH staking while maintaining robust risk management through a combination of staking, lending, liquidity provisioning, and bespoke private agreements.
Governance and Leadership Changes
The company has appointed several new board members to support its crypto-focused strategy. Crystal Heter, Executive Vice President and COO of Tallgrass, and Andrew Suckling, Founder and Managing Partner of Verulam, have joined as independent directors. Jason New is expected to join the Board as a Director at an upcoming special stockholders meeting, bringing deep capital markets expertise as Vice Chairman of Lazard and Special Advisor to Harbour Island.
Blair Jordan will continue as CEO, overseeing both the new Ethereum strategy and the company's legacy operations in biotech and iGaming.
DeFi Council and Strategic Partnerships
The company is launching with a key partnership with Etherealize, which will provide strategic partnerships with current leaders in the Ethereum ecosystem. Etherealize and a consortium of leading DeFi builders will act as a DeFi Council to offer input on how the company may use its treasury to generate outsized yield while benefiting the Ethereum ecosystem.
"We're thrilled to collaborate with the Company's industry leading team to pioneer new avenues for Ethereum investment," said Vivek Raman, CEO of Etherealize and expected strategic advisor to the company. "Together, we aim to unlock Ethereum's potential for a broader investor base through innovative tools and access to the public markets."
Convertible Notes Structure
The $156 million convertible notes offering provides additional flexibility for the company's treasury strategy. The notes will not accrue interest for the first six months, then carry a 4% annual interest rate. They are convertible into common stock at $3.445 per share, with a potential one-time downward reset after nine months if the stock price falls below the conversion price.
Legacy Operations Continue
Despite the strategic pivot, 180 Life Sciences will maintain its existing biotech assets and continue to seek monetization of its biotechnology intellectual property. The company also plans to continue its iGaming operations while deploying the majority of its capital toward Ethereum accumulation and yield generation.
The company has committed to providing investors with regular updates on its Ethereum holdings to ensure maximum transparency as it executes this unprecedented strategy for a public biotechnology company.
