Summary 180 Life Sciences Corp. has pivoted from a biotech to an Ethereum treasury, driving a massive stock price surge and a rebrand to ETHZilla. The company raised $425M via PIPE and $156M in convertible notes, using proceeds primarily to acquire ETH, now holding over 82,000 ETH. Peter Thiel's rumored 7.5% stake and a new on-chain yield strategy with Electric Capital have fueled investor enthusiasm and rapid valuation growth. I can think of two other struggling biotechs that have pivoted into cryptocurrency, offering fast access to capital markets and potentially outsized shareholder returns. The share price of 180 Life Science Corp is up >145% in trading today, priced at $7.7 at the time of writing, but these gains have nothing to do with the one-time biotech's clinical drug development programs, and everything to do with its recent pivot into becoming an Ethereum (a type of cryptocurrency) treasury - and the apparent news that Peter Thiel has taken a stake in the company. For more information on an extraordinary and very rapid pivot, and how this is beginning to become a trend in the biotech sector, read on. 180's One-Eighty - Anatomy Of A Blockchain Pivot 180 Life Sciences Corp. ( ATNF ) is, or rather was, a struggling biotech. The last time I covered the company it was for my Investing Group subscribers in June 2022, reporting on the bad news that the FDA had rejected management's proposition to use data from a Phase 2b study to support an application for approval of adalimumab - Pharma giant AbbVie's ( ABBV ) one-time globally best-selling drug Humira - to treat Dupuytren’s Contracture. That is a common chronic, progressive fibrotic condition of the hand that causes the fingers to curl irreversibly into the palm which affects ~12m people in the U.S. At that time, 180's stock traded >$1 per share, and it had reported a cash position of ~$6m, having made a net loss of >$(20m) in 2021. In February 2023, the company's study of an intra-articular injection of anti-TNF (adalimumab) to treat frozen shoulder was closed , after only 9 patients were recruited, and in November of that year, its Board of Director's announced it intended to "consider a broad range of strategic, operational and financial alternatives." The company somehow managed to remain as a listed entity despite frequently contravening Nasdaq regulations, which requires listed issuers to maintain minimum stockholders’ equity of $2.5 million, and maintain a share price >$1, helped by a couple of reverse stock splits, and by securing an extension from Nasdaq in July 2024. In September 2024, the company appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, Omar Jimenez - according to a press release : Mr. Jimenez has significant experience in the finance and operations sector, having worked in various high-profile roles in companies such as Golden Matrix Group Inc., Alfadan, Inc., Monaker Group, Inc., Marmel International, Inc., American Leisure Holdings, Inc., US Installation Group, and Onyx Group, Inc. These companies have very little to do with biotech - a foreshadowing of what was to come, perhaps - but in November 180 announced it had regained compliance with Nasdaq listing laws. Then, in October last year, 180 stock skyrocketed to >$15 per share, albeit briefly, as the company released a statement as follows: We are excited to announce that 180 is planning to strategically enter into the online gaming industry, utilizing its newly acquired "back-end" gaming platform, which incorporates blockchain technology and full cryptocurrency operability (the "Gaming Technology Platform"). The platform would have a "blockchain casino operations back end," the press release continued, and a range of other features, including player account management, loyalty systems for blockchain users, and an affiliate tracking system. Shares quickly retreated to ~$1.8 per share, but in December 180 announced its had raised $2.49m via a registered direct offering, and that it had regained compliance with Nasdaq laws that require a company to "maintain an audit committee consisting of three independent directors." On the gaming platform front, there was seemingly no news, but in April this year, 180 announced it had "entered into a Settlement and Mutual Release Agreement with Elray Resources, and Luxor Capital," and bought back 1.32m shares for a price of $1m. Then, to bring us up to date, at the end of last month, 180 dropped its biggest bombshell yet. First, the company announced an offering of: approximately $425 million private investment in public equity transaction ("PIPE") for the purchase and sale of common stock (and pre-funded warrants, if applicable) at a purchase price of $2.65 per share. In addition, the Company has approval to sell an aggregate amount of up to $150 million in debt securities and expects to announce an offering following the closing of the PIPE. What would the funds be used for? Upon closing, the Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering primarily for the purchase of ETH, as well as general corporate purposes and transaction expenses. The Company's current management team and a majority of the Company's directors will remain in place. ETH means Ethereum (ETH-USD). According to McAndrew Rudisill, who the press release stated "is expected become chairman of the board of directors of the Company at closing," the cryptocurrency: has a market cap over $450 billion today, which exceeds many of the most well-known companies in the world and powers some of the major innovations taking the global financial system by storm today In fact, Ethereum has a market cap valuation of $528.3bn at the time of writing (according to TradingView ), its price having risen to $4,455, up >1,000% on a five year basis, and up 75% on a 12-month basis, and >60% across the past six months (at the time of writing, it is up >5% in trading today). What Happened To 180's Drug Development Pipeline? & The Casino? Good question. According to 180's Q2 2025 quarterly report / 10Q filing , which was released on 23rd July: We currently have two legacy biotechnology programs that are focused on different diseases or medical conditions, and that target different factors, molecules or proteins. Due to restrictions in the Company’s resources, the Company has slowed down research and development activities significantly in the SCA platform (discussed below) and the anti-TNF platform (discussed below), and the Company as discussed below, the Company’s license agreement relating to the α7nAChR platform (discussed below) was terminated in November 2024. The Company is currently evaluating all options to monetize its existing life science assets, in addition to exploring other strategic alternatives to maximize value for its stockholders. Our legacy biotechnology programs include: fibrosis and anti-tumor necrosis factor (“TNF”); and drugs which are derivatives of cannabidiol (“CBD”) or cannabigerol (“CBG”) analogues (“SCAs”) The license agreement with Stanford University covering α7nAChR was terminated effective November 23, 2024. After a careful review of the Company’s intellectual property portfolio as part of the Company’s ongoing strategic review process, the Company decided to move in a different direction and returned the intellectual property to Stanford University. The 10Q also discusses the online casino business, noting that: On September 29, 2024, we entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Elray Resources, Inc. (“Elray”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, Elray agreed to sell us certain source code and intellectual property relating to an online blockchain casino (the “Purchased Assets”) in consideration for 1,000,000 shares of then newly designated Series B Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”) and warrants to purchase 3,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company (the “Purchase Warrants”). The fact that these shares appear to have been repurchased, potentially suggests that 180 entered the online casino business and exited it in within a matter of months, having opted to go in a different direction, i.e., into the Ethereum treasury business. In fact, in its late July press release 180 notes that there were "over 60 institutional and crypto-native investors in the PIPE transaction," that "Electric Capital will serve as the external asset manager for the Company, and plans to implement a differentiated, on-chain yield generation program," and finally, that: The Company expects to be positioned to deliver immediate value to shareholders upon the close of this transaction, and through the execution of its long-term investment strategy to acquire ETH and generate yield using the Company's ETH treasury. The Company plans to launch with a key partner in Etherealize. Etherealize brings key strategic partnerships with current leaders in the Ethereum ecosystem which may provide ongoing marketing and amplification value to the Company's Treasury Strategy. Latest Developments - Convertible Notes Issued, Peter Thiel Invests? Earlier today, 180 announced that it has a total holding of: 82,186 Ether ("ETH") at an average acquisition price of $3,806.71, which is now valued at approximately $349 million. In addition to the ETH, ETHZilla holds approximately $238 million in USD cash equivalents. 180 - or to refer to the company under its new name - ETHZilla - now has a market cap valuation of $1.3bn, and climbing - a pretty impressive turnaround for a biotech that could only attract 9 people to a clinical study a couple of years ago. McAndrew Rudisil, who has indeed become Executive Chairman of the Company, commented that: we believe that this reserve of ETH will unlock cash flow for our shareholders as we seek to deliver on our on-chain yield generation program through our external asset manager Electric Capital The press release added that: The Company will continue to provide updates to its Treasury and on chain yield generation strategies, through public releases and regulatory filing(s), as available. Whether there are any shareholders left who still believed they were invested in a struggling biotech company is open to debate, but if there are, they perhaps may have thought the FDA had suddenly opted to approved adalumimab for Dupuytren’s Contracture after all - they will certainly be in for a surprise today! Seemingly, some of today's gains are related to the fact that renowned Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel has acquired a 7.5% stake in the business. Yesterday, the company announced the "closing of a private offering of approximately $156m of convertible notes." What will the company use the fresh funds for? You guessed it, "primarily to rapidly increase its ETH holdings." At the end of the release, in the "About 180 Life Sciences" section, it's noted: The Company is an innovative biotechnology company that has been evolving its business towards software enabled gaming and entertainment. In addition to its existing biotech assets, 180 Life Sciences continues to maintain and accelerate the deployment and development of its gaming initiatives. The Company plans to rebrand as ETHZilla Corporation. By integrating a pioneering ETH treasury strategy, the Company seeks to become a benchmark for onchain treasury management among public companies. Analysis - A Pivot This Quick & Dramatic Feels New - Although I can Think Of Two Further Examples What strikes me as odd - although I am not particularly experienced in terms of how these things work - is that at no point have shareholders been asked to vote on the company's pivot into becoming an Ethereum treasury, or indeed into an online gaming platform. Perhaps shareholders won't care about that now, because the failing company they were invested in has become a sensational bull story. According to MarketBeat, only 1.9% of 180's share float was held short as of July 15th, although that percentage may well have changed, as the share price volatility is not dissimilar to the meme stock "short squeezes" made famous by the likes of, e.g., GameStop ( GME ) and the Robinhood (HOOD) investment platform. Interestingly, this is the third "biotech" (I am using the term somewhat loosely here) to pivot into blockchain management. One of the others is Upexi ( UPXI ). Upexi describes itself (on its website ) as: a new institutional gateway to Solana’s speed, scale, and rapidly expanding ecosystem. We are the leading Solana-focused treasury company, purpose-built to help institutions capture upside in the most performant blockchain network in crypto. Backed by 15 of the most prestigious digital asset venture capital firms, we’re unlocking access to programmable capital and real-time market infrastructure – without the operational complexity. Upexi accumulates locked SOL at a discount, creating built-in gains for shareholders. We then stake this SOL to earn a 7–9% yield, turning the treasury into a productive asset. Upexi (just about) qualifies as a biotech stock thanks to a suite of products it sells, e.g., "Cure Mushrooms," and "Prax," "the highest quality mushroom extracts in tinctures and gummies." Upexi has been a CBD distributor known as Grow Inc, and an e-commerce brand owner for health and wellness products in previous incarnations, as was known as "Grove" when it completed an initial public offering in 2021 raising $11m at $5 per share. Additionally, Semler Scientific (SMLR) is an unusual medical device company - according to its Q3 2024 quarterly report / 10Q submission : Our patented and FDA cleared product, QuantaFlo, measures arterial blood flow in the extremities to aid in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases, such as peripheral arterial disease, or PAD. We also invest in bitcoin and have adopted bitcoin as our primary treasury asset. In Semler's Q2 2025 earning press release , Eric Semler , executive chairman of Semler Scientific states: "We purchased approximately $195.4 million of Bitcoin since the first quarter, bringing the value of our total holdings to nearly $586.2 million as of July 31, 2025. Year-to-date through July 31, 2025, this strategy has generated more than $110.4 million in unrealized gains and delivered a 31.3% Concluding Thoughts - Is Blockchain the New Biotech? No, But Quick Access To Stock Markets Is Invaluable For Some I am speculating somewhat, as I generally cover biotech stocks and am less familiar with blockchain, and cryptocurrencies (although I have spent time consulting on them in the past). However, presumably if a blockchain / cryptocurrency treasury operator, buyer, or speculator wants to gain access to the public markets, it may take years to prepare the necessary legal documents, appoint the right oversight teams, etc. and so on. Perhaps assuming control of a company flirting with delisting due to fatal business flaws (in 180's case, its failure to progress its pipeline and exhausted funds) would be a much faster, and potentially cheaper way to gain access to better funding opportunities? If the result of such actions is a share price that grows nearly 400% in value in less than one year, shareholders are unlikely to object. As such, will we see three biotechs pivoting into cryptocurrency become 10, 20, or >100 in the next few years? After all, by my count, there are >300 biotechs with a market cap valuation It's a fascinating new dynamic to contemplate, although I highly doubt the trickle could possibly become a flood. I'd be interested to know what readers think, but for now, 180 or rather ETHZilla shareholders can be delighted with today's gains, and may be inclined to sell before a massive drop, or remain invested, awaiting even higher prices. It may be worth noting that Upexi stock is up 75% year-to-date, and that Semler stock is up a comparatively modest 25% on a 12-month basis.
