ETHZilla to invest $100 million in liquid restaking with EtherFi to bolster Ethereum treasury
ETHZilla Corporation, the digital asset treasury (DAT) company backed by investor Peter Thiel, announced on Tuesday its plan to deploy $100 million in liquid restaking protocol EtherFi. The decision is part of the company’s strategy to diversify its exposure and earn higher returns on its ETH reserves.
McAndrew Rudisill, executive chairman of ETHZilla, explained in a statement that the move bolsters the security of the Ethereum network while also opening up new opportunities for profitability. “By deploying $100 million in liquid restaking, we bolster the security of Ethereum while unlocking incremental yield opportunities to improve our treasury returns,” he stated.
Rise of liquid restaking
The announcement comes at a time of strong growth for the liquid restaking ecosystem, a decentralized finance (DeFi) innovation that allows users to reuse their already staked tokens as collateral in other applications. According to the most recent data reviewed by The Block, the total value locked (TVL) in these protocols has reached $30 billion.
In parallel, native Ethereum staking has seen an increase in withdrawals by validators, who choose to move their funds to platforms that offer higher profits. EtherFi is currently positioned as the sector leader by TVL, even above Eigenpie, according to specialized reports.
ETHZilla in expansion
ETHZilla has recently increased its supply of Ethereum to over 100,000 units, strengthening its position as one of the leading digital treasuries focused on this asset.
The company trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker ETHZ, and its shares were down 1% to $2.78 at press time, equating to a market capitalization of around $480 million.
In August, ETHZilla closed a $425 million private placement, involving more than 60 investors. These include Electric Capital, Polychain Capital, GSR, Konstantin Lomashuk (co-founder of Lido and p2p.org), and Sreeram Kannan (founder of Eigenlayer). This move cemented the company as a relevant player in the Ethereum digital treasury sector.
ETHZilla’s growth is taking place in a highly competitive environment. According to market data, digital treasuries dedicated to Ethereum are led by Tom Lee’s BitMine with roughly 1.8 million ETH and Joe Lubin’s SharpLink with 837,000 ETH. Faced with these figures, the company still maintains a smaller scale, but its backing from strategic investors and its recent partnership with EtherFi reinforce its positioning.
The deployment on EtherFi could mark a new chapter in ETHZilla’s strategy. As liquid restaking protocols continue to gain traction, corporate treasuries are looking to maximize the efficiency of their digital reserves. In that scenario, the company’s decision reflects not only a financial move but also a commitment to strengthening Ethereum’s infrastructure at a key moment for the evolution of DeFi protocols.
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