Ethereum-focused treasury firm ETHZilla (ETHZ) has diversified its balance sheet away from digital assets, purchasing two jet engines for $12.2 million in cash. The acquisition, disclosed in a Friday filing with the SEC, marks a sharp pivot for the company, whose stock has collapsed approximately 97% since its August 2025 peak.
The Deal Structure
Through its newly formed subsidiary, ETHZilla Aerospace LLC, the firm acquired two CFM56-7B24 engines, standard powerplants for Boeing 737NG aircraft. The engines are currently under lease to a major airline. As part of the deal, ETHZilla entered a servicing agreement with Aero Engine Solutions, which includes a reciprocal put/call option allowing either party to force a sale of the engines at $3 million per unit upon lease expiration.
This move into tangible aviation assets follows a period of aggressive liquidation. In late 2025, ETHZilla sold over $114.5 million in Ethereum to fund stock buybacks and redeem debt, signaling a retreat from the leveraged "crypto treasury" strategy that defined its rebrand from 180 Life Sciences earlier that year.
The math shows investors value the company less than its crypto holdings… they’re borrowing money to buy time, not tokens.
The Institutional Pivot
While the company frames the purchase as a step toward "tokenizing real-world assets" (RWAs), the market context suggests a defensive maneuver. With the stock trading near $5.23, down from an August high fueled by private investment in public equity (PIPE) hype, the acquisition of cash-flowing hard assets offers a floor that volatile crypto treasuries failed to provide. ETHZilla’s ability to tokenize these engines remains theoretical, but the lease revenue is immediate.
