Former biotech firm ETHZilla (ETHZ) is intensifying its focus on real-world asset markets by acquiring a 15% share in digital housing lender Zippy to bring manufactured-home loans onchain. This acquisition represents the company’s second purchase within a week.
As stated in Wednesday’s announcement, ETHZilla will invest $5 million in cash and $16.1 million in stock for its 15% stake in Zippy, a US-based lender established in 2021 that provides manufactured-home loans via a digital platform.
The collaboration aims to integrate Zippy’s loan-origination and AI-driven systems with ETHZilla’s tokenization infrastructure for the onchain distribution of manufactured-home chattel loans, which could include future sales to institutional investors.
In this deal, ETHZilla will secure a board position at Zippy and gain a 36-month exclusivity period mandating that Zippy utilize ETHZilla’s platforms for all blockchain infrastructure, digital asset issuance, and tokenization efforts.
ETHZilla, ranked as the sixth-largest Ether (ETH) treasury company by CoinGecko, highlighted that this investment supports its extensive strategy in real-world asset (RWA) markets.
This news follows ETHZilla’s acquisition of a 20% fully diluted stake in the auto-finance startup Karus for $10 million in cash and stock last week.
As of the latest data from Yahoo Finance, ETHZilla’s stock price has decreased approximately 10%.
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Ether treasury stocks face steep declines
Several public companies that have incorporated Ether as a balance-sheet asset this year, including ETHZilla, have experienced dramatic reversals in share prices as the token value dropped from its peak.
ETHZilla, previously known as 180 Life Sciences Corp, announced its transition to an Ether treasury firm on July 29. Its stock surged from a $45 opening that day to a $107 close by August 13. However, it has since plummeted around 91%, trading at approximately $10 currently.
SharpLink Gaming initiated an Ethereum treasury approach in May, alongside a $425 million private placement which featured Consensys as an investor and coincided with the appointment of Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as chairman.
The company’s shares rose over 130% to $79.21 following the announcement on May 29, but have since sharply declined to around $11.77 as per Yahoo Finance data.
Bitmine Immersion, another Ether treasury company led by Fundstrat’s co-founder Tom Lee, has also faced challenges recently. Its stock price peaked at $135 in July but has since fallen to approximately $40.
In August, Kadan Stadelmann, chief technology officer of Komodo Platform, indicated to Cointelegraph that firms implementing ETH treasury strategies face inherent risks, cautioning that a market downturn could lead to liquidations and heighten selling pressure on the token.
Ether has seen a decline since reaching its all-time high of $4,946.05 on August 24 and now trades at $3,365, according to CoinGecko data.
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