ETHZilla's Ethereum balance sheet nears $500 million amid CEO change, Cumberland financing deal

Nasdaq-listed ETHZilla Corporation (ticker ETHZ) said it now holds 102,246 ether at an average acquisition price of $3,949, about $443 million at current prices, alongside roughly $213 million in cash equivalents as Ethereum treasury firms ramp up accumulation in the second half of 2025.

The company has also appointed Executive Chairman McAndrew Rudisill as chief executive officer, replacing Blair Jordan effective Sept. 4, according to a Monday statement . ETHZ shares rose over 8%, Yahoo Finance data shows.

ETHZilla has also entered into an over-the-counter financing with crypto liquidity provider Cumberland DRW for up to $80 million, collateralized by a portion of its ETH. The net proceeds are expected to fund repurchases under its previously announced $250 million stock buyback program .

Rudisill said the Cumberland deal "strengthens our ability to execute on our stock repurchase program," calling buybacks opportunistic given what the company views as a "significant discount to NAV" in its share price.

The move extends ETHZilla’s recent push to build a balance-sheet ETH position while returning capital to shareholders. On Monday, it disclosed about 2.2 million shares repurchased at an average price of $2.50. The buyback trimmed shares outstanding by 1.3% to 164,426,122.

On the capital side, the company raised $20.9 million and $7.3 million, respectively, via at-the-market (ATM) share sales in the weeks ended Aug. 24 and Aug. 31. No ATM issuance was recorded the week ended Sept. 5.

ETHZilla’s update lands amid a broader wave of corporate ether treasuries and tighter market scrutiny. Peers like BitMine and SharpLink have recently accelerated accumulation, while exchanges and regulators have stepped up oversight of listed firms that raise capital to buy crypto.

The company described its mandate as building an "accumulation vehicle" for ether that aims to become a public company benchmark for onchain treasury management. Through a partnership with Electric Capital, ETHZilla said its yield strategy targets outperformance versus vanilla ETH staking, guided by an executive team and a DeFi Council of engineers and founders. As The Block reported, it plans to funnel $100 million in ETH to liquid restaking protocol EtherFi .