Ethereum Treasury and Peter Thiel-Backed Firm Unveils $250,000,000 Stock Buyback Program Amid ETH Gains

An Ethereum treasury firm backed by billionaire Peter Thiel is launching a stock buyback program amid the recent rally of ETH to a new all-time high.

According to an announcement, the board of directors for ETHZilla (ETHZ) has approved a $250 million repurchasing program of the firm’s outstanding common stock.

A stock buyback occurs when a company purchases its own shares, thereby reducing the total number of outstanding shares, according to Bankrate. Buybacks are seen as a way to increase value for investors.

Says McAndrew Rudisill, ETHZilla’s executive chairman,

“As we continue to scale our ETH reserves and pursue differentiated yield opportunities, we believe an aggressive stock repurchase program at the current stock price underscores our commitment to maximizing value for shareholders.”

The firm also discloses it now holds 102,237 ETH at an average acquisition price of $3,948. At time of writing, the firm’s ETH holdings are worth about $465 million. Additionally, ETHZilla holds approximately $215 million in USD cash equivalents.

According to the firm, recently purchased ETH is expected to be held long-term and staked to Electric Capital’s proprietary Electric Asset Protocol to generate yield that is supposed to outperform traditional ETH staking protocols.

Earlier this month, 180 Life Sciences Corp. rebranded as ETHZilla and acquired the top altcoin by market cap after accumulating $425 million through a round of PIPE (private investment in public equity) funding and a $156.25 million convertible note offering.

Ethereum tapped a new all-time high Sunday at around $4,900. ETH has since retraced and is trading for $4,547 at time of writing, down 2.1 on the day.