ETHZilla buys 15% of Zippy to tokenise manufactured-home loans, gains 36-month blockchain exclusivity
ETHZilla has acquired a 15% stake in U.S. digital lender Zippy for $5.0m cash plus $16.1m in stock to tokenise manufactured-home (chattel) loans. The deal gives ETHZilla a board seat and 36 months of exclusivity for Zippy’s blockchain, digital-asset issuance and tokenisation services. ETHZilla plans to integrate Zippy’s loan-origination and AI systems with its tokenisation stack (eg Liquidity.io) to enable on-chain distribution of loan assets and potential forward-flow sales to institutional investors. This expands ETHZilla’s real-world-asset (RWA) strategy by adding a mortgage-style lending vertical and creating tokenised credit inventory for institutional DeFi participation. The transaction follows ETHZilla’s recent 20% purchase of auto-finance startup Karus and comes after the company pivoted to an Ether-treasury strategy in July. ETHZilla’s stock has since fallen sharply from post-pivot highs amid a wider Ether price decline. Traders should note this move increases on-chain exposure to credit assets and signals continued RWA expansion, but also occurs against a backdrop of volatility for Ether-treasury firms that may amplify selling pressure on ETH if liquidations or asset-mark-to-market events occur.
Neutral
Short-term: neutral to slightly bearish for ETH price. The acquisition signals growing institutional tokenisation of credit, which is bullish for long-term on-chain demand for ETH-based infrastructure. However, the deal is executed by an Ether-treasury company whose stock and balance-sheet exposure have fallen amid recent ETH declines. If ETHZilla or similar firms face mark-to-market losses or forced liquidations, selling pressure on ETH could increase in the near term. The 36-month exclusivity and planned forward-flow distribution create a credible new channel for institutional on-chain demand, which could support ETH and DeFi markets over the medium to long term. Overall, immediate price impact is likely muted or neutral because the transaction itself is corporate and incremental; material downward pressure would require broader liquidation events tied to Ether-treasury positions.