Investment company ETHZilla has started a share buyback using part of its crypto reserve. Since October 24, it has sold Ethereum worth $40 million — these funds went to the first stages of the buyback. Already, 600 thousand shares have been repurchased for $12 million, which is the first step within the $250 million program approved in August.
As explained by CEO MacAndrew Rudisill, ETHZilla is “redistributing assets,” reducing the share of ETH on the balance sheet to support shareholders:
“Our shares are trading significantly below NAV, and a buyback at this price immediately increases value for shareholders.”
Against this strategy, interest from private investors has re-emerged. Among them is trader Dmitry Semenikhin (known in the crypto community as Capybara Stocks), who gained fame after the rise of Beyond Meat shares. He announced that he joined ETHZilla and publicly urged the team to sell more Ethereum while the share price remains below net asset value.
ETHZilla has indeed faced an imbalance: NAV turned out to be lower than market capitalization, despite the presence of large funds, including Peter Thiel’s Founder’s Fund.
Investors push ETHZilla to take active measures
Before the start of the buyback, Dmitry Semenikhin reached out to ETHZilla. In a letter, he criticized the management for not taking advantage of the moment when shares were trading at a significant discount to net asset value:
“You could have increased NAV per share by starting a buyback while the shares remain below their real value.”
Semenikhin suggested selling part of the crypto reserves to speed up the buyback. According to him, even despite the controversial reputation of such sales, the market will see this as a smart move:
“Investors, both institutional and private, already understand the fundamental valuation of ETHZilla. By selling Ethereum for the buyback, you are acting in their interests.”
The company responded quickly: within a few hours, ETHZilla confirmed that it had indeed sold $40 million in ETH, directing the proceeds to buy back its own shares.
The market supported this decision. On Monday, ETHZilla shares rose by 14%, while the price of Ethereum fell by 2.5%.
Despite the partial sale, ETHZilla remains among the largest public holders of Ethereum. It still holds about $400 million in ETH on its balance sheet, ranking fifth in volume among public companies.
See also: Western Union prepares to launch a stablecoin on Solana in 2026
While one company is reducing its crypto positions, another, BitMine Immersion (BMNR), has taken the opposite path. On Monday, it announced the purchase of 77,000 ETH, bringing the total to 3.31 million Ethereum, or about $13.3 billion.
