From crypto-treasury to RWA: ETHZilla returns and relaunches as platform markets on Nasdaq.

TLDR

ETHZilla will rebrand as Forum Markets and begin trading under the Nasdaq ticker FRMM beginning March 2, 2026.

Shares have fallen nearly 96% from their August 2025 high, despite a 13.3% one-day gain on news of the new trade name.

Peter Thiel Founders Fund exits 7.5% stake in Q4 2025 as ETHZilla ‘Ethereum' treasury strategy unravels

Forum markets focus on real-world assets, away from single-asset crypto exposure.

ETHZilla is pulling back from its crypto-heavy balance sheet strategy after a dramatic share price decline. The company announced a full trademark to Forum Markets on March 2, preparing to begin trading under the Nasdaq ticker “FRMM.”

The retreat has been linked to months of investor withdrawals, asset sales and steep price declines over the past year. In addition to its Ethereum treasury holdings, the company is now shifting its focus to real-world assets built on integrated infrastructure.

Itzilla rebalances Crypto Holdings after withdrawing from Shul Investor

ETHZilla built its identity by holding Ethereum directly on its balance sheet as a public company. The strategy is designed to give traditional investors exposure to Ethereum without directly purchasing the asset.

In the year Shares peaked at $107 on August 13, 2025, shortly after the company announced a $425 million Ethereum treasury plan. That announcement was a departure from the previous biotech business model.

But the rally was short-lived as market conditions deteriorated and enthusiasm faded. As the stock continued to slide, the company began selling crypto assets to reduce its exposure.

Investor confidence was further damaged when Peter Thiel's Founders Fund exited its 7.5% stake in Q4 2025.

The retreat from crypto exposure has been gradual but deliberate. ETHZilla has reduced its Ethereum holdings while exploring alternative trading channels to boost its equity performance.

One step would include entering into jet engine leasing through a new subsidiary called Etzila Aerospace. That unit proved the equity in the leased engines through the Eurus Aero Token I deployed on the Arbitrum Layer-2 network.

Shares rose 13.3 percent to $3.91 on the day the rebrand was announced. Despite that recovery, the stock is down about 96 percent from its August 2025 peak.

One day's gains reflect cautious optimism around the company's new direction. Whether that progress continues in the name of Forum Markets remains to be seen.

RWA strategy positioning platform markets for a stable model

The shift to alternative real-world assets represents a fundamental shift in how the company plans to generate and sustain value.

Forum Markets intends to produce tokenized products backed by tangible assets using a regulated infrastructure. That approach avoids the volatility associated with holding large crypto positions on public balance sheets. The aviation leasing venture provided an early preview of where the company is headed.

Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, cited structural risks as driving the pullback. “Single-asset treasury strategies are highly dependent on strong market conditions and sustained equity premiums,” Liu told Decrypt.

He added that treasury-focused firms ultimately want to hold income-generating businesses and broad asset exposure for the long term.

His comments reflect broader concerns in the industry about the sustainability of crypto-only balance sheet models.

Liu pointed out specific weaknesses associated with Ethereum-based strategies. They described the model as weak, saying its value was “tightly tied to network activity”, creating a “connection trap where purchasing power weakens during ecosystem collapse”.

Splitting into Ethereum's base layer and layer-2 networks further erodes the overall narrative and premium.

He added that the model is further undermined by the absence of a hard supply cap, leaving the long-term shortage open to question.

Forum Markets is set to begin trading under the FRMM ticker on March 2, replacing the former ETHZ symbol on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The rebrand draws a clear line between the company's failed crypto-treasury experiment and its new asset-backed direction.

The transition reflects a growing recognition that public companies cannot sustain themselves solely on crypto price appreciation. Building income-related products seems to be the model forum markets are betting on right now.