Forum rebrand drives ETHZilla stock surge amid tokenization strategy shift
In its second corporate identity overhaul within a year, ETHZilla transitions to Forum as the company pursues opportunities in the surging tokenization market.
Shares of ETHZilla experienced a 13% surge during Wednesday's trading session following the firm's announcement of its name change to Forum, marking a strategic shift away from its cryptocurrency treasury approach toward a tokenization-focused business model.
On Wednesday, the organization revealed it has rebranded its corporate identity to Forum Markets and will operate under the Forum name. Additionally, ETHZilla plans to modify its trading ticker to "FRMM" when markets open on Monday, subject to receiving Nasdaq's authorization.
According to the company's statement, this rebranding represents another milestone in its evolution toward becoming a platform that "connecting traditional capital markets with blockchain-based financial infrastructure."
Forum embodies our belief that the next generation of financial markets will be built around institutional-grade, on-chain products backed by real assets, governed by transparency, and delivered through regulated infrastructure
McAndrew Rudisill, company chair and CEO
ETHZilla shares climb 13% on rebrand
ETHZilla (ETHZ) stock concluded Wednesday's session with gains exceeding 13%, reaching $3.91 per share, while after-hours activity showed minimal movement following a modest decline earlier in the day.
Year-to-date performance shows the stock declining more than 20% as broader cryptocurrency market turbulence has negatively impacted equities connected to digital asset holdings.
Before becoming ETHZilla, the company operated as 180 Life Sciences, a biotechnology firm, before embracing the ETHZilla identity and initiating purchases of Ether (ETH) holdings in July 2025 during the height of enthusiasm surrounding corporate crypto treasury strategies.
The shift to a cryptocurrency treasury model propelled shares to a multi-year peak of $107 by August, coinciding with ETH reaching nearly $4,950 during the same period, though subsequent cryptocurrency market downturn has severely reduced its stock value, mirroring the performance of comparable crypto-accumulating companies.
Following Wall Street's diminished interest in crypto treasury models and growing support for tokenization ventures, Rudisill revealed in December that ETHZilla would transition toward bringing "real-world assets (RWA) on-chain through tokenization."
The firm has acquired two commercial aircraft jet engines currently under lease to what it describes as a "leading US air carrier," and launched a token associated with these engines in early February named Eurus Aero Token I.
Currently, ETHZilla maintains a position of 69,802 ETH valued at $143.7 million based on the cryptocurrency's present trading price of $2,060, establishing it as the seventh-largest corporate holder of the digital asset, according to CoinGecko data.