Puffer Finance, the leading innovator in Ethereum infrastructure and based rollups, has announced a strategic partnership with ETHZilla, which will see ETHZilla deploy approximately $47 Million in ETH to Puffer.
The partnership is geared towards setting a new standard for institutional participation in Ethereum, focusing on restaking with an emphasis on security and performance.
ETHZilla selected Puffer for its unique framework, which delivers high yield via restaking, anchored by Puffer’s 2 ETH validator bond, which works as an active insurance layer against validator failures or malicious behaviour. Looking ahead, the partnership will include the integration of Puffer’s validator stack with ETHZilla’s treasuries to restake ETH under the Puffer model, alongside the continued roll-out of Puffer’s vertical infrastructure (LRT, UniFi rollup, Prefconf AVS) in coordination with institutional partners.
Puffer’s offering extends from its Liquidity Restaking Token (LRT) platform, which enhances capital efficiency, to its UniFi-based rollup, delivering composability, and its Prefconf AVS solution, enabling high throughput and settlement scalability. By combining these products, Puffer offers a complete infrastructure stack built for high yield, speed, and effortless composability.
ETHZilla, a publicly traded firm, is rapidly positioning itself as a significant force in Ethereum treasury management. The company has accumulated over 100,000 ETH (≈$450 million in holdings) and is deploying capital into liquid restaking protocols as part of its treasury strategy.
Institutions and treasuries have traditionally had to choose between yield and security. Puffer’s 2 ETH validator bond changes that equation, boosting restaking returns while maintaining strong safeguards. The partnership with ETHZilla underscores a maturing market where security is no longer an afterthought but a core requirement.
“Our collaboration with ETHZilla demonstrates how security and yield can go hand in hand,” said Amir Forouzani, Founder and CEO of Puffer Finance. “By combining ETHZilla’s forward-looking treasury strategy with Puffer’s permissionless validator architecture, we are setting a new standard for DATs and Institutions’ participation in Ethereum restaking, one that prioritises both safety and performance.”
ETHZilla Corporation (Nasdaq: ETHZ) has rebranded from 180 Life Sciences Corp and shifted its focus from biotech to become a leading Ethereum treasury vehicle. The company has accumulated roughly 100,000 ETH at an average purchase price of $3,900–$4,000, now valued at about $450–$460 million. Backed by approximately $425 million raised through a private placement with more than 60 institutional and crypto-native investors, including Electric Capital, Polychain Capital, and GSR, ETHZilla deploys its capital through restaking, staking, liquidity provisioning, lending, private agreements, and yield optimization in collaboration with Electric Capital. It is publicly traded on Nasdaq under the ticker ETHZ (ETHZW for warrants), highlighting its transformation into an Ethereum-focused treasury company.
About Puffer Finance
Puffer Finance is building a vertical infrastructure stack that empowers restaking at scale without compromising on security. With its 2 ETH validator bond model, LRT for capital efficiency, UniFi-based rollup for composability, and Prefconf AVS for high throughput and settlement scalability, Puffer is designed to serve Digital Asset Treasuries, Institutions, and restakers who demand both performance and safety.
About ETHZilla
ETHZilla Corporation is a technology company in the decentralized finance industry. ETHZilla seeks to connect financial institutions, businesses and organizations worldwide by enabling secure, accessible blockchain transactions through Ethereum Network protocol implementations. It generates recurring revenues through various DeFiprotocols that improve Ethereum network integrity and security. ETHZilla believes it has the unique capability to bring traditional assets on-chain via tokenization. Through its proprietary protocol implementations, ETHZilla facilitates DeFitransactions and asset digitization across multiple Layer 2 Ethereum networks. ETHZilla is working to offer tokenization solutions, DeFi protocol integration, blockchain analytics, traditional-to-digital asset conversion gateways, and other decentralized finance services.
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