Supported by Peter Thiel, the DAT company ETHZilla has purchased two CFM56-7B24 aircraft engines for $12.2 million. The deal was executed through a newly established subsidiary, ETHZilla Aerospace LLC.

The equipment has already been leased to a major airline, with Aero Engine Solutions handling maintenance.

The agreement includes an option: at the end of the lease term, either party can request the purchase or sale of the engines for $3 million each, provided they are in good condition.

This investment is driven by a shortage of components in the industry. According to IATA, airlines are expected to spend around $2.6 billion on leasing spare engines in 2025. Analysts at TechSci Research project that the leasing market in this segment will grow to $15.56 billion by 2031.

Change in Direction

The acquisition of real assets comes amid financial difficulties for ETHZilla, whose stock has plummeted by 97% since August.

Source: Google Finance.

In the fall and winter, the company actively reduced its cryptocurrency reserves:

  • In October, it sold $40 million worth of ETH to repurchase shares;
  • In December, it liquidated coins worth $74.5 million to pay off debts.

The company is now focusing on the RWA segment. ETHZilla plans to tokenize the acquired assets in partnership with the regulated broker Liquidity.io.

Previously, the firm acquired a 15% stake in the lender Zippy and invested in the auto loan platform Karus. These loans are also set to be digitized. ETHZilla expects to launch its first tokenized products in the first quarter of this year.

Ethereum Whale

A large Ethereum holder, inactive for nine years, moved 50,000 ETH to a deposit address at the Gemini exchange. The value of the coins is approximately $145 million.

A dormant ETH whale address, inactive for 9 years, recently transferred 50,000 ETH ($145 million) to the Gemini exchange.

◎ This address withdrew 135,000 ETH ($12.17 million) from the Bitfinex exchange 9 years ago, when ETH was priced around $90. The current price has increased 32 times since then.
◎ After transferring 50,000 ETH today, this address still holds 85,000 ETH… pic.twitter.com/GSyphyyIgF

— 余烬 (@EmberCN) January 26, 2026

Analysts from EmberCN noted the transaction, referencing data from Arkham. They reported that wallet 0xb5…Fb168D6 made two transfers of 25,000 ETH a few hours apart.

The address had been inactive since 2017, when the investor withdrew 135,000 ETH from Bitfinex at around $90 per coin, valuing the assets at $12.17 million. The whale currently holds 85,283 ETH.

Similar activity was observed in the Bitcoin network last week, where an unknown entity moved 909 BTC after 13 years of inactivity.

The transfer to the exchange coincided with a market correction. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading around $2,915 (-0.6% over the past day).

15-minute ETH/USDT chart from Binance. Source: TradingView.

In January, analysts from Pantera Capital predicted the collapse of small crypto custodians.