Move over, corporate treasuries. The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization revolution just found its most interesting test case yet. ETHZilla, a crypto treasury firm born from a biotech pivot, has launched a token offering backed by two commercial jet engines leased to a leading U.S. airline. This isn’t a whitepaper; it’s a live asset with contracted cash flows and a target 11% return.
ETHZilla’s Tokenized Jet Engines: How It Works
The Eurus Aero Token I is priced at $100 per token, with a 10-token minimum. The underlying assets? Two jet engines purchased for $12.2 million in January, funded by selling down the company’s Ether stash. These engines are already generating revenue under leases extending into 2028. The 11% target yield is based on holding through the full lease term.
CEO McAndrew Rudisill frames this as democratizing access: markets “historically available only to institutional credit and private equity” are now open to token holders. This is fractional ownership of aviation infrastructure, on-chain.
From Ether Treasury to RWA Pioneer
ETHZilla began life as 180 Life Sciences Corp, pivoting to accumulate Ether during the 2024 crypto treasury frenzy. At its peak, the firm held over 102,000 ETH acquired near $3,948. Today, with ETH grinding between $1,800–$2,100, that stash is down to an estimated 69,000–93,000 ETH. The jet engine purchase represents a strategic pivot away from passive holding toward active asset tokenization.
More tokenized asset classes are planned, including home and car loans.
My Thoughts
This is the RWA thesis executed. ETHZilla tokenized jet engines aren’t speculative synthetic assets; they’re income-generating industrial equipment with a counterparty (a US airline) and a term sheet. The 11% yield target is competitive with private credit, and the $100 price point is genuinely democratizing.
For the crypto market, this represents maturation. Treasury firms are realizing that holding is not a business model; building is. The pivot from ETH accumulation to aviation asset tokenization is a microcosm of the entire sector’s evolution. Watch this space closely—if the Eurus Aero Token performs, it will open the floodgates for institutional-grade equipment, real estate, and credit migrating on-chain.
