ETHZilla Launches Aviation Token Backed By Jet Engines

ETHZilla Corporation (Nasdaq: ETHZ) on Wednesday, Feb. 11 launched Eurus Aero Token I, a tokenized asset backed by two commercial jet engines currently in use by a U.S. air carrier.

The tokens – which are issued on Ethereum Layer 2 networks and distributed through the Liquidityio platform – give investors exposure to lease payments generated by the engines. ETHZilla said it acquired the engines for about $12.2 million. Meanwhile, tokens are priced at $100 each, with a minimum purchase of 10 tokens.

The company said in a press release viewed by The Defiant that the investment targets annual returns of about 16.5% over the life of the leases, which run through 2027 and 2028.

The launch comes as interest in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) continues to grow across both crypto and traditional finance. Data from RWA.xyz shows that distributed asset value rose to $23.87 billion, up nearly 11% over the past 30 days.

The value of underlying RWAs represented on-chain also increased more than 8% during the same period to $21.41 billion. Meanwhile, the number of asset holders jumped to 835,179, a 34% month-over-month increase.

ETHZilla CEO McAndrew Rudisill told The Defiant that the company’s mission is to “democratize access to institutional-grade investments” by giving investors direct exposure to RWAs that have historically been out of reach.

Rudisill explained that jet engine leasing has traditionally been accessible only to large institutions and private investment funds. However, by using tokenization technology, the asset can be accessed by smaller players – though the offering is limited to accredited investors.

“ETHZilla was able to design a financial instrument that is structured around defined lease terms, creating a uniquely transparent, income-oriented alternative to traditional private aerospace leasing structures,” he said.

Lease payments are collected each month and paid out to token holders, the release explained. The engines are not financed with debt, and ETHZilla said it does not plan to use borrowing to boost returns for this product.

While ETHZilla is contractually restricted from naming the specific air carrier, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to The Defiant that it is “one of the largest and most profitable airlines.”

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead, Rudisill said ETHZilla recently acquired a portfolio of manufactured and modular home loans, which it plans to tokenize next.

“Manufactured home loans represent an approximately $14 billion market, and are a high-yield, high-quality asset class historically accessible only to a handful of private lenders,” he said. “Not only will tokenizing these assets open this market up to a broader range of investors, we also believe that facilitating financing breadth for manufactured homes could contribute to adding housing supply and alleviate an ongoing national shortage.”

Further down the line, ETHZilla is exploring auto loans, commercial real estate, and other asset classes as potential tokenized income products, Rudisill added.

ETHZilla Corporation, formerly 180 Life Sciences, rebranded in August 2025 to focus on building an Ethereum-based treasury and developing decentralized finance (DeFi) strategies. The company currently holds 69,802 ETH, valued at about $148.4 million, according to CoinGecko. ETHZ is currently trading at $xyz, up/down xyz% on the day following the news.