ETHZilla Launches Tokenized Jet Engine Lease Product

ETHZilla (NASDAQ: ETHZ) officially launched its first tokenized aviation product on Thursday, offering investors equity in leased commercial jet engine. The new Eurus Aero Token I marks the firm’s strategic pivot from operating strictly as a crypto treasury to managing on-chain real-world assets (RWAs).

The offering allows accredited investors to hold fractional ownership in two CFM56 jet engines currently leased to a major US airline. By leveraging the Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum, the company aims to democratize access to institutional-grade aviation finance, a sector typically reserved for private equity and institutional credit markets.

This initiative follows the growing trend in the industry of institutionalising tokenised assets. It uses blockchain to streamline settlement and boost liquidity for traditionally illiquid infrastructure.

?Eurus Aero Token I from ETHZilla Aerospace is live. Aviation meets Blockchain. Real jet engines. Real lease revenue. Real yield.
✈️CFM56 engines with Major U.S. Air Carrier
?~11% target rate of return based on holding for full term of the lease
?? Monthly USD payouts… pic.twitter.com/zy2BkljrSH
— ETHZilla (@ETHZilla_ETHZ) February 12, 2026

Eurus Aereo Token I: Token Structure and Financial Projections

The Eurus Aero Token I is priced at $100 per unit with a minimum purchase requirement of 10 tokens. The issuance is accessible exclusively through the Liquidity.io platform on Arbitrum, with ETHZilla targeting an 11% annualized return over a lease term extending into 2028. The tokens are backed by the physical value of the two engines, lease receivables, and a $3 million put/call option per engine exercisable upon lease maturity.

Monthly distributions will be paid out via smart contracts when funds are available. The purchase of the engines for $12.2 million in January was funded by liquidating a portion of the company’s Ether treasury. This operational shift comes as DeFi infrastructure integrates more deeply with traditional finance models, moving beyond simple speculation to manage cash-flowing assets.

ETHZilla Chairman and CEO McAndrew Rudisill emphasized the utility of the structure in a statement:

“Offering a token backed by engines leased to one of the largest and most profitable US airlines serves as a strong use case in applying blockchain infrastructure to aviation assets with contracted cash flows and global investment demand.”

A Strategic Change to On-Chain Income – Why ETHZilla Moved To Tokenized Jet Engine Products

Crypto is continuously adapting, and ETHZilla’s evolution, moving to tokenized jet engine products, highlights the volatility and opportunistic shifts within the small-cap crypto equity sector. Originally a biotech firm known as 180 Life Sciences, the company pivoted to a crypto treasury strategy before adopting its current RWA focus. The company plans to expand its on-chain portfolio to include manufactured home loans and auto loans in the near term.

This aggressive move into utilizing for settlement reinforces Vitalik Buterin’s vision for Ethereum as a base layer for complex financial applications. However, the turn occurs during a complex market cycle where DeFi TVL has faced pressure and volatility in underlying asset prices, which remains a key consideration for treasury managers.