ETHZilla Buys 20% of AI Lending Platform Karus in $10M Deal to Tokenize Auto Loans

Ether treasury firm ETHZilla (ETHZ) said it bought 20% of Karus, an AI-driven auto loans platform, in a deal valued at $10 million.

The agreement marks ETHZilla’s entry into the U.S. asset-backed securities market by using blockchain to tokenize real-world credit, the company said in a press release.

Karus specializes in AI models that analyze loan-level risk, using over 20 million historical auto loan outcomes and thousands of real-time variables.

ETHZilla plans to integrate the technology into its Ethereum-based infrastructure to tokenize the loans, turning predictive credit data into tradable onchain chain assets. The companies say the first tokenized loan portfolios will be available by early 2026.

The transaction comprises $3 million in cash and $7 million in ETHZilla stock. ETHZilla will also gain access to Karus’s network of more than 20,000 U.S. car dealerships, banks and credit unions, the companies said.

Karus, backed by investors including Peter Thiel’s Tacora Capital, has processed over $5 billion in auto loans through its decisioning engine.

ETHZilla’s shares are up nearly 5% since the opening bell to $11.17. The company holds 94,060 ETH in its treasury, valued at around $290 million.