From the FTX fallout to Metaplanet-inspired expansion, Solana’s corporate story is coming full circle through its SOL treasury companies.
Solana (SOL) treasury companies are following the trend set by Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), whose adoption by public companies has boosted stock prices and graced media headlines.
Digital asset treasuries (DATs) list on public markets, buy crypto, then work to grow tokens per share. The pitch is simple for traders who want to gain crypto exposure through a brokerage account, offering upside that can outpace spot prices.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also provide crypto exposure for investors nowadays, but DATs can hit the market faster. Additionally, premiums and discounts to net asset value (NAV) create embedded leverage without liquidation concerns, which allows these vehicles to trade away from the value of the tokens they hold.
Solana treasuries have lower liquidity than Bitcoin and Ether. But with institutions already familiar with the name and willing to hold for longer, the bet is that Solana treasuries can dampen sell pressure, pull in more conservative capital and show that crypto’s next distribution war will be fought on public markets.
Over the past 30 days, Solana treasury companies have accumulated close to 6.3 million SOL, representing more than 1.6% of the token’s circulating supply and over half of all SOL held in corporate treasuries.
SOL is the world’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, and its blockchain network is often seen as a challenger to Ethereum’s dominance in smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi), known for its high throughput and low transaction costs. But as a treasury asset, Solana’s digital asset treasuries remain less mature than those built around Bitcoin and Ether.
Collectively, Solana treasury companies hold about 2.46% of SOL’s supply, worth nearly $3 billion, according to CoinGecko. Only four companies hold more than 0.01%, led by Forward Industries with 1.249%, followed by DeFi Development Corp (DFDV), Upexi and Sharps Technology, each with over 0.35%.
“We looked at a lot of layer 1s, and it became pretty clear that Solana is winning the technology race among them,” Joseph Onorati, CEO of DFDV, told Cointelegraph.
“Ethereum still has the mindshare, but if you look at the actual usage and efficiency, Solana is ahead on almost every metric. Yet it trades at about a fifth of Ethereum’s market cap,” he added, hinting at his belief in Solana’s growth potential.
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Solana treasuries allow investors to gain exposure to the asset through traditional means, such as established brokerage accounts. Unlike Bitcoin and Ether, there are no spot Solana ETFs on the market yet, though analysts expect approval once the Securities and Exchange Commission resumes normal operations after the ongoing US government shutdown.
Unlike ETFs, which passively mirror an asset’s price, Solana DATs can actively deploy their holdings. DFDV, for instance, stakes its Solana, runs its own validator and participates in DeFi strategies to generate yield and expand token holdings even in a flat market. Though ETF applicants are starting to add staking features to their filings, DATs still have greater flexibility to grow their token base.
“Digital asset treasuries are a superior vehicle. Eventually, they’ll completely displace ETFs,” Onorati said.
Solana also has an edge in familiarity and exposure among altcoins. Many institutional investors already understand its ecosystem and are willing to hold for longer periods.
“The association with FTX definitely hurt Solana’s price and perception in the beginning,” said Thomas Chen, CEO of Bitcoin infrastructure company Function. “But even though the attention back then was mostly negative, that kind of exposure also gave Solana a lot of visibility among investors. It helped raise awareness that the ecosystem still had real activity, real staking and real products.”
In March 2024, the estate of bankrupt FTX announced that it would sell 41 million SOL to institutional investors at a 68% discount. The sale gave institutions billions of dollars’ worth of SOL locked under a four-year vesting schedule, effectively turning a market overhang into a long-term institutional bet on Solana.
For all their promise, Solana treasury companies still face structural challenges that make the model difficult to scale. Liquidity remains thin compared with Bitcoin or Ether counterparts, and Solana DATs are competing for the same pool of investors.
“Liquidity comparison matters,” said Tim Chen, global head of strategy at Mantle and brother of Thomas Chen. “[Strategy] trades tens of millions of shares daily, and Ethereum proxies are growing. Solana DATs trade far less.”
Concentration risk also remains a concern. While current Solana DATs collectively hold only a few percent of the total supply, the model would face scrutiny if a single company began accumulating a large share.
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Chen categorized digital asset treasuries into three buckets: Bitcoin-focused treasuries as pure store-of-value plays; Ethereum and Solana as the middle ground (mature enough for institutions but still evolving); and other altcoins that could design more dynamic models.
“Those models are still early,” he added, “but if done right, they could outperform the larger caps in relative impact because they’re designed from the start to return value to the ecosystem, not just to shareholders.”
Solana DATs are helping the asset mature, and in the process, they may also ease one of Solana’s token inflation challenges. The network’s current 4.24% inflation rate is programmed to decline gradually until it reaches a long-term floor of 1.5%. Staking helps long-term holders offset that dilution, and treasury companies contribute by locking up tokens and signaling institutional confidence.
Mantle’s Chen said Solana DATs can act as a supply sink only if new capital arrives from traditional finance.
“You have to check the filings,” he said. “Are DATs buying new SOL, buying locked SOL or taking contributed SOL from existing holders? Without net new flow, you’re just moving coins between pockets.”
As Solana’s corporate adoption grows, DFDV is trying to take the model further. The company launched a “treasury accelerator” to help create localized DATs in other countries, where tax codes, currencies and investor bases differ. DFDV has launched Solana treasury franchises in South Korea and Japan.
The idea follows examples like Japan’s Metaplanet and David Bailey’s Nakamoto model — public companies that turned their listings into crypto exposure vehicles.
Critics often describe such moves as rebrands for struggling companies, but Onorati said it’s about efficiency, not rescue.
“It’s not that these companies are failing,” he said. “It’s just the fastest path to market.” Once the crypto strategy scales, the original business often becomes secondary to the treasury operations that drive shareholder value.
From inflation offsets to international franchising plans, Solana’s treasury movement is merging crypto-native mechanics with corporate finance strategy. What began as a balance-sheet experiment around Bitcoin and Ether is now extending into Solana, a network that’s faster, more volatile and increasingly familiar to institutions. Solana’s DATs mark the next stage where public companies participate directly in the ecosystems they invest in.
