Solana has been selling SOL at discounts to newly formed “Solana companies,” unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum foundations. Supporters say discounts help launch firms, strengthen the ecosystem, and mirror practices in other networks. Critics argue the benefits are diluted and raise fairness concerns. The issue echoes past controversies like Ripple’s partner discounts, and debate remains unresolved.
The Solana Foundation has supported a handful of so-called SOL companies by selling them coins at a discount during their startup phase. Does this practice make sense, or is Solana perhaps even harming itself?
Bitcoin companies like Strategy and Ethereum companies like Bitwise Immersion are now commonplace in the crypto industry, but remain controversial. It’s no surprise, then, that Solana companies have also been forming since this summer.
The strategies of these mostly publicly traded crypto companies all point in one direction: to build up large reserves in the respective cryptocurrencies, thereby creating added value and returns to ultimately convince investors. But the tech website ” The Block ” has examined an interesting detail regarding Solana that distinguishes these SOL companies from those for Bitcoin and Ethereum: the Solana Foundation offers discounts on SOL.
Solana DAT Sharps Technology (STSS), for example, disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the foundation had agreed to sell $50 million worth of SOL at a 15 percent discount. In another case, Brera Holdings announced, concurrently with its name change to Solmate , that it would receive SOL from the foundation at a reduced price.
A similar situation exists with Helius Medical Technologies (HSDT), which is becoming the Solana Company and, according to a press release, is also securing discounted SOL from the foundation.
Bitcoin has no foundation, and the Ethereum Foundation has stated that it has not engaged in such deals. However, according to the report, similar practices to those employed by Solana are also known to exist for TRON (TRX), Dogecoin (DOGE), and TON. Investors may ask: What is the benefit of selling crypto foundation reserves to profit-oriented companies below market price? There are at least two answers to that:
Skeptical market participants view the development somewhat differently. A 15 percent discount is negligible, more of a marketing gimmick for the debut, says a Solana insider who wishes to remain anonymous. Others argue that support for new Solana companies through discounted SOLs from the foundation is essentially nothing special and makes sense. However, the objection is that Solana is promoting too many companies in this way, thus diluting the beneficial effects.
In the past, Ripple attracted attention for offering XRP to its partners at special rates – Forbes magazine considered this insider trading as early as 2023, and a blog post in 2024 provided further details. Today, special deals like the one with Solana are much more transparent, and there are certainly arguments in favor of them, such as stock market listing.
However, it’s also understandable that private investors, through investigations like those by “The Block,” might learn about such practices for the first time and wonder why Solana companies aren’t forced to purchase their SOL at market prices. It’s probably still too early for a final judgment. The Solana Foundation, incidentally, declined to answer questions on this sensitive topic, even after repeated inquiries.
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