The Rise of Solana Digital Asset Treasury Companies

Many thanks to 0xIchigo, Brady and Mert for reviewing earlier versions of this work.

Introduction

Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies are publicly traded firms that maintain substantial holdings of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Solana (SOL) on their balance sheets, offering investors exposure to digital assets through equity ownership. This model was pioneered by Michael Saylor at Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), dating back to 2020, and has since gained immense popularity, having been adopted by hundreds of companies.

DATs are actively managed financial vehicles that can raise and deploy capital strategically, in contrast to passive products such as ETFs. A DAT’s core business strategy centers on holding digital assets directly on its balance sheet with the explicit goal of increasing its holdings per share. For investors, DATs can function as leveraged, high-beta proxies for gaining exposure to the underlying assets.

Solana’s status as the leading high-throughput blockchain, offering competitive native yields, best-in-class technology, strong user adoption, and a rapidly expanding developer ecosystem, makes SOL a highly compelling asset for digital treasuries. As a result, interest in Solana-based DATs is now at an all-time high. With this article, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the Solana DAT landscape, examining both the advantages and the potential drawbacks of the DAT model.

Note: There are many DAT-specific financial terms used throughout this report. For those less familiar, we have included an appendix of key definitions and explanations at the end for readers to reference as needed.

Solana Focused DATs

The Solana DAT landscape is developing at a rapid pace, with new announcements emerging almost daily and additional entrants on the horizon. Our analysis provides a snapshot of this evolving market, identifying 19 companies that have publicly disclosed formal plans to acquire SOL for their digital asset treasuries. The largest DATs are dedicated solely to SOL, while others include SOL as part of a broader portfolio alongside assets such as BTC.

Forward Industries is the largest Solana DAT by a wide margin, holding more than 6.8 million SOL. The next tier comprises Sharps Technology, DeFi Dev Corp, and Upexi, each holding approximately 2 million SOL in their treasuries. In total, Solana DATs collectively hold roughly 15.4 million SOL, representing 2.5% of the network’s 610 million token supply. With hundreds of millions in newly raised capital still undeployed, their share of the network is poised to expand even further in the coming months. For context, the largest Bitcoin DAT, Strategy, owns 638,985 BTC, which is just over 3% of the total 21 million Bitcoin supply. 

Among the 19 companies surveyed that hold SOL on their balance sheets as part of a digital asset treasury strategy, 11 (58%) are based in the United States, 4 (21%) in Canada, and the remaining 4 (21%) are spread across France, China, Australia, and the UAE. A majority of 12 companies (63%) are listed on Nasdaq, while 2 (11%) trade on the New York Stock Exchange. 

Many DATs have shifted from other industries to capitalize on the growing interest in digital treasuries, a trend explored later in this report. Notably, 5 of the 19 Solana DAT companies (26%) originated from the healthcare sector.

Solana DAT Profiles

This section offers more detailed profiles of individual Solana DATs, including company backgrounds, key management and backers, fundraising activity, and SOL holdings where available. Any figures presented are based on recent official public announcements and filings available for each entity. However, in some cases, gathering accurate data on exact holdings can be challenging.

Robert Leshner

@rleshner

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Financial markets haven’t kept pace with technology, at all. Everybody is out here guessing how many shares a company has, how much balance sheet it has, how much crypto it owns. And everyone is wrong, constantly.

10:45 PM · Aug 13, 2025

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Forward Industries (Nasdaq: FORD)

Forward Industries became the most significant entrant to the Solana DAT landscape to date in September 2025, announcing a $1.65 billion PIPE raise, executed entirely in cash and stablecoins. Just days later, the company followed up with a $4 billion ATM offering. This is not only the largest single fundraise by a Solana treasury company to date, but it also positions Forward to become the largest Solana DAT overall. Forward has amassed over 6.8 million SOL tokens to date, acquired through the deployment of its initial $1.65 billion raise.

The company is backed by a formidable trio of industry heavyweights: Galaxy Digital, Multicoin Capital, and Jump Crypto. Each is expected to play a distinct role in shaping Forward’s strategy and execution. Galaxy Digital will manage core treasury functions, including trading, lending, and staking, while Jump Crypto will contribute infrastructure expertise through projects such as Firedancer and DoubleZero. Multicoin Capital, a longtime Solana backer that led the network’s seed round in 2018, will provide strategic direction and governance oversight.

Multicoin Managing Partner Kyle Samani, one of Solana’s earliest and most vocal advocates, has taken the role of Chairman of the Board. Samani has personally invested $25 million into the venture. His presence is expected to mirror Michael Saylor’s role as a traditional finance champion for Bitcoin, positioning Samani as a leading corporate advocate for Solana on Wall Street. He is joined on the board by Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto’s Chief Investment Officers Chris Ferraro and Saurabh Sharma.

Founded more than 60 years ago, Nasdaq-listed Forward Industries originally built its reputation as a design and manufacturing company, producing products for the medical and technology sectors. The firm’s pivot into the Solana ecosystem represents a complete reorientation of its business model, though it plans to continue operating its design and manufacturing division alongside its new core focus.

Forward aims to operate as a publicly traded institutional vehicle designed to advance the shift of financial markets on-chain, aligning with the SEC’s recent “Project Crypto” initiative to modernize securities regulation. In practice, this involves issuing equity and dividends on-chain, conducting corporate governance on-chain, and migrating as many core business functions as possible to blockchain infrastructure.

The company has stated its goal is to compound SOL-per-share growth at a faster rate than simple token appreciation by deploying capital across Solana-native strategies, including DeFi lending, liquidity provisioning, and other more advanced on-chain yield-generating activities. The company has also expressed its desire to make extensive use of perpetual preferred structures for fundraising.

DeFi Development Corp. (Nasdaq: DFDV)

DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) traces its origins to Janover Inc., a real estate financing platform that later pivoted into AI services. In April 2025, founder Blake Janover sold a majority of his voting shares to DeFi Dev LLC, paving the way for a complete overhaul of the business. On the same day, the board installed a new leadership team led by former Kraken executives Joseph Onorati and Parker White and formally approved a shift in focus to acquiring SOL and maximizing the company’s core north star metric: SOL per share.

To finance the transition, DFDV raised more than $370 million in capital, including $149 million through PIPEs and $60 million via ATM and ELOC facilities. The company is backed by a syndicate of leading investors, including Pantera, Kraken, and Arrington Capital, and has accumulated just over 2 million SOL tokens to date.

Beyond accumulation, DFDV has actively sought to build out its on-chain presence. It launched a liquid staking token (DFDVSOL), acquired two independent validators, BullMoose Systems and Strawberry Siren, for $500,000 in cash and $3 million in stock, and entered into a white-label validator partnership with community memecoin BONK. In parallel, DFDV has also tokenized a wrapped form of its equity, with DFDVx shares trading directly on Solana.

A factor that sets DFDV apart is its franchise-style model designed to foster international Solana treasury vehicles. In late August, the firm announced its first major expansion into the UK market through the acquisition of Cykel AI (formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange under ticker CYK). The subsidiary, now rebranded to DFDV UK, became the first Solana treasury vehicle in the United Kingdom. DFDV retains a 45% equity stake, with the balance owned by local management and board members. The company has disclosed that five additional vehicles are under development, demonstrating its strategy of building a globally distributed network of Solana treasury companies across multiple stock exchanges.

Sharps Technology (Nasdaq: STSS)

Sharps Technology Inc. is a U.S.-based medical device and pharmaceutical packaging company specializing in the development and manufacturing of smart safety syringes. Its products are designed to reduce needlestick injuries, prevent needle reuse, and enhance the efficiency of drug delivery.

In late August, the company announced a PIPE financing of over $400 million through the purchase and sale of common stock. Proceeds support Sharps’ new digital asset treasury strategy, under which its principal holding will be SOL. Sharps currently holds 2.14 million SOL, including $50 million worth obtained through an agreement with the Solana Foundation.

The placement attracted a syndicate of investors, including ParaFi, Pantera, FalconX, RockawayX, and Republic Digital. Alongside the pivot to a digital treasury strategy, Sharps strengthened its leadership team, appointing the sibling co-founders of Jambo, Alice Zhang, as Chief Investment Officer, and James Zhang as Strategic Advisor. Jambo is known for building a low-cost Web3 smartphone for emerging markets.

Sharps has also announced a collaboration with Pudgy Penguins, integrating the popular NFT brand’s IP with its Solana treasury platform. Details of this collaboration have yet to be disclosed.

Upexi, Inc. (Nasdaq: UPXI)

Founded in 2018, Upexi began as a direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand aggregator, acquiring and scaling consumer brands across the health, wellness, and pet care verticals. The Florida-based business generates approximately $15–20 million in annual revenue but faced headwinds in the aftermath of the pandemic, ultimately leading the company to pivot toward its current digital asset strategy.

Upexi unveiled its treasury strategy in April, positioning itself as one of the earlier Solana DATs. Since then, the company has accumulated just over 2 million SOL tokens. To fund this transition, Upexi raised $100 million through a PIPE in April, followed by an additional $200 million round in July. The company’s official website reports that its treasury currently holds 2,018,419 SOL tokens.

Upexi has attracted backing from 15 prominent venture capital firms, including Anagram, GSR, Delphi Digital, Maelstrom, and Morgan Creek. The company has also added influential figures to its leadership circle: Arthur Hayes, known for pioneering the use of perpetual futures contracts in crypto, became the first member of its advisory committee, while Chief Strategy Officer Brian Rudick, formerly Head of Research at market maker GSR, has taken the lead on treasury strategy.

Rather than building and operating its own validator infrastructure, Upexi has opted to delegate its SOL holdings across the network. Management has noted that delegation achieves a comparable staking yield without introducing the operational and technical complexities of running validators in-house.

Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSDT)

In mid-September, Helius Medical announced that it had raised over $500 million through an oversubscribed private financing PIPE to establish a Solana-focused treasury company. The deal also includes $750 million in stock warrants, which, if exercised, would expand the company’s capital base to more than $1.25 billion.

The PIPE was co-led by Pantera Capital and Summer Capital, alongside a consortium of other prominent investors. Pantera, recognized for launching the first U.S.-based cryptocurrency fund, has been an active participant in the DAT space, with positions across multiple ecosystems, including Twenty One Capital (BTC), DeFi Development Corp (SOL), and Sharplink Gaming (ETH).

Helius’s Solana treasury strategy will be directed by Executive Chairman Joseph Chee, founder of Summer Capital, with oversight and input from Pantera representatives, Board Observer Cosmo Jiang, and adviser Dan Morehead, Pantera’s founder and managing partner.

Until recently, Helius Medical Technologies operated as a U.S.-based neurotech company specializing in non-implantable medical devices for treating neurological deficits. The firm intends to rebrand in the next few months to avoid confusion with the Solana developer platform, also known as Helius (that’s us).

The company recently disclosed that it has acquired 760,190 SOL tokens, with an excess of $335 million in cash, which it intends to use for further purchases.

Solmate (Nasdaq: BREA)

In mid-September, Solmate closed an oversubscribed $300 million PIPE financing to establish its Solana-focused digital asset treasury. The round was led by UAE-based Pulsar Group, a strategic investment and advisory firm specializing in virtual assets, with additional backing from the Solana Foundation, early Solana investor RockawayX, and Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest. Proceeds were contributed in a mix of cash, stablecoins, and SOL. ARK Invest additionally bought just under $162 million worth of shares in Solmate.

Alongside the financing, leadership was restructured with Marco Santori, former Chief Legal Officer at Kraken and current DFDV board member, appointed as CEO to lead the company’s expansion into digital assets.

The firm, formerly known as Brera Holdings, has historically operated as a multi-club sports ownership group, acquiring and managing professional soccer teams. The company plans to maintain its existing sports business operations while layering in a digital asset treasury business centered on Solana.

Solmate intends to deploy bare metal validators in Abu Dhabi, positioning itself as the leading institutional-grade Solana staking operator in the region. The company is notable as the first Solana DAT with strong connections to the Middle East region.

Sol Strategies (Nasdaq: STKE)

Sol Strategies has taken a unique path in the evolution of DATs. Originally known as the first publicly traded Canadian company to adopt a Bitcoin treasury strategy, the firm pivoted in mid-2024 under new leadership. Following the appointment of Leah Wald as CEO in July 2024, Sol Strategies redirected its focus toward the Solana ecosystem, becoming one of the earliest pioneers of a SOL treasury strategy. (Wald stepped down shortly before this article was published.)

Unlike other DATs that rely primarily on passive delegation, Sol Strategies has pursued a validator-centric approach. To date, the company has acquired three prominent independent Solana validators (i.e., Laine, OrangeFin Ventures, and Cogent) as a way to not only acquire SOL but also bolster its executive team’s expertise. Michael Hubbard, formerly of Laine, now serves as Chief Strategy Officer, while Max Kaplan, founder and ex-CEO of OrangeFin Ventures, has been appointed Chief Technology Officer. Both are widely respected and active members of Solana’s validator community.

The company currently operates validators that collectively account for over 3.4 million SOL in delegated stake, far exceeding its own treasury accumulation of 435,064 SOL. Management has emphasized that its vision extends beyond the traditional DAT model, describing its approach as DAT++. Wald has positioned Sol Strategies as a technology company first and a treasury vehicle second, with validator infrastructure provision forming the core of its long-term strategy.

Sol Strategies has also sought to expand its visibility and partnerships within the Solana ecosystem. Notable initiatives include a staking agreement with Australian asset manager DigitalX and collaborations with Solana Mobile and Pudgy Penguin’s memecoin, Pengu. The company trades on both the Nasdaq and the Canadian Securities Exchange, and has announced plans to bring its shares directly on-chain through a partnership with Superstate.

BIT Mining Limited (NYSE: BTCM)

BIT Mining Limited, headquartered in Ohio, is a Bitcoin mining company with longstanding ties to China. The firm operates Proof-of-Work mining facilities across the U.S. and Africa, supported by a combined power load of 117.5 megawatts, 70,000 square meters of floor space, and capacity for approximately 46,800 Bitcoin mining machines.

Beyond its mining operations, BIT Mining also manufactures ASIC hardware, largely for internal use. These machines are primarily optimized for alternative PoW cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum Classic.

In August, the company announced a major strategic pivot. It intends to rebrand as SOLAI Limited (NYSE: SLAI) and raise between $200 million and $300 million to support a new Solana-focused digital asset treasury strategy. As part of this transition, BIT Mining will convert its existing cryptocurrency holdings into SOL. At present, the company holds 44,000 SOL.

This move continues a history of shifts in business direction. Originally launched as a Chinese online sports lottery platform under the brand 500.com, the firm entered the crypto mining sector in December 2020, rebranding as BIT Mining Limited in early 2021.

Most recently, in late August, the company announced the launch of DOLAI, a USD-backed stablecoin built on Solana, in partnership with Brale Inc. Additionally, BIT Mining has begun operating its own Solana validator.

Classover (Nasdaq: KIDZ, KIDZW)

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in New York, Classover is an online education company that delivers live, interactive courses for K-12 students worldwide. Its curriculum spans core subjects such as Math, English, and Mandarin, as well as enrichment courses including Music and Phonics.

In pursuit of a new digital asset treasury strategy, Classover has entered into two major financing facilities: a $400 million equity purchase agreement and a $500 million senior secured convertible note investment. Under the terms of these agreements, at least 80% of the proceeds will be directed toward acquiring Solana (SOL). The company currently holds approximately 61,000 SOL tokens.

Other SOL DATs

AirNet Technology Inc.

AirNet Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: ANTE): Headquartered in Beijing, the company was formerly focused on operating an air travel media network in China before shifting its strategy towards digital assets. Through the exercise of warrants from prior financing rounds, AirNet holds 749,965 SOL tokens, alongside holdings in BTC and ETH.

DigitalX Limited

DigitalX Limited (ASX: DCC): An Australian-listed digital asset fund manager and treasury company. In a May announcement, the company reported holding 125,390 SOL ($30 million), accounting for 43.3% of its total digital asset portfolio.

Torrent Capital Ltd.

Torrent Capital Ltd. (TSXV: TORR): A publicly traded Canadian investment company that actively manages a portfolio of public equities, digital assets, and private investments. As of April this year, Torrent Capital holds 40,039 SOL.

Neptune Digital Assets Corp

Neptune Digital Assets Corp (TSX-V: NDA): A Canadian blockchain investment company holds 35,460 SOL tokens ($8.5 million) as of its last reporting in July 2025.

Exodus Movement

Exodus Movement (NYSE: EXOD): Provides crypto custodian and wallet services. The company’s treasury holds 43,738 SOL as of September.

SOL Global Investments Corp.

SOL Global Investments Corp. (CSE: SOL) Canada-based investment and private equity holding company that provides public exposure to the Solana blockchain. The company holds 29,858 SOL according to recent updates. 

Artelo Biosciences

Artelo Biosciences (Nasdaq: ARTL), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, raised $9.475 million through an at-the-market private placement to launch a digital asset reserve strategy focused on Solana in August.

Acheter-Louer

Acheter-Louer (Euronext Paris: ALALO): A French company specializing in real estate advertising and marketing services. In August, the company revealed that it owns 14,905 SOL tokens through its subsidiary Sol Treasury Corp.

Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc.

Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: MFH): New York-based fintech company Mercurity operates crypto mining facilities. In July, Mercurity announced that it had secured a $200 million equity line of credit agreement to fund a Solana-based treasury strategy.

iSpecimen Inc.

iSpecimen Inc. (Nasdaq: ISPC): A human biospecimens sourcing platform for scientific research. In August, iSpecimen said it plans to establish a $200 million corporate treasury reserve based on the Solana blockchain ecosystem.

Advantages of the DAT Model

SOL treasury companies can serve as attractive alternative investment vehicles, offering multiple advantages over exchange-traded products (ETPs) or the direct purchase and self-custody of SOL tokens, the default approach among crypto-native investors. We outline several of these factors below.

Issuing Equity Above NAV

When DATs trade at a premium to their NAV, they can capture this premium by issuing new equity. Selling shares in this manner is inherently accretive. For example, if a DAT issues new equity while trading at an mNAV of 2 and then uses the proceeds to purchase SOL, it is effectively acquiring these tokens at half price. This dynamic mirrors Michael Saylor’s playbook at Strategy, where issuing equity at a premium funded large Bitcoin purchases, ultimately helping the company’s stock vastly outperform Bitcoin itself with minimal leverage.

Convertible notes provide another avenue for accretive capital raising. These instruments start out as debt but include the option to convert into equity at a set price, essentially functioning as a loan that can turn into stock under favorable conditions. Because of the embedded equity option, investors typically accept lower interest rates than they would on straight debt. If conversion occurs, the DAT effectively issues stock at prices above the prevailing market, often at higher multiples than would be possible through a standard equity raise. This creates incremental accretion for existing shareholders.

So far, the primary driver of SOL per share growth across Solana DATs has been issuing equity above NAV through ATMs and PIPEs, enabled by the market’s willingness to value many DATs at a premium to NAV.

Trusted Figureheads

Compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, Solana lacks a widely recognized champion in traditional finance; a “Michael Saylor type” figure capable of articulating the network’s story in terms that Wall Street understands. Most institutional investors remain hesitant to allocate capital to assets they do not fully grasp, and confidence typically builds through consistent exposure and clear communication.

By positioning themselves as visible, credible advocates for Solana, key executives of Solana DATs can bridge the knowledge gap for traditional investors. Following the Saylor playbook means becoming highly vocal public figureheads: engaging actively on social media, delivering keynote speeches at major conferences, appearing on financial news outlets like Bloomberg, and making regular rounds on the podcast circuit.

This strategy benefits both the individual DAT and the network as a whole. Effective evangelism by CEOs and executives can legitimize Solana in the eyes of traditional capital, helping to attract long-term investors who might otherwise remain on the sidelines. Early signs of this are already visible in recent interviews with key executives, who have highlighted Solana’s throughput with the line: “Solana can do more transactions per day than all capital markets combined.”

Circumnavigate Regulatory Limitations

Still today, many institutional allocators managing trillions of dollars, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments, are barred from directly holding cryptocurrencies but can invest freely in publicly listed equities. DATs provide these investors with a compliant way to access Solana exposure, not just through the tokens on the balance sheet but also via the regulatory access and capital formation advantages these vehicles create.

Simplified Custody

Direct ownership of crypto requires managing private keys and securing digital wallets, a process familiar to crypto natives but often complex and risky for traditional investors. DATs remove this burden by handling custody and security on behalf of shareholders, providing a more accessible and professionally managed alternative, similar to the advantages of holding a SOL ETF.

Tax Benefits

Cryptocurrency taxation varies widely across jurisdictions and is often more complex and less capital-efficient than equity taxation. Public equity vehicles with crypto exposure can be more attractive from a tax perspective. In many cases, equities benefit from simpler or more favorable treatment: for instance, in some jurisdictions, SOL staking rewards are taxed as ordinary income, while gains from appreciation in a DAT’s share price due to staking rewards remain unrealized, and therefore untaxable, until the stock is sold.

Furthermore, many DAT structures allow investors to make in-kind contributions of cryptocurrency, which are typically tax-deferred. Rather than selling SOL and triggering capital gains before investing, holders can contribute their tokens directly, deferring taxation until the equity position is later sold.

Staking Yield

Through staking operations, SOL treasury companies can steadily accumulate additional SOL, increasing SOL per share without the need to raise new capital or dilute shareholders. This structure allows investors to access the benefits of staking directly through a publicly traded equity.

Notably, SOL offers a much higher nominal staking yield, currently around 7-8%, compared to other major digital treasury assets such as ETH (~2.5%) or BTC, which provides no native yield at all. A further key advantage for SOL treasury companies to amplify staking yield is the ability to operate their own validators. This unlocks multiple income streams beyond those available to retail stakers.

The clearest example today is SOL Strategies, a treasury company running multiple validators, including several on behalf of third parties. Its validator set controls 3.75 million SOL in delegated stake, of which only 11.5% (433,000 SOL) is self-delegated (i.e., owned by the treasury itself).

Validator operations incur costs, both for infrastructure and for acquiring delegated stake, which often requires low commission rates and marketing partnerships with DeFi platforms or exchanges. However, SOL Strategies offsets these expenses through additional block rewards, validator commissions, and operational agreements with third parties. This enables the company to capture yields above the 7–8% baseline available through standard native or liquid staking, creating a differentiated value proposition for its shareholders.

DeFi Yield Generation

A more advanced strategy for DATs is to pursue yield opportunities within DeFi. Solana’s burgeoning DeFi ecosystem includes many audited, battle-tested platforms that enable sophisticated treasuries to deploy capital and earn yield.

One common approach is to lend liquid-staked SOL on borrow-and-lend platforms, such as Kamino or Drift. This provides interest income from borrowers, much like a traditional bank earning interest on loans. In addition, treasuries can borrow against their collateral, for example, drawing stablecoins, which are then redeployed into higher-yield strategies. These can include delta-neutral basis trades, airdrop farming, cross-venue lending arbitrage, or capturing non-crypto yields through RWA-backed stablecoins.

Pursuing yield through DeFi also introduces additional smart contract and protocol risks that must be carefully managed. More conservative DATs may judge these risks as outweighing the incremental returns and choose to avoid DeFi exposure altogether. Others, such as Forward Industries, have indicated that capturing on-chain yield will be a central part of their strategy.

As competition among DATs increases, the drive to generate yield is likely to intensify. Over time, many may begin to resemble on-chain hedge funds, pursuing sophisticated yield farming strategies to capture higher returns. With substantial treasuries at their disposal, DATs are positioned to channel significant capital into Solana’s leading DeFi protocols, providing a strong tailwind for the ecosystem’s blue-chip projects.

Acquiring Locked SOL

Locked tokens refer to SOL held in stake accounts that cannot be withdrawn until a specified lockup period ends. These restrictions are enforced by parameters tied to either a UNIX timestamp or an epoch, and are defined by a designated custodian when the account is created. During the lockup period, the stake cannot be withdrawn or transferred.

Currently, 19.1 million SOL, about 3.13% of the total circulating supply of 609.6 million, remains locked. These tokens gradually unlock on a largely linear schedule through January 2028. Locked stake accounts typically originate from SOL investments or Solana Foundation grants, with the unlock timelines determined by the underlying vesting agreements.

While not publicly traded, locked SOL remains liquid through a highly active secondary market, primarily facilitated by OTC desk brokers and direct peer-to-peer transactions. These tokens typically trade at a time-weighted average discount of around 15%. There can also be additional limitations on the choice of custodian and validators for staking. 2.1 million locked SOL tokens are scheduled to unlock before the end of 2025. Given their relatively short lockup periods, these tokens would likely trade at a limited discount.

Many Solana DATs have taken advantage of discounted locked SOL to boost their SOL per share metrics. For example, Upexi’s Chief Strategy Officer, Brian Ruddick, noted that over half of the company’s acquired holdings are in the form of locked SOL. He added that if Upexi were ever to resell these tokens, they expect to achieve the same or an even more favorable discount relative to their purchase.

Purchasing of locked SOL by DATs helps reduce supply overhang, as these tokens are structurally prevented from being sold upon unlocking. While there is a prevailing view that acquiring locked SOL through such vehicles can be negative because it often involves taking on debt, the actual impact depends on the terms of the financing. Debt structures vary by company and offering, and in cases where the debt matures after the unlock period, the lockup becomes irrelevant. Just as importantly, locked SOL (despite the name) is already highly liquid, supported by an active secondary market.

Risks of the DAT Model

The treasury company model is not without its downsides, and investors should carefully weigh the risks before allocating capital. Investors face risks related to dilution from equity issuance, governance misalignment, and reliance on the company’s ability to prudently deploy and safeguard its treasury.

Fragility of Premium-Driven Growth Models

Many DATs today rely heavily on maintaining a sustained equity premium to NAV (i.e., keeping mNAV above 1) to fuel growth. If this premium narrows, or worse, flips to a discount, the model quickly loses momentum.

Owning shares in a DAT does not grant investors the right to redeem those shares for the company’s underlying digital assets, which stands in contrast to ETFs, where authorized participants can arbitrage price discrepancies by redeeming shares for the underlying holdings.

However, DATs consistently trading below an mNAV of 1 may respond by buying back their own shares to close the gap, drawing from their digital asset reserves or operational cash. For instance, Bitmine, a major Ethereum DAT, has already secured board approval to repurchase up to $1 billion of its stock at management’s discretion. 

Because DAT valuations are highly correlated with one another and with the crypto markets they track, a wave of buybacks or redemptions could trigger a systemic unwind, placing downward pressure on digital asset prices themselves. Just as treasury inflows have created a persistent bid for assets like SOL, redemptions would act as the reverse, removing that support and potentially reversing net accumulation.

Over the long term, the Solana DAT sector is likely to consolidate, with larger, better-capitalized firms acquiring smaller peers trading at persistent NAV discounts. These deals can be accretive to both sides and allow acquirers to purchase SOL at a discount using their own equity. This strategy only remains viable, however, if the acquiring company itself continues to trade at a premium. Kyle Samani, chairman of Forward Industries, has noted that acquisitions of smaller DATs will likely be part of their strategy.

Legacy Business Operations

Many DATs have entered public markets not as newly created entities but through pivots by small and mid-cap companies in traditional sectors such as healthcare and education. These businesses typically have little connection, or operational synergy, with Solana-based treasury models. These pivots often reflect two distinct motivations:

Rapid Go-to-Market

For new investors, acquiring a pre-listed company provides a shortcut to a major exchange, avoiding the lengthy and costly process of pursuing a fresh IPO. This route offers immediate market access, liquidity, and visibility.

Opportunistic Rebranding

In other cases, struggling or unprofitable firms may view the DAT model as a chance to rebrand and capture investor attention. By positioning themselves as crypto treasuries, these companies seek to tap into market enthusiasm around digital assets, even if their leadership has little prior exposure to the space.

These dynamics raise important concerns. Legacy business lines that are not divested can weigh down overall profitability, consuming resources and management focus without adding meaningful value. Furthermore, executive teams from unrelated industries often lack the domain expertise required to manage a crypto treasury effectively. Without relevant skills and knowledge, these teams may struggle to create sustainable value.

Operational and Management Risks

Unlike passive investment vehicles such as crypto ETFs or investors that simply hold spot SOL, DATs operate as active businesses. This introduces a layer of operational and managerial risk that directly impacts shareholder outcomes.

DAT companies can assume leverage, engage in complex financing arrangements, and deploy capital in ways that extend beyond simply holding or staking crypto. While this creates potential upside, it also introduces downside scenarios that passive structures avoid. For instance, a company relying heavily on debt to accumulate crypto may face margin calls or insolvency risk in the event of a sharp market downturn. Similarly, a company that actively deploys treasury funds into DeFi protocols assumes smart contract and counterparty risk, where a single exploit or protocol failure could result in losses.

Executives not only determine capital allocation strategies but also directly benefit from compensation structures that may or may not align with shareholder interests. In addition to salaries and performance incentives, companies often engage outside advisors or asset managers, whose fees reduce net returns. Upexi, for example, has a 20-year agreement with trading firm GSR that entitles the asset manager to an annual fee of 1.75% of assets.

Ultimately, DAT valuations are highly dependent on confidence in the leadership team’s ability to grow and protect crypto holdings on a dilution-adjusted basis. Management teams control the treasury and face few immediate constraints on how or when they deploy raised funds. Shareholders are not simply buying exposure to SOL; they are making an active bet on management execution and governance.

Conclusion

The rise of DATs carries several potential benefits for the Solana ecosystem. High-profile executives championing Solana can expand awareness within traditional finance, while the deployment of raised capital into DeFi protocols will enhance liquidity and generate valuable fee flows.

While some critics dismiss DATs as a passing fad, their long-term prospects appear far stronger. As outlined in this report, the DAT structure offers meaningful and durable advantages. At its core, the appeal is straightforward: traditional investors seek exposure to crypto’s upside, and DATs provide a compliant, scalable, and attractive vehicle for large pools of capital to achieve that goal.

Further Resources

• Strategic SOL Reserve, institutional SOL holdings tracker
• Artemis Solana DAT dashboard
• Blockworks Solana DAT dashboard

Appendix: DAT Related Financial Terms

This section outlines key DAT-related financial concepts referenced throughout the report, covering both the metrics used to measure financial performance and the instruments commonly employed to raise capital.

Net Asset Value (NAV)

NAV is the value of a company’s assets minus its liabilities. It is usually expressed on a per-share basis. If a company holds $100 million in crypto assets, $5 million in liabilities, and 10 million shares outstanding, its NAV per share is $9.50.

NAV per share = (Total Assets - Total Liabilities) / Number of outstanding shares

Multiple to net asset value (mNAV)

mNAV is a popular metric that measures the ratio of a DAT's share price to its net asset value (NAV) per share.

mNAV = Share price / NAV per share

If mNAV is above 1, the stock trades at a premium, meaning investors are paying more for shares than the value of the company’s underlying crypto assets. If mNAV is below 1, the stock trades at a discount, allowing investors to gain exposure to the underlying assets at less than their net asset value.

At-the-Market Equity Programs (ATMs)

ATMs enable companies to sell shares directly into the market in small, continuous increments at prevailing prices. This flexibility makes them the favored capital-raising tool for many DATs, as they scale smoothly without the steep discounts or large block issuances typical of other financing methods.

When a DAT trades at a premium to NAV, each dollar raised via an ATM can purchase more crypto per share than it dilutes, creating an accretive loop: new equity is issued, tokens are acquired, mNAV rises, and the premium can widen further.

Another strength of ATMs is timing. Companies can raise capital when demand is strong and pause during weaker markets, allowing issuance to align with investor sentiment and market conditions.

The main risk lies in overuse. Too much issuance can put pressure on the share price. But when executed carefully, ATMs are among the most capital-efficient growth engines available to DATs.

Private Investments in Public Equity (PIPEs)

New DATs often use private investments in public equity (PIPEs) to raise capital quickly. Unlike ATMs, PIPEs are negotiated transactions with large institutional buyers, typically priced at a fixed discount to market. They offer efficiency in both speed (Forward Industries’ recent PIPE raise closed in just two weeks, for instance) and scale, but come with the risks of dilution and potential future supply overhang.

While very effective in terms of speed and scale, rapid capital influx can suppress NAV-based valuations. Because PIPE shares are often issued with lockups, they introduce future sell pressures as investors anticipate supply entering the market. They are best deployed in high-premium environments where investors understand the company’s capacity to convert capital into digital assets.

Warrants

A warrant is a financial instrument that gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy a company’s stock at a specific price (i.e., the “exercise price”) within a set time period. They’re similar to stock options but are issued directly by companies, often as part of fundraising.

Warrants are often issued as sweeteners in financing deals. They make the investment more attractive to investors by giving them upside potential. If exercised, warrants bring in additional cash for the company, since the investor pays the exercise price to convert warrants into shares.

Convertible Notes

They are a type of short-term debt instrument often used in startup fundraising. They’re essentially loans from investors to a company. Convertible notes have a due date (e.g., 2–3 years). At maturity, the company must either repay the principal and interest in cash or convert the note into equity if conditions are met.

Investors like convertible notes because they get upside if the company grows through equity conversion at favorable terms. They’re also senior to equity holders if the company fails, since it starts as debt. 

When convertible notes mature, if they aren’t converted to equity, the company must refinance or repay. If interest rates are higher, the new debt will be more expensive. Additionally, if asset prices are lower, the company’s valuation and ability to raise equity may be impaired.

Perpetual Preferred Stock

Perpetual preferred structures are loans that pay a higher nominal yield than a convertible note, but the principal is never due. Since perpetual preferred has no maturity, the company doesn’t face a lump-sum repayment deadline. It only needs to keep paying dividends, which can sometimes be deferred, depending on the structure. This makes them more flexible for issuers compared to debt-like instruments with hard maturities.

For Solana DATs, this model aligns well with staking economics. With staked SOL generating a native annual yield of roughly 7–8%, dividends can be serviced directly from staking rewards, making perpetual preferred instruments a natural fit.