Original Article Title: Why Are Corporates Stacking SOL?

Original Article Author: Token Dispatch, Prathik Desai

Original Article Translation: Block unicorn

Introduction

The Solana treasury movement has evolved from a trickle to a torrent. About four months ago, we reported on Sol Strategies being busy building a Solana fund management company. Today, the competition has intensified, and it has taken on a memetic quality.

In a "surprising turn of events" narrative, a publicly traded company collaborating with a meme coin to operate blockchain infrastructure is quite a sight to behold. However, less than two weeks ago, another Solana fund management company, DeFi Development Corp (DFDV), partnered with the Solana meme coin Bonk.

They are not playing around. Just days ago, DFDV announced allocating part of its SOL holdings to a liquidity staking token (LST), which can be used for DeFi applications or transfers, while also earning rewards and staking incentives.

Corporate fund management has truly embraced crypto-native practices. From companies purchasing Bitcoin, to operating validator nodes, partnering with meme coins, and now pioneering liquidity staking strategies. In this article, we will delve into the significance behind holding Solana amid the rush of many other companies (including those associated with former U.S. President Donald Trump) flocking to Bitcoin.

Trend

DeFi Development Corporation (a real estate company rebranded as Janover in April 2025) made its largest Solana purchase on May 12, acquiring 172,670 SOL, adding to its treasury a total of 609,233 SOL, valued at over $100 million.

This accounts for one-third of the company's total market cap. The stock market has reacted enthusiastically. Since the rebranding, DFDV's stock has surged 30x in the past two months, largely due to its pivot to investing in Solana.

Image Source: @TradingView

Canadian company Sol Strategies is also stepping up, submitting a preliminary prospectus to the local securities regulator to raise up to $1 billion to further invest in the Solana ecosystem.

New participants continue to join. Education technology company Classover Holdings, listed on the Nasdaq, has already planned a Solana-centered strategy and has secured $400 million in funding; meanwhile, DIGITALX has increased its SOL holdings to accelerate staking rewards.

Why all this enthusiasm? There are many reasons.

Is the SOL Treasury Really Meaningful?

Yield Game

The key difference between the Solana Treasury and Bitcoin's strategy is that they can actually generate yield. DIGITALX emphasizes its annual staking yield of 7-9%, expecting to earn an additional $800,000 in annual income. In contrast, Bitcoin has a yield of 0%, and that's where its appeal starts to show.

These companies are not content with simple staking. They are full-on building infrastructure. DeFi Development's liquidity staking initiative represents the next stage of evolution: earning rewards while maintaining liquidity, truly a win-win situation. Through this initiative, the company becomes the first publicly traded company to hold Solana liquidity staking tokens.

Collaboration with BONK? This will enable both parties to jointly increase their delegated stakes, i.e., commitments of Solana tokens to their validator nodes, and share rewards in the process. This is a combination of community engagement and fund management. "DFDV and BONK are each leaders in their respective fields. Through collaboration, we can leverage each other's unique positioning and brand recognition," Parker White, Chief Information Officer and Chief Operating Officer of DeFi Development, told Decrypt.

Validators and Governance Roles

These companies are not just buying and holding SOL—they are becoming infrastructure providers. On May 5, DeFi Development Corp announced a final agreement to acquire the Solana validator business, with an average delegated stake of about 500,000 SOL ($75.5 million). This created a "flywheel" effect for the company: reinvesting earnings to accumulate more SOL, thereby further expanding the validator's capacity. This contrasts sharply with Michael Saylor's strategy.

Through operating a validator node, a company can:

· Influence network governance

· Build relationships with projects

· Potentially incubate or invest in Solana-based startups

· Generate additional revenue streams beyond treasury appreciation

The Story of Speed and Scale

Solana boasts faster transaction processing speeds and significantly lower transaction fees compared to blockchain competitors like Ethereum. For companies looking beyond just store of value, this unlocks possibilities that Bitcoin cannot match. Unlike Bitcoin, which is primarily used for transferring value across networks, Solana can support decentralized finance applications as well as consumer-facing applications, games, and more.

A Different Playbook

Each company has a different strategy in this game: DeFi Development Corp is a radical innovator. In addition to accumulating 609,233 SOL, they are pioneering liquidity staking and meme coin partnerships. DeFi Development Corp CEO Joseph Onorati told Decrypt, "Surpassing $100 million in Solana purchases is a significant milestone—but it's just the beginning."

SOL Strategies adopts an institutional strategy, focusing on becoming a premier staking platform with a mature fund management approach. Their submitted $1 billion prospectus indicates that their ambitions go beyond simple hodling. DIGITALX, on the other hand, showcases a yield optimization strategy, carefully calculating staking rewards and emphasizing the revenue potential to shareholders. They view SOL as a dividend-bearing stock.

Risk Overview

However, things are not as straightforward. Let's have a dose of practical, sober analysis.

Firstly, Macro Trap: These strategies thrive on cheap capital. Most SOL buyers have raised funds through convertible bonds or equity financing instruments. When liquidity dries up—and it inevitably will—everything comes to an end.

Secondly, Regulatory Time Bomb: Marco Santori notes that companies' SOL fund management strategies allow them to operate in a way that a "simple, passive" fund cannot. That's great until regulators view your "fund management" as resembling an unregistered investment fund.

Third, Yield Compression Is Coming. As more and more validators join, the enticing 7-9% yield will shrink. This is economics 101: an increase in validator supply means a reduction in return for each validator.

Infrastructure costs are also very real. Running a validator node is not passive income—it's an operational business that requires technical overhead, upgrade requirements, and faces the risk of significant slashing. Missed an update window? That's money down the drain. Dan Kang mentioned in the Lightspeed podcast that DeFi Development Corp's transaction volatility is as high as 700%. This makes Bitcoin look like a stablecoin. Considering Solana's network outage history, you are not only betting on the price but also on reliability. The Miner Extractable Value (MEV) game will ultimately favor the largest participants, just like on Ethereum.

Furthermore, there's competition. As of May 21, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had not approved any Solana spot ETFs yet, but once approved, these asset management companies will lose their unique selling proposition. If you can buy a Solana ETF, why buy DFDV? But the strategy of betting on Bitcoin is the same, isn't it?

Our Take

The ongoing Solana asset management phenomenon indicates that it has moved beyond traditional passive balance sheet allocation. They have shifted to active infrastructure investment that can generate real returns.

Its innovation lies in packaging complex DeFi operations into a familiar corporate structure. But we must be clear: this is a high-wire act. These companies are simultaneously betting on Solana's price, network stability, validator economics, and their own operational excellence. When it works, it's wonderful—one asset can bring in multiple income streams. When it fails, you'll have to explain to shareholders why your "treasury" needs a DevOps team.

Those companies that can efficiently scale validator operations while preparing for the upcoming yield compression will benefit most from this game. Those who expect today's high yields to continue into tomorrow and beyond have made a strategic error. When comparing Bitcoin's 50% annual yield to Solana's almost zero yield over the past 12 months, it reminds us that yield is not everything. But for those willing to accept operational complexity for additional returns, the Solana treasury offers something that Bitcoin can never provide: cash flow from day one.

This is Treasury 2.0 — a strategy that allows your balance sheet to run code, earn yield, and occasionally collaborate with dog-themed cryptocurrencies.

Original Article Link

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