Original author: Nancy, PANews

After Bitcoin and Ethereum pioneered treasury strategies to unlock growth, numerous altcoins followed suit. Currently, Solana is also accelerating into institutional adoption. With more crypto giants announcing their entry into the market with low-priced chips and substantial capital, market confidence and capital momentum are poised for a new surge.

SOL Treasury strategy is about to be implemented, and it will be purchased at a discount from the foundation.

Over the past year or so, the successful models of Bitcoin treasury companies like Strategy and Ethereum reserve companies like BitMine have proven themselves in the market, attracting a significant influx of capital. This trend is now rapidly extending to the Solana ecosystem, with a group of emerging SOL DATs (cryptoasset treasuries) preparing to enter the market.

On August 25th, Sharps Technology, a US-listed company, announced the completion of a private equity fundraise of over $400 million, aiming to build the world's largest Solana digital asset vault. This round of funding attracted participation from prominent institutions such as ParaFi, Pantera, Monarq, FalconX, Phoenix Capital, RockawayXa, and Primitive Ventures. Sharps also signed a letter of intent with the Solana Foundation, intending to subscribe to $50 million of Solana at a 15% discount to the 30-day average price.

Following Sharps's move, rumors circulated that Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital were in talks with potential backers to raise approximately $1 billion to purchase SOL and to establish a digital asset fund management firm through the acquisition of an undisclosed public company. According to Bloomberg, the firms have hired Cantor Fitzgerald as lead underwriter, and the transaction is expected to close in early September.

Notably, Galaxy Digital was one of the first buyers of FTX's locked-up SOL tokens, raising $620 million last year to establish a dedicated fund to acquire SOL tokens sold by FTX in bankruptcy. This year, they also conducted a large-scale asset swap, converting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ETH into SOL. Jump Crypto and Multicoin Capital are also key supporters of the Solana ecosystem, with the former actively participating in ecosystem liquidity support and the latter, as an early institutional investor, having a deep portfolio investment in the Solana ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Pantera Capital is also working on a $1.25 billion plan to transform a publicly traded company into Solana Investments, raising capital in two phases: an initial $500 million, supplemented by $750 million in warrants.

As an early investor in Solana, Pantera holds a significant amount of low-cost assets. It was previously reported that it invested $250 million in 2024 to acquire a significant amount of Sol from FTX Estate at a discounted price of $59.95 (subject to a four-year vesting period). It also purchased approximately 2,000 Sol tokens from the FTX bankruptcy estate at a price of $64. Prior to this, Pantera Capital disclosed that it had invested over $300 million in DAT companies, including Sharplink Gaming, Twenty One Capital, DeFi Development Corp, and Sharps Technology.

It can be seen that these major institutional backers of Solana are concentrating their investments. They not only have considerable capital but also possess a significant leverage advantage and official support from the Solana Foundation. This allows them to maintain strategic flexibility amidst market fluctuations, while also promoting ecosystem expansion and attracting new capital, thereby further enhancing Solana's liquidity and market acceptance. However, these institutions hold a significant amount of locked-up SOL, and there is a possibility that they may use DAT to exchange liquidity and stock price, which may pose certain market risks.

The stock price and coin price performance are flat, and the scale of holdings and appeal are insufficient.

Riding the wave of enthusiasm surrounding the cryptocurrency-backed stock market, the share prices of many publicly listed reserve companies have surged, leading to a corresponding rise in the price of their tokens. However, the stock price performance of leading reserve companies like Solana has been relatively flat. Over the past month, Upexi's stock price has risen 29.25%, DeFi Development has fallen 12.59%, Phoenix Group has risen approximately 6.63%, and SOL Strategies has fallen 29.25%.

Meanwhile, Solana's price performance has been similarly lackluster. Over the past year, Solana has only risen 17.9%, significantly lower than Bitcoin's 73.2% and Ethereum's 62.3% gains over the same period, and even more dwarfing its performance during the MEME frenzy. This suggests that the existing Solana Reserve Company has limited impact on boosting Solana's value.

The main reasons for this situation are the limitations on the scale of share purchases and market appeal.

On the one hand, the scale of increases in holdings by existing Solana reserve companies remains relatively limited, and most of them are emerging players. While several listed companies have begun building strategic Solana reserves, only a handful actually hold over $10 million. Public data shows that Upexi holds over 2 million SOL, valued at over $377 million; DeFi Development holds over 1.42 million SOL, valued at over $267 million; Phoenix Group holds over 630,000 SOL, valued at nearly $119 million; and SOL Strategies holds nearly 401,000 SOL, valued at over $75.597 million. Large-scale increases in holdings and endorsements from prominent institutions often send powerful market signals, amplifying investor expectations. In other words, larger funds and greater exposure increase their market influence, effectively driving price performance.

Second, Solana lacks a charismatic figure like Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy in the Bitcoin space, or Tom Lee, chairman of the board of BitMine in the Ethereum space. Saylor and Lee not only possess the financial muscle but also, through public speaking, media influence, and personal branding, can translate institutional strategies into market confidence, creating a replicable investment effect.

Currently, Solana Reserve lacks a brand or institutional presence with comparable influence, making it difficult to generate a confidence premium. Upexi previously sought to leverage BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes's crypto reputation by inviting him to its advisory board. However, Hayes's influence remains primarily concentrated in the crypto trading sector, and his reputation and resources in traditional capital markets are limited, making it difficult to create a cross-market leadership effect. In contrast, CEO Novogratz, who successfully led Galaxy's IPO on the Nasdaq, is considered an ideal candidate. With over three decades of experience in traditional finance, including stints at Goldman Sachs and Fortress, he has accumulated extensive expertise and connections.

However, the Solana reserve market has yet to establish a leading "micro-strategy," meaning the ecosystem still has significant room for development and may attract more institutional investors. The increasing probability of approval for the Solana spot ETF will also boost market confidence in SOL and related reserve companies, thereby amplifying the positive impact of capital inflow.