Original article by: Token Dispatch, Prathik Desai
Original translation: Block unicorn
Preface
The Solana Treasury movement has gone from a trickle to a torrent.
About four months ago, we reported on Sol Strategies’ efforts to build a Solana money management company. Now, the competition has gotten even more intense and, well, memey.
In the record of “unexpected things”, the case of a public company partnering with a memecoin to operate blockchain infrastructure is quite eye-catching. However, less than two weeks ago, another Solana fund management company, DeFi Development Corp (DFDV), partnered with Solana memecoin Bonk.
They are not kidding.
A few days ago, DFDV announced that it would distribute part of its SOL holdings into Liquid Staking Tokens (LST), which can be used in DeFi applications or for transfers while earning yield and staking rewards.
Corporate treasury management has become completely crypto-native. From companies buying Bitcoin, to operating validator nodes, working with memecoins, to now companies pioneering liquid staking strategies.
In this article, we’ll dive into the implications of holding Solana at a time when most other companies (including those with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump) are rushing into Bitcoin.
upsurge
DeFi Development Corporation (a real estate company that changed its name to Janover in April 2025) made its largest Solana purchase on May 12, adding 172,670 SOL to its treasury. This brought its total holdings to 609,233 SOL , worth more than $100 million .
This accounts for one-third of the companys total market value.
The stock market responded enthusiastically.
Since the name change, DFDV’s stock has surged 30-fold in the past two months, largely due to its shift in focus to investing in Solana.
Image credit: @TradingView
Not to be outdone, Canadian company Sol Strategies has filed a preliminary prospectus with local securities regulators to raise up to $1 billion to further invest in the Solana ecosystem.
New participants are constantly joining.
Classover Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed education technology company, has planned a Solana-centric strategy and has received $400 million in financing; while DIGITALX has increased its holdings of SOL to accelerate staking returns.
Why so much enthusiasm? There are many reasons.
Does the SOL Treasury really make sense?
Revenue Game
Solana Treasurys differ from Bitcoin strategies in that they actually generate income.
DIGITALX highlights its annual staking yield of 7-9% , which is expected to generate an additional $800,000 in revenue per year. Compare this to Bitcoin’s 0% yield, and you start to see its appeal.
These companies are not content with simple staking. They are working hard to build infrastructure. DeFi Development’s liquidity staking initiative represents the next stage of evolution: maintaining liquidity while earning yield, really having the best of both worlds.
With this move, the company becomes the first publicly traded company to hold Solana’s liquidity staking tokens.
The partnership with BONK? This will allow both parties to jointly increase delegated stake, the amount of Solana tokens committed to their validator nodes, and share rewards in the process. It’s a combination of community engagement and treasury management.
“DFDV and BONK are each leaders in their respective fields. By working together, we can benefit from each other’s unique positioning and brand recognition,” Parker White, CIO and COO of DeFi Development, told Decrypt.
Validators and governance roles
These companies are not just buying and holding SOLs—they are becoming providers of infrastructure.
On May 5, DeFi Development Corp announced a definitive agreement to acquire the Solana validator business , which has an average delegated stake of approximately 500,000 SOL ($75.5 million).
This creates a flywheel effect for the company: earnings are reinvested to accumulate more SOL, further expanding the validator capacity. This is in stark contrast to Michael Saylors Strategy.
By operating a validator node, companies can:
Impact on network governance
Build a relationship with the project
May incubate or invest in startups based on Solana
Creating additional sources of income in addition to treasury appreciation
A story of speed and scale
Solana processes transactions faster and at far lower fees than competing blockchains like Ethereum. This opens up possibilities unmatched by Bitcoin for companies that are looking beyond just monetary value.
Unlike Bitcoin, which is primarily used to transfer value across networks, Solana can support decentralized financial applications as well as consumer applications, games, and more.
Different ways to play
Each company plays this game differently:
DeFi Development Corp is a radical innovator.
In addition to amassing 609,233 SOL, they are also pioneering liquidity staking and memecoin partnerships. Joseph Onorati, CEO of DeFi Development Corp, told Decrypt: “Solana’s purchase volume exceeding $100 million is a major milestone — but it’s just the beginning.”
SOL Strategies adopts an institutional strategy, focusing on becoming a top staking platform with a mature fund management strategy. Their $1 billion prospectus shows that their ambitions go far beyond simple accumulation.
DIGITALX has demonstrated a yield optimization strategy, carefully calculating staking returns and emphasizing its earnings potential to shareholders. They view SOL as a dividend stock.
Risk Profile
However, things are not that simple. Lets analyze it calmly and realistically.
First, the macro trap: These strategies thrive on cheap capital. Most SOL buyers raise money through convertible bonds or equity financing vehicles. When liquidity dries up—and it always does eventually—it’s all over.
Second, the regulatory time bomb: Marco Santori said the company’s SOL money management strategy enables it to operate in ways that a “simple, passive” fund can’t. That’s fine until the regulator decides your “money management” looks like an unregistered investment fund.
Third, yield compression is coming. As more and more validators join, the attractive 7-9% yield will shrink. This is common economics: an increase in the supply of validators means a decrease in the reward for each validator.
The infrastructure burden is real, too. Running a validator node is not passive income — it’s an operational business with technical overhead, upgrade requirements, and risk of slashing. Miss the update window? That’s money gone.
Dan Kang said on the Lightspeed podcast that DeFi Development Corp is trading with 700% volatility . This makes Bitcoin look like a stablecoin. Given Solanas history of network failures, you are betting on both price and reliability.
The Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) game will ultimately favor the largest players, just like on Ethereum.
Plus, there’s competition. As of May 21, the SEC has not approved any Solana spot ETFs, but once they do, these money managers will lose their unique selling advantage. Why buy DFDV when you can buy a Solana ETF? But the same goes for Strategy betting on Bitcoin, right?
Our View
The ongoing Solana fund management phenomenon shows that it has moved beyond the passive balance sheet allocations of the past. They have transformed into active infrastructure investments that can generate real returns.
Its innovation lies in packaging complex DeFi operations into a familiar corporate structure.
But let’s 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 great — multiple revenue streams from a single asset. When it doesn’t, you’re left to explain to your shareholders why your treasury needs a DevOps team.
Those who can efficiently scale validator operations while managing the impending yield compression will benefit the most from this game, while those who expect today’s high yields to continue tomorrow and beyond are making a miscalculated mistake.
When comparing Bitcoin’s 50% annual yield to Solana’s near-zero yield over the past 12 months, it’s a reminder that yield isn’t everything. But for companies willing to accept operational complexity for extra returns, the Solana treasury offers something Bitcoin will never be able to: cash flow from day one.
This is Treasury 2.0 — a strategy that allows your balance sheet to run code, earn yield, and occasionally partner with dog-themed cryptocurrencies.
