Solana News Today: Forward Industries Transforms Into Solana Treasury Powerhouse

Forward Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORD) has announced a $1.65 billion private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering to reposition the company as a publicly traded institutional participant in the Solana (SOL) ecosystem. The funding, led by Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital—three of the largest players in the digital asset industry—represents the largest Solana-focused digital asset treasury strategy to date. This strategic shift aligns the firm with the fast-growing Solana blockchain, aiming to generate on-chain returns and create long-term shareholder value through active participation in Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) markets.

The PIPE is composed of both cash and stablecoin commitments, with participating firms offering infrastructure, advisory, and investment expertise to support Forward’s treasury strategy. Galaxy Digital, a major Solana validator and institutional digital asset platform, will provide trading, lending, staking, and blockchain infrastructure services. Jump Crypto, known for its engineering contributions to Solana, including the development of Firedancer, will support the network’s performance and scalability. Multicoin Capital, a long-term investor in Solana since 2018, will bring investment expertise and institutional-grade capital management to the table. C/M Capital Partners, one of Forward’s largest shareholders, is also participating in the offering, underscoring existing investor confidence in the transition.

The impact of this move is already visible in market reactions. FORD shares surged 128% in pre-market trading, while the price of Solana’s native token, SOL, rose 2.3% following the announcement. This follows a growing trend among public companies pivoting to Solana treasuries, with companies like Upexi Inc. and Sharps Technology also making large-scale Solana investments earlier this year. Additionally, SOL Strategies, a Solana-focused treasury firm, announced its plans to uplist from the Toronto Stock Exchange to Nasdaq, further indicating the expanding institutional interest in the ecosystem.

Kyle Samani, co-founder and managing partner of Multicoin Capital, is expected to become Forward Industries’ new chairman of the board upon the closing of the transaction. Samani, a long-time advocate for Solana, emphasized the potential for an institutional-scale Solana treasury to generate differentiated value beyond traditional staking strategies. Galaxy Digital’s President and CIO Chris Ferraro and Jump Crypto’s CIO Saurabh Sharma will also join as board observers, providing strategic and operational guidance.

Forward Industries, a design company for medical and technology firms with over 60 years of history, is now repositioning itself as a digital asset treasury operator. The company’s transition marks a broader trend of traditional corporations embracing crypto assets as part of their long-term value strategies. This move aligns with the broader market dynamics, where Solana has seen a surge in institutional and whale activity. In Q3 2025 alone, whale investors injected over $1 billion into Solana’s DeFi protocols, with notable transactions including a 20,000 SOL transfer to Kamino Finance and leveraged USDC borrowing on OKX. These movements reflect a shift from passive holding to active capital deployment within the ecosystem.

The rise in institutional interest is further supported by recent technical upgrades, such as Solana’s Alpenglow consensus protocol, which reduced transaction finality to 150 milliseconds. This upgrade has attracted investors from Ethereum, where network congestion and high fees remain persistent. Additionally, Solana’s growing ecosystem is being bolstered by the introduction of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and tokenization initiatives, enhancing its credibility among institutional players. These developments suggest that Solana is increasingly being viewed as a viable alternative to Ethereum for institutional-grade DeFi activity.

Despite these positives, analysts caution that Sustaining growth requires more than speculative inflows. While Solana’s DeFi activity has surged, broader adoption, including retail user engagement and enterprise integration, will be critical to long-term success. Forward Industries’ pivot to a Solana-focused treasury strategy highlights the growing influence of blockchain technology in traditional finance, and its success could set a precedent for similar moves in other sectors.

Source: [1] Forward Industries Stock Doubles as Firm Pivots to Being Solana Treasury (https://www.investopedia.com/forward-industries-stock-doubles-as-firm-pivots-to-being-solana-treasury-11805197) [2] Forward Industries Raises $1.65B to Launch Solana Treasury, Shares Surge 128% Pre-Market (https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/09/08/nasdaq-listed-firm-raises-usd1-65b-to-launch-solana-treasury-shares-surge-128-pre-market) [3] Forward Industries, Inc. Announces $1.65 Billion Private Placement in Cash and Stablecoin Commitments Led by Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto and Multicoin Capital to Initiate Solana Treasury Strategy (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250907677362/en/Forward-Industries-Inc.-Announces-%241.65-Billion-Private-Placement-in-Cash-and-Stablecoin-Commitments-Led-by-Galaxy-Digital-Jump-Crypto-and-Multicoin-Capital-to-Initiate-Solana-Treasury-Strategy) [4] Whales Inject $1B Into Solana DeFi as Transactions Surge 500% (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1101213-20250906) [5] Solana DeFi Inflows Top $1B as Transactions Surge 500% (https://thecurrencyanalytics.com/altcoins/whales-inject-1b-into-solana-defi-as-transactions-surge-500-195399) [6] DeFi Development Corp. Surpasses 2 Million SOL in Holdings (https://beincrypto.com/defi-development-corp-solana-forecast/) [7] Solana Surges as Futures Market Hits Record High and Institutional Adoption Accelerates (https://www.fxleaders.com/news/2025/09/05/solana-surges-as-futures-market-hits-record-high-and-institutional-adoption-accelerates/)