DeFi Development Corp. Tokenizes Shares on Solana via Kraken Partnership

DeFi Development Corp., a Solana treasury company, has announced its plans to tokenize its shares through a partnership with the crypto exchange Kraken. This move will see the company's shares brought onchain using Kraken’s xStocks platform, which was announced in May and is built on the Solana blockchain. The platform aims to offer investors tokenized shares of US-listed companies, including Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, to users in other regions.

Joseph Onorati, CEO of DeFi Development Corporation, highlighted the strategic significance of this initiative, stating, "We view the tokenization of our stock as a DeFi Lego block, one that developers and institutions can build on top of." This partnership aligns with the broader trend of publicly traded companies integrating with the Solana ecosystem. For instance, in April, the Nasdaq-listed Upexi announced a raise of $100 million, with over 90% allocated for SOL purchases. Similarly, Sol Strategies in Canada has stockpiled Solana despite reporting a $3.5 million income loss for Q2 2025.

Asset tokenization involves issuing traditional financial instruments, such as stocks, as tokens on a blockchain. These tokens can be fractionalized, allowing investors to own a portion of an asset. They can also be transferred peer-to-peer and traded at any time on blockchain protocols. This process enables greater liquidity and accessibility for investors. DeFi Development Corp. has been actively involved in the Solana ecosystem since a group of former Kraken executives took over the company in April and rebranded it. Since the takeover, the company has made an $11.5 million SOL buy and has sought an additional $1 billion in capital to increase its holdings.

The tokenization of stocks remains a small segment compared to other assets. According to RWA.xyz, of the total real-world asset (RWA) market cap of $24.3 billion, tokenized stocks make up just $365 million or 1.5%. Kraken is not the only company planning to offer tokenized stocks to non-US investors. In May, a report revealed that Robinhood is building a blockchain network to offer trading of US securities to European investors. In 2021, Binance hinted at a similar initiative but ultimately halted the plans due to regulatory challenges in several countries.

DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) has announced a significant partnership with Kraken to tokenize its stock on the Solana blockchain. This move marks a groundbreaking development as DFDV becomes the first U.S.-listed crypto treasury strategy to go onchain. The tokenized representation of DFDV's stock will trade under the symbol DFDVx on Kraken's upcoming xStocks platform, joining a select group of tokenized versions of major stocks. The partnership with Kraken is part of the xStocks alliance, which includes Backed and Solana. This collaboration aims to offer tokenized equities on the Kraken platform, providing unprecedented onchain access to DFDV's equity. The launch of DFDVx is expected to bridge traditional capital markets with the Solana ecosystem, enabling developers, institutions, and DeFi protocols to build new products and integrate tokenized equity into composable financial primitives.

Joseph Onorati, CEO of DeFi Development Corp., highlighted the innovative potential of this move, stating, "We view the tokenization of our stock as a DeFi lego block, one that developers and institutions can build on top of. By putting DFDVx onchain, we will unlock the next phase of innovation; we’re ready to explore new use cases that merge equity ownership with onchain finance." Val Gui, GM of xStocks for Kraken, expressed excitement about the demand for access to U.S. equities within the crypto community. "We have seen incredible demand for access to US equities; the crypto community is excited for onchain access to crypto treasury strategy companies like DFDV," Gui said. "We are excited to be offering DFDVx on the Kraken exchange."

The tokenization of DFDV's shares aligns with the company's broader mission to lead capital markets innovation. With the launch of DFDVx, DFDV intends to work with partners across DeFi to explore integrations, liquidity initiatives, and onchain financial tooling. This move comes at a time when demand for real-world assets (RWAs) on Solana is accelerating, positioning DFDV at the forefront of this emerging trend. DeFi Development Corp. has adopted a treasury policy where the principal holding in its treasury reserve is allocated to SOL. This strategy provides investors with direct economic exposure to SOL while actively participating in the growth of the Solana ecosystem. In addition to holding and staking SOL, the company operates its own validator infrastructure, generating staking rewards and fees from delegated stake. The company is also engaged in various decentralized finance (DeFi) opportunities and continues to explore innovative ways to support and benefit from Solana’s expanding application layer.

The company operates an AI-powered online platform that connects the commercial real estate industry by providing data and software subscriptions, as well as value-add services, to multifamily and commercial property professionals. The platform serves over one million web users annually, including property owners, developers, professional service providers, and thousands of multifamily and commercial property lenders. The company's data and software offerings are generally provided on a subscription basis as software as a service (SaaS). This partnership and the subsequent tokenization of DFDV's stock represent a significant step forward in the integration of traditional financial markets with blockchain technology. By leveraging the Solana blockchain and Kraken's platform, DFDV is poised to unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth in the DeFi space.