Solana's Rise as Corporate Treasury Asset Challenges Bitcoin's Dominance

The trend of publicly traded companies building Solana (SOL) treasuries is gathering significant momentum, with several firms now holding substantial positions in the fast-growing blockchain platform. As of mid-2025, 13 publicly traded companies have collectively accumulated 8.9 million SOL, marking a 7% increase in the past month. This strategic shift is driven by Solana’s high throughput, low transaction fees, and expanding DeFi ecosystem, which present opportunities for yield generation and long-term value creation.

Leading the charge is Sharps Technology, a small medical device and pharmaceutical packaging company, which announced plans to raise $400 million through a stock offering to fund a significant Solana purchase. The company currently holds 2.14 million SOL, valued at $461 million. This move positions Sharps as the largest single corporate holder of SOL, slightly ahead of Upexi, which holds 2 million SOL worth $431 million. DeFi Development Corp. follows closely with 2.02 million SOL valued at $437 million. These holdings are not static; they are actively managed through staking strategies, generating annualized returns of approximately 6% to 8%.

The trend mirrors the Bitcoin treasury strategy pioneered by companies like MicroStrategy, where digital assets are purchased using debt financing and held as long-term reserves. Sharps’ strategy is supported by prominent crypto funds such as ParaFi, Pantera Capital, and CoinFund. Alice Zhang, co-founder of Jambo, a crypto smartphone maker, has joined Sharps’ board as chief investment officer, signaling a deep institutional commitment to Solana’s ecosystem.

Forward Industries, a design firm targeting the medical and technology sectors, is also emerging as a major player in the Solana treasury space. The company recently secured a $1.65 billion private placement led by Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital. If executed at current price levels, this would allow Forward to acquire 7.7 million SOL, surpassing existing corporate holdings and solidifying its leadership in the sector. Galaxy Digital itself has been highly active in the market, acquiring 6.5 million SOL in just five days in mid-2025, with an additional 1.2 million purchased in September. The firm has now positioned itself among the top institutional holders of SOL, underscoring its strategic bet on altcoin-based treasury management.

Other notable participants include DeFi Development Corp., which has structured its Solana strategy around scalable Layer 1 assets and strong DeFi infrastructure, and Sol Strategies Inc. (HODL), which has staked the majority of its 260,000 SOL holdings through institutional validators. Torrent Capital Ltd. and Classover Holdings are also participating, though on a smaller scale, with the former taking a long-term, yield-focused approach and the latter emphasizing validator participation.

The growing interest in Solana as a corporate treasury asset is also being driven by the emergence of tokenized real-world assets and institutional-grade DeFi protocols on the network. Companies such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have launched funds on Solana, adding credibility to the platform and encouraging broader adoption. These developments suggest that Solana is no longer viewed solely as a speculative asset but as a strategic reserve with real utility in decentralized finance.

However, the trend is not without its critics. Bruno Vaccotti, founder of the Paraguayan Chamber of Digital Asset Mining, has expressed skepticism about the long-term viability of Solana as a corporate treasury asset, arguing that Bitcoin remains the only true store of value with proven resilience and global adoption. He contends that Ethereum and Solana, while efficient, sacrifice decentralization and face technical vulnerabilities that make them unsuitable for institutional purposes.

Despite these concerns, the momentum behind Solana treasuries continues to grow. Companies are leveraging debt instruments such as zero-coupon convertible bonds to fund their purchases, a strategy that Galaxy Digital has described as part of a broader “Treasury Trend”. While the firm cautions against potential liquidity risks in volatile markets, it acknowledges that the underlying demand for Solana remains robust, driven by its technical advantages and ecosystem growth.

As the market evolves, the balance between innovation and risk remains a key consideration for corporate treasuries. Solana’s ability to deliver both yield and exposure to a rapidly expanding blockchain network has made it an attractive addition to the portfolios of publicly traded companies, signaling a broader shift in how institutional capital is being allocated in the digital asset space.