Update (Oct. 23, 21:10 UTC): This article has been updated to clarify that only Citadel and its affiliated entities — not CEO Ken Griffin personally — hold shares of DeFi Development Corp. The SEC filing states that Griffin “may be deemed to beneficially own 1,315,654 shares,” but a Citadel spokesperson confirmed that this is standard disclosure language and does not necessarily indicate direct ownership.
Global hedge fund Citadel has disclosed a sizable investment in DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV), a digital asset treasury company focused on accumulating Solana.
According to a Schedule 13G filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company and its affiliates hold over 1.7 million DFDV shares, or about 4.5% of DeFi Development’s outstanding common stock.
Although the filing notes that billionaire CEO Ken Griffin “may be deemed to beneficially own 1,315,654 shares,” a Citadel spokesperson clarified to Cointelegraph that Griffin personally does not have direct exposure to DeFi — rather, the holdings belong to affiliated Citadel entities.
The disclosure adds to mounting evidence of growing Wall Street engagement in digital assets. A recent a16z Crypto report highlighted accelerating institutional adoption, citing companies such as BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, Fidelity and Citigroup for their expanding activity in the sector.
Citadel Advisors LLC serves as the investment management arm of the Citadel hedge fund group and is a registered investment adviser with the SEC. Citadel manages an estimated $65 billion in assets across its various funds.
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Competition heats up among digital asset treasury companies
DeFi Development Corp. has emerged as the second-largest Solana (SOL) treasury company — part of a small but growing group of companies racing to accumulate the digital asset.
In early September, the company scooped up $117 million worth of SOL over an eight-day stretch, lifting its treasury holdings above $400 million.
Over the past 30 days, DeFi Development Corp. has added 86,307 SOL, according to CoinGecko, bringing its total holdings to 2,195,926 SOL. Although the value of those holdings has since dipped below $400 million amid a marketwide sell-off, the company’s cost basis of roughly $236 million means it remains in profit.
The only company with a larger Solana treasury is Forward Industries, which holds about 6.82 million SOL, nearly three times more than DeFi Development Corp.
The rise of digital asset treasury (DAT) strategies reflects a growing trend of companies seeking to bolster balance sheets and investor appeal through exposure to high-growth crypto assets. Yet analysts caution that the strategy carries substantial risk.
David Duong, head of institutional research at Coinbase, told Cointelegraph that “regulatory shifts, liquidity, and market pressures” could drive consolidation across the digital asset treasury sector, with larger players likely to absorb smaller rivals.
Standard Chartered analysts have warned that many DAT companies could face a valuation crunch as their market net asset value (mNAV) declines. The mNAV measures the market value of a company’s enterprise relative to its crypto holdings. Prolonged market weakness could make it harder for DATs to raise new capital to expand their treasuries.
Standard Chartered specifically cited DeFi Development Corp. among those experiencing compressed valuations as the sector adjusts to new market realities.
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