Public companies are scooping up Solana to get a slice of the blockchain’s staking rewards, with three firms recently sharing they’ve purchased more of the token.
Bitcoin mining firm Bit Mining said on Tuesday that it made its first Solana (SOL) buy, purchasing 27,191 SOL for $4.5 million, and launching a validator to earn yield by staking the tokens.
On Tuesday, Upexi, a brand owner specializing in supply chain management, said it spent most of July buying Solana and increasing its holdings from 735,692 tokens at the end of June to more than 2 million SOL now.
On Monday, DeFi Development Corp said it increased its crypto holdings to more than 1.2 million SOL, having bought up another 110,466 tokens.
CoinGecko said on Tuesday that the recent buys highlight “a growing trend of Solana exposure among public firms,” with the top four Solana-holding companies controlling over 3.5 million tokens worth more than $591.1 million, representing nearly 0.65% of the SOL circulating supply.
Long-term staking plans
DeFi Development said after its latest purchase that it would stake its SOL holdings with various validators.
The company, formerly called Janover, was mainly a real estate financing company that used an artificial intelligence-powered online platform to connect lenders and commercial property buyers.
The firm made its first SOL purchase of 2,858 tokens on April 8 after being acquired by former executives from the crypto exchange Kraken.
Upexi CEO Allan Marshall said that July “was a game-changing month” for the company after raising over $200 million for additional SOL purchases and increasing its holdings to more than 2 million tokens.
The firm also staked most of its SOL, which Marshall said earned an 8% yield and pocketed $65,000 a day in revenue.
Bit Mining to expand into Solana ecosystem
Bit Mining chairman and chief operating officer Bo Yu said the company’s first self-operated validator marked the beginning of a broader effort to build a presence across the Solana ecosystem.
“It demonstrates our belief in Solana's potential and our commitment to building meaningful infrastructure that supports its growth, security, and decentralization,” Yu added.
Bit Mining announced on July 10 that it was making a strategic shift into the Solana ecosystem, with plans to raise up to $300 million to build a Solana token treasury.
Staking yield primary catalyst for purchases
In a June 18 report, crypto company BitGo speculated that a growing number of companies are adding Solana to their treasuries specifically for the staking rewards and to stand out after a flood of other firms adopted Bitcoin (BTC).
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“Bitcoin integration into corporate balance sheets challenged traditional treasury thinking, signaling digital assets’ transition into a legitimate institutional asset class,” BitGo said.
“Companies adopting Solana gain exposure to reward-generating digital assets, align strategically with emerging blockchain infrastructure, and differentiate themselves in the marketplace.”
Upexi currently leads the Solana treasury race with the most significant holdings, according to CoinGecko, with DeFi Development in second, and SOL Strategies, a Canadian public company focused on Solana infrastructure, rounding out the top three.
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