Solana Treasury Companies - Where Custody Fits In

As the cryptocurrency market continues to mature, many savvy corporate treasury managers recognize the importance of carefully diversifying into multiple digital assets, including market leaders bitcoin and ether, as well as other valuable digital currencies, such as solana.

Solana is a top-10 digital currency, with a market cap of more than $75 billion as of this writing. Solana is a proof-of-stake blockchain that’s attractive to businesses for its speed, scalability, and programmability.

The native cryptocurrency of this blockchain, also called solana (SOL), offers rewards to owners who stake the currency in their digital wallets, a form of locking it into the system to support its operations, similar to how banks accept cash deposits to fund lending and other operations.

Today’s solana treasury companies show how modern teams use SOL to diversify reserves, improve transaction efficiency, and participate in a rapidly evolving blockchain economy. Keep reading to learn more about solana treasury companies.

Key Takeaways

• Solana is a cryptocurrency that currently ranks sixth by market capitalization, with a total market value of more than $75 billion.

• The Solana blockchain is popular with businesses and investors due to its low-cost, high-speed, and highly programmable transactions.

• Businesses and individuals can stake their solana currency and earn rewards, a benefit not offered by bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies.

• Solana is a popular currency for diversification beyond bitcoin and ether, and is a growing asset in company treasuries.

Companies Betting Big on Solana

According to CoinGecko, about 3% of all solana is owned by government and corporate treasuries, worth more than $2.5 billion. The largest single public company reporting solana assets is Forward Industries, with nearly 7 million SOL worth $1.5 billion.

These are the top 10 known holders of solana among publicly traded companies:

Due to the nature of cryptocurrencies, it’s impossible to say for sure who owns the most solana and to identify all government and corporate owners. Wallets are semi-anonymous, and anyone can have multiple wallets. But there’s a clear trend: institutional investors are buying and holding more solana in their crypto portfolios.

Why Companies Are Choosing Solana

Companies are drawn to solana for several reasons. As mentioned previously, solana’s proof-of-stake consensus mechanism allows holders to participate in network consensus to earn a native reward through staking. Solana staking presents an attractive income-generating strategy for treasury managers, enhancing balance sheet efficiency and returns.

Upexi’s locked token strategy demonstrates another advantage: discounted entry points. By acquiring locked solana at discounts and staking it immediately, companies boost returns by buying Solana at below-market prices while aligning their treasuries with Solana’s anticipated growth.

Strategically, holding solana aligns companies with a blockchain designed for high-performance, consumer-scale applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, and payments. With stablecoins as a service becoming more prominent, solana can help here, too.

As blockchain technology gains broader adoption across major economic sectors such as banking and finance, corporate treasurers may increasingly recognize the strategic benefits of holding digital assets like solana.

Additionally, solana treasury allocations can enhance investor relations. Like past digital asset treasury moves, these strategic decisions can elevate media visibility, attract new investor segments, and increase stock liquidity and engagement.

“BitGo’s access to locked token markets gives us an efficient way to accumulate discounted SOL and execute on our treasury strategy.”

CEO of DeFi Development Corp, Joseph Onorati

Solana vs. Other Treasury Options

While markets can change at any time, the top cryptocurrencies by market cap as of this writing are bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), tether (USDT), binance coin (BNB), solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), USDC (USDC), cardano (ADA), dogecoin (DOGE), TRON (TRX).

When looking at solana treasuries compared to other cryptocurrencies, bitcoin treasuries, and ether treasuries are arguably the most similar. All are independent blockchains widely available in the United States and internationally.

While bitcoin and ethereum have higher market capitalizations and greater institutional ownership, nearly 3% of solana is held by public companies, a testament to the growing trust in the asset. Of course, the asset still carries unique risks worth considering when creating a solana treasury strategy, and solana works best as part of a diversified portfolio to spread risk among multiple cryptocurrencies.

What to Consider About Solana treasuries

When deciding whether to buy solana, it’s wise to consider the risks, regulations, and how it may fit into your treasury plan. The analysis process for solana is similar to that of any other cryptocurrency and most alternative assets.

The risk and potential return analysis places solana at the end of the spectrum where investors tend to expect high returns. As with all cryptocurrency assets, solana is generally considered a risky asset. But with that high risk, you may see returns far beyond what you would typically see in the stock market.

If you decide to purchase Solana or any other digital asset, you’ll also want to consider where you make the purchase and how you store the currency. For institutional holders, it’s critical to follow a Solana treasury plan that includes secure, cold storage and compliance with government regulations, potentially in multiple jurisdictions. As a regulated custody wallet provider, BitGo specializes in helping financial companies manage their own digital assets and clients' currencies with best-in-class services.

Solana treasury Challenges

The biggest solana treasury challenges relate mostly to investment risk and its status as a relatively new investment in a market with rapidly evolving regulations.

• Regulatory worries: Cryptocurrency regulations are still evolving, and new laws and rules could inadvertently put financial companies out of compliance.

• Market volatility: Crypto prices can swing wildly, and solana isn’t immune. The dramatic ups and downs can be difficult to stomach for those used to more traditional assets like stocks and bonds.

• Security: Poor security or a simple transaction mistake could lead to financially devastating consequences. Only working with qualified custodians, following standards such as SOC 2 audits, and using multi-signature wallets with cold storage for the majority of assets helps avoid costly problems.

Implementing a solana treasury Strategy

A solana treasury strategy can be straightforward to implement. With the right partners, it’s not much different from opening a new brokerage account and buying a favorite stock.

1. Conduct a solana analysis: Start by analyzing whether a solana treasury strategy makes sense for your company or clients. Similar to a stock analysis, review fundamentals, risks, comparables, and how it could align with your investment thesis.

2. Pick a purchase and storage plan: Decide whether you want to take on the added risks and technical challenges of independently managing your cryptocurrencies, or prefer to work with a trusted partner like BitGo.

3. Fund your wallet: Next, it’s time to turn your local currency into digital currency. Many exchanges and custodians offer USD wallets that you can connect to a bank account and use for crypto purchases and sales. Always double-check account and routing numbers and other transaction details to avoid errors and losses.

4. Manage staking and balances: Regularly monitor your portfolio performance and ensure your currencies are staked or stored in a way that best aligns with your cryptocurrency goals.

How BitGo Can Help

“Securing our digital assets with a regulated, institutional-grade custodian enhances our risk management framework while enabling us to responsibly capitalize on the opportunities within the crypto economy. This decision aligns with our broader goal of driving sustainable, long-term value for our shareholders,” Andrew Norstrud, CFO of Upexi Inc.

As a regulated qualified custodian across 8 international jurisdictions, BitGo offers industry-leading solutions, technology and an extensive track record designed to be a company’s trusted partner in their digital asset treasury journey. BitGo’s infrastructure is also designed to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with $250M in insurance, SOC-1 type 2 and SOC-2 type 2 certifications.

BitGo has partnered with numerous companies to date, including DeFi Development Corp and Upexi Inc., to facilitate both access and execution in the SOL market. By providing a seamless combination of trading, staking, and qualified custody, BitGo is directly powering the growth of solana digital asset treasuries among companies.

Unlock Rewards and Scale with a Solana treasury

BitGo isn’t just a passive custodian but an active partner, facilitating both access and execution in the SOL market. By providing a seamless combination of trading, staking, and qualified custody, BitGo is directly powering the growth of solana treasuries among public companies.

As companies seek scalable, rewards-bearing alternatives beyond bitcoin, solana’s adoption is becoming increasingly important, shaping corporate treasury strategies across various sectors.

Ready to explore how becoming a solana treasury company can help bolster your balance sheet? Visit BitGo to learn how we can help you build secure, compliant digital asset strategies.

FAQs

As a corporate treasurer, how big should an initial solana allocation be relative to our overall treasury?

For first-time allocations, many corporates treat solana like a high-beta, experimental asset. A common approach is a low single-digit share of liquid assets, often 0.5–3%, with clear limits, rebalancing rules, and board-approved risk tolerances.

What governance documents should be updated before we add Solana to our balance sheet?

Update your treasury policy, investment policy, and risk management framework to define objectives, limits, approved venues, and counterparties. Also review board charters, delegation-of-authority matrices, and incident/contingency plans to cover custody, key management, staking, and required approvals for transfers or strategy changes.

How should we explain solana’s risk profile to our board and investors?

Frame solana as a high-volatility, high-innovation layer-1 network with meaningful technology and regulatory risk. Compare it to a speculative growth equity position, highlight liquidity depth, operational risks around custody and keys, and stress that it should be sized as a non-core, strictly risk-budgeted allocation.

What are practical steps for setting up custody and staking for a solana treasury position?

Start with a custodian selection process focused on regulation, SOC reports, insurance, and solana support. Define key roles and approval thresholds, then implement a multi-user policy. Only after custody is live, enable staking via vetted validators, set reward sweep rules, and document operational procedures and alerts.

How does the new FASB fair-value standard affect accounting for solana and staking rewards?

Under the new FASB rules for crypto, solana is marked to fair value each reporting period, with changes recognized in earnings rather than through impairment-only accounting. Staking rewards are recognized as income when received, so the P&L will be more volatile and needs clear communication and controls.