SOL Strategies CEO Leah Wald outlined how Solana-focused digital asset treasury companies can drive institutional adoption and exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows.

In an interview with CryptoSlate, Wald noted that multiple Solana treasury companies create a “rising tide” effect similar to Bitcoin miners benefiting alongside Bitcoin ETF inflows.

She noted the parallel between Bitcoin ecosystem dynamics, where miners receive inflows alongside spot and futures ETFs, suggesting similar potential for Solana-focused companies.

Wald explained:

“You’ve always seen that in the past where miners get inflows, like Bitcoin miners. ETF gets inflows alongside Bitcoin spot and Bitcoin futures ETFs get inflows.”

She described the phenomenon as retail investors choosing different products based on enthusiasm, while institutions prefer ETFs for tax advantages and custody structures.

Wald acknowledged widespread market expectations for a spot or staked spot Solana ETF under a 33 Act wrapper, viewing this development as part of a broader rising tide of product offerings.

She emphasized that treasury companies must operate respectfully to maintain industry credibility while benefiting from expanding product availability.

Bloomberg ETF analysts expect an approval in October, when most of the spot Solana ETF filings will meet their final deadline with the SEC.

DAT dynamics

Addressing concerns about digital asset treasury (DAT) company valuations, Wald acknowledged that many firms that added Bitcoin now trade at discounts to multiple of Bitcoin NAV (mNAV), including Bitcoin miners.

A Sept. 2 report by Grayscale highlighted a decreasing mNAV for DAT companies, suggesting a cooling of interest from investors.

However, she expressed confidence that SOL Strategies’ dual approach as both a technology company and treasury accumulator provides competitive advantages during market downturns.

Wald stated:

“It does not scare us. I think it positions us in a position of strength because we’re the only ones running a real business and it’s a business that continues to accumulate and compound.”

She noted that discount trading environments place pressure on management teams to execute validator business models effectively rather than relying solely on asset appreciation.

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SOL Strategies differentiates itself by calling the company “DAT plus plus,” emphasizing technology development alongside treasury accumulation.

Wald described the firm as a technology company first, with treasury accumulation as a secondary function, contrasting with purely speculative treasury models.

SOL Strategies added SOL to its treasury and started trading on Nasdaq on Sept. 9 under the ticker STKE.

Infrastructure validation

Despite being the second-largest decentralized ecosystem, with over $12 billion in total value locked, Solana still represents a small fraction of the tokenization landscape.

Institutions deployed nearly $500 million using Solana’s infrastructure, representing 3.1% of this market. In comparison, Ethereum has a 52% dominance over tokenization efforts.

Wald sees institutional treasury companies as catalysts for closing this gap through education and validation efforts.

She explained:

“I do think that any ETF, like any well-respected issuer or well-respected company, anyone that puts boots on the ground on education is only going to help Solana, the network, grow and succeed.”

She emphasized validation and adoption benefits from proper educational initiatives about Solana’s technical advantages.

Wald stressed the significant institutional interest, including BlackRock’s plans to launch a yield fund on Solana alongside existing tokenized products from Apollo and Franklin Templeton.

She listed these developments as evidence of growing institutional recognition of Solana’s capabilities for tokenization and digital asset infrastructure.

Wald concluded by positioning treasury companies as educational ambassadors for Solana’s institutional adoption journey:

“It’s on all of us out there to educate why we think that it’s better, cheaper, faster, quicker, all those different merits to get there. Hopefully, with all the DAT leaders out there providing education, it should snowball.”

Mentioned in this article

Today, BlackRock Robert Mitchnick’s digital assets director at Bloomberg ETF IQ spoke about what is actually driving the surge in Bitcoin ETFs.

“It’s a lot of stuff coming in. Outside the gate was retail and investor demand…” Mitchinick said. “We’ve seen stable progress recently in adopting more wealth advisors, more institutional adoption. It’s a mixture of people who are new to invest in everything in the crypto sector, and there are a lot of people who have been invested in Bitcoin for a long time.

When it comes to institutional adoption, Mitchinick says we’re still too early. ETF approvals usually take years, but some companies are tracking the process quickly.

“We’ve seen them being tracked quickly by a lot of companies, and we’re talking about fast tracking,” Mitchinick said. “We’re talking about quarters, not months, and I think slowly and certainly, you’ve seen you give your advisors approval to use these, especially in the months of companies that are more prominent than lowering obstacles.”

Bitcoin volatility has recently declined, making it even more attractive to institutions seeking diversification. However, while remaining unstable, the risk and return profile differs from traditional assets.

“It’s definitely a relatively new technology,” commented Mitchinick. “The volatility is declining, but it is still unstable, but at the same time its risk and return drivers are significantly different from most of the remaining assets in the traditional portfolio, and that is important.

Currently, around 12 Bitcoin ETFs compete in the market, and demand remains strong.

“Well, a lot of them are very successful, you know,” Mitchinick said. “Obviously, it was a category leader with a considerable margin. But as you know, it’s exciting, there’s a lot of product in the space, and that’s a good thing.”

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The Bitcoin price has been in impressive form over the past few weeks, breaking above the psychological $90,000 level in the past week. The premier cryptocurrency seems to be approaching the weekend with the same — if not greater — momentum after crossing $95,000 on Friday, April 25th.

Who Is Really Behind The BTC Rally?

In a new post on the X platform, on-chain analyst IT Tech took a deep dive into the recent Bitcoin price rally, identifying the catalysts for the run from around $74,000 to $95,000. According to a crypto pundit, recent blockchain data shows there has been a clear rotation of capital in the past month.

This analysis revolves around the activity of various classes of Bitcoin investors (based on the time spent holding their coins). According to data from IntoTheBlock, most activity has unsurprisingly come from the traders (or short-term holders), who have increased their balance by nearly 19% in the past 30 days.

IT Tech noted that these traders, true to their reactive nature and driven by FOMO (fear of missing out), have been aggressively buying BTC since its price fell to around $74,000. At the same time, the short-term traders have not taken their foot off the gas with the Bitcoin price now dancing above $95,000.

Furthermore, long-term holders seem to have stopped shaving off their holdings in recent weeks, removing the “major overhead pressure” on the Bitcoin price. According to data from IntoTheBlock, the balance of BTC long-term holders has grown by at least 0.3% in the last 30 days.

Source: @IT_Tech_PL on X

Finally, IT Tech highlighted an investor cohort dubbed “Cruisers,” with Bitcoin holdings aged between 1 to 12 months. Considering that their balance declined by 4.4% in the past month, the on-chain analyst mentioned these investors are either maturing into “Hodlers” or taking profit.

IT Tech concluded that the Bitcoin price could be entering a speculative bullish phase characterized by substantial short-term capital inflows and long-term stability. However, the analyst warned about the dominance of the short-term hands.

Given their reactive nature, highly volatile periods are historically correlated with the dominance of short-term holders. This means that there might be high volatility in the future of the Bitcoin market. In any case, IT Tech believes the Bitcoin price is yet to reach the local top.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of this writing, Bitcoin is valued at around $95,210, reflecting a 2% increase in the past 24 hours.

The price of BTC on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

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