DeFi Development Corp, notable for being the first publicly listed firm employing a treasury strategy based on Solana, has substantially increased its share repurchase program to $100 million. This marks one of the most significant stock buyback initiatives within the digital asset sector. The company announced this decision following a meeting of its Board of Directors, which approved a boost from an initial authorization of just $1 million. The expanded program allows the management team to repurchase shares in the open market under Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Under the new authorization, the company can evaluate market conditions and other factors to determine the timing, method, and scale of buybacks. Management is required to inform the board after reaching an initial repurchase threshold of $10 million before proceeding with further purchases. The shares bought back are intended to either be retired and revert to authorized but unissued status or held as treasury stock.
This development aligns with DeFi Development Corp’s ambition to mirror Strategies’ Bitcoin strategy within the Solana ecosystem. Recently, the company has been consistently accumulating Solana tokens as part of its treasury strategy. On September 17, the firm disclosed that it added 62,745 SOL, boosting its total holdings to 2,095,748 SOL, valued at approximately $499 million at that time. This translates to roughly 0.0816 SOL per share or about $19.44 in value per share based on their reported metrics, with these tokens staked across numerous validators—including their own—to generate yield.
The stock buyback initiative also follows regulatory challenges faced by DeFi Development earlier this year. In June, the firm discontinued a $1 billion registration filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after the agency deemed the company ineligible for using the streamlined S-3 form, attributing the ineligibility to missing a management report on internal controls in its most recent financial filings. The firm confirmed that no securities were sold during the withdrawn filing period and plans to refile once compliance is met.
Despite the regulatory hurdles, DeFi Development has moved forward with funding initiatives. In July, the company announced plans to raise $100 million via a private offering of convertible senior notes maturing in 2030, with an additional option of $25 million. The proceeds from this offering are intended for stock repurchases through a prepaid forward agreement and to further enhance their Solana holdings.
On a broader scale, DeFi Development Corp is making strides internationally. On September 22, it announced a letter of intent to establish DeFi Development Corp. Korea, working alongside Fragmetric to create a Solana Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) in South Korea. Just a week prior, the company had shared plans to allocate between $5 million and $75 million into various global DATs as part of its Treasury Accelerator program, aiming for reinvestment returns back into Solana.
Since April, DeFi Development Corp has raised $42 million to sustain its Solana-focused strategy. With the recent stock buyback authorization expansion to $100 million, the company aims to bolster shareholder value while asserting its position as a major institutional holder of Solana.
The trend of institutional adoption of Solana has been accelerating, with treasury companies reportedly holding a combined 13.44 million SOL, valued at approximately $2.86 billion. Notable recent activities include Australian firm Fitell Corporation, which secured a $100 million credit line to initiate a Solana-focused treasury strategy as part of its rebranding to Solana Australia Corporation. This move positions Fitell as the first Nasdaq-listed entity in Australia to hold Solana, with plans for generating returns through staking and DeFi participation.
Moreover, other firms such as Brera Holdings and Forward Industries are advancing their strategies for Solana accumulation, further entrenching the network as a growing hub for institutional capital. Brera recently concluded an oversubscribed $300 million PIPE led by UAE investors and Ark Invest, while Forward Industries, the largest holder of Solana, aims to tokenize its stock on-chain to enhance liquidity and integrate it within Solana-based lending protocols. Forward has also filed for a $4 billion at-the-market equity program to scale its strategy further, with other companies similarly exploring Solana treasuries.
