The Nasdaq listed Forward Industries (FORD) has just closed one of the largest PIPE financings in crypto’s history: A US$1.6 billion Solana war chest funded entirely in cash and stablecoins. Solana is a high performance blockchain gaining tremendous traction on Wall Street as traditional financial markets move on-chain. FORD is set to deploy the world’s largest Solana digital asset treasury strategy, with proceeds earmarked primarily to purchase SOL and then actively deploy it across staking, lending and other on-chain strategies.
The deal was led by Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto and Multicoin Capital; the trio collectively subscribed for more than $300 million. Late last week, Galaxy Digital began buying SOL in multi-million-dollar buys.
Speaking about this deal, Galaxy Digital stated:
“This initiative is not about passive exposure. It is about building institutional-grade infrastructure, deploying capital at scale, and demonstrating Solana’s unmatched ability to support the full spectrum of financial activity—from trading and settlement to staking, lending, and beyond.”
Season of SOL
Galaxy Digital’s CEO Mike Novogratz is calling this period the “season of SOL,” saying Solana is tailor-made for financial markets, citing its speed and high transaction capacity. The billionaire investor emphasized Solana’s cost-effectiveness, scalability, and speed as crucial benefits that establish it as “an infrastructure layer for financial markets”.
The total transactions executed on the Solana blockchain on a daily basis are about 14 billion. According to the Novogratz, this exceeds the total transactions recorded in equities, bonds, commodities, and foreign exchange (FX) combined. “So you’ve got a blockchain that’s fast enough and tailor-made for financial markets,” he added.
As this year has seen a clear and pivotal shift of traditional finance seeking to move on the blockchain to solve legacy inefficiencies and adapt to the the times and tech, Solana is fast emerging as a key blockchain to absorb this pivot.