SOL Strategies has locked in a $500 million convertible note facility with ATW Partners to boost its SOL acquisition and validator staking capabilities.
The agreement allows SOL Strategies to issue up to $500M in notes, beginning with a $20 million tranche expected by May 1, 2025.
Interest Payments Tied to Staking Yield
The unique structure pays noteholders in SOL tokens, with yields capped at 85% of staking returns—creating a circular system where capital instantly begins generating returns.
“This is the first facility in the Solana ecosystem that scales with staking yield,” said CEO Leah Wald, calling it “a blueprint for sustainable crypto finance.”
The deal offers optional equity conversion at market rates, aligning investor and operator interests. Cohen & Company Capital Markets is facilitating the raise.
NFT Collaboration and Validator Growth
The funding follows SOL Strategies’ rapid validator expansion, including the acquisition of Laine and Stakewiz.com in March for $24 million. This doubled its total stake to over 3.35 million SOL.
SOL Strategies also launched the PENGU Validator in partnership with Pudgy Penguins, offering competitive APYs through Phantom Wallet and signaling NFT–infrastructure convergence.
Michael Hubbard, formerly of Laine, is now CSO and leading validator optimization, helping maintain industry-leading uptime and yield metrics.
Governance Vision and Market Comparison
SOL Strategies voted in favor of SIMD-228, a proposal to reduce inflation on the Solana network—a move aligned with its deflationary stance.
Its financing structure has drawn comparisons to GameStop’s $1.5B convertible bond deal, though SOL Strategies’ strategy is more active—using funds to generate yield via staking rather than hold passive reserves.
Through this multifaceted approach, SOL Strategies is redefining institutional staking and setting a high watermark for capital efficiency in Web3.
