Investment thesis centers on Solana’s blockchain performance
The investment bank assigned “Overweight” ratings to DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV), Upexi (UPXI), and SOL Strategies (HODL.CN), with bullish price targets of $45, $16, and C$4 respectively. These targets imply substantial upside potential of 74.9% for DFDV, 59.8% for UPXI, and 65.3% for HODL, underpinned by Solana’s technological advantages and the firms’ strategic treasury and capital-raising efforts.
Cantor’s report points to Solana’s ability to process 65,000 transactions per second at sub-penny fees as a key differentiator that could enable it to rival or even surpass Ethereum, which still commands a market capitalization nearly 2.6 times larger than Solana’s $86.3 billion.
“Developer growth on SOL has far exceeded that on ETH recently, and we expect this to continue,” Cantor analysts noted, emphasizing the rising preference for Solana as a transactional backbone for on-chain finance.
Company breakdown: DFDV leads with validator strategy
Among the covered companies, DeFi Development Corp. stands out with a crypto-native management team and a significant validator footprint. The firm holds the second-largest SOL treasury and has been actively building out its ecosystem presence through validator acquisitions and partnerships. Cantor expects DFDV to raise $250 million annually through capital markets at a premium of 250%, leveraging its U.S. and European market access to grow its SOL-per-share ratio.
Upexi, listed on NASDAQ, holds the largest SOL position at 679,677 tokens, all accumulated in 2025. Despite lacking validator operations and having a less crypto-native leadership team, UPXI benefits from high liquidity. Cantor projects it can also raise $250 million annually, albeit at a slightly lower average premium of 200%.
SOL Strategies, trading on Canada’s CSE, is closing in on a U.S. listing, a potential catalyst for increased liquidity and investor interest. The company currently trades with a trailing twelve-month daily volume of C$387 million and is anticipated to benefit significantly from its validator infrastructure and potential cross-border exposure.
Staking and real-world use cases strengthen bullish case
Cantor highlights staking yield as a key source of value accrual. With approximately 66% of SOL staked at yields exceeding the coin's 4.5% inflation rate, companies with validator exposure (particularly DFDV and HODL) are expected to compound returns more effectively than Bitcoin-focused treasury firms.
Real-world adoption trends also reinforce the bull case. Recent initiatives like Robinhood’s blockchain-based securities trading, Apollo’s $82 million tokenized credit fund, and Kraken’s tokenized stock offerings all reflect growing usage of Solana’s infrastructure, driven by its low-cost, high-throughput capabilities.
Regulatory risks linger
Despite the optimistic outlook, Cantor’s analysts caution that regulatory developments could impact treasury companies. Notably, if the SEC classifies SOL as a security, firms may face heightened compliance burdens. Additionally, while a Solana ETF could divert interest away from treasury stocks, Cantor estimates staking incentives will continue to provide a compelling value
