Written by: White55, Mars Finance
In the structurally differentiated crypto market of 2025, institutional capital is reshaping investment logic at an unprecedented rate. The rise of Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) strategies marks a shift from traditional venture capital to direct accumulation of crypto assets, and Solana (SOL) is becoming the core target in this transformation.
strategicsolanareserve data shows that the current Solana DAT reserve exceeds 8 million, about 1.75 billion US dollars
Recently, Pantera Capital announced the raising of $1.25 billion, Galaxy and Multicoin and other institutions jointly launched a $1 billion fund, and Sharps Technology added $400 million - a total of nearly $2.5 billion will be dedicated to building SOL DAT entities. Although this scale is only 1/5 of MicroStrategy's (now Strategy) holdings, the giant of Bitcoin DAT, it is equivalent to 2.4% of SOL's current circulating market value, and its capital efficiency far exceeds similar strategies for Ethereum (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC). This article will delve into the core logic behind this phenomenon.
I. The Outbreak of SOL DAT: The Mathematical Advantage of Capital Efficiency
1.1 Trading Supply: SOL's Structural Dividend
Of Solana's circulating supply (608 million), 63.1% has been staked (approximately 384 million), while liquid staked tokens (LST) account for only 8.7% of the total staked amount (33.5 million). This means that only approximately 57.5% (approximately 350 million) of the SOL on the market is freely tradable, and withdrawal requires at least two days. In contrast, ETH's staking rate is only 29.6%, LST accounts for 11.9%, and its tradable supply is significantly higher. This difference causes the same amount of funds to have a stronger impact on SOL prices.
Table: Comparison of SOL and ETH Staking and Liquidity
1.2 Market Capitalization Leverage Effect
The current SOL market value is about 104 billion US dollars, only 19% of ETH (540 billion US dollars) and 4.7% of BTC (2.19 trillion US dollars). Therefore, every 1 US dollar invested in SOL DAT is 5 times more effective than ETH and 22 times more effective than BTC. If further considering the tradable supply, this efficiency gap expands to 11 times that of ETH and 36 times that of BTC. For example, 2.5 billion US dollars of new SOL DAT funds can cover 2.4% of the circulating supply, while the coverage rate of the same amount of funds for ETH and BTC is only 0.46% and 0.11%.
1.3 The 'Premium Flywheel' Mechanism of DAT
DAT entities raise funds by issuing shares to purchase tokens, and their share price is often higher than the net asset value (NAV) of the tokens held. Taking Strategy, the leader in Bitcoin DAT, as an example, its share trading premium has long been maintained at 120%-150%. This premium allows DAT companies to issue more shares at higher valuations, forming a positive cycle of 'raising funds → increasing token holdings → pushing up NAV → attracting more investors'. New entrants in SOL DAT are replicating this strategy to accelerate capital accumulation.
II. Unlocking the FTX Legacy: A Turning Point in Crisis
2.1 Unlocking Scale and Market Pressure
In March 2025, the first batch of 11.2 million SOL (worth approximately $1.48 billion) from the FTX bankruptcy estate was unlocked, accounting for 2.29% of the circulating supply at that time. These tokens were previously sold to institutions such as Galaxy and Pantera at a discounted price of $64-102 per token (current market price is approximately $190), resulting in a paper profit margin of 67%-165%.
According to data from @4shpool(gelato.sh), approximately 21 million SOL units are still waiting to be unlocked until 2028, with a total value of approximately $4 billion.
As of August, there are still approximately 5 million SOL waiting to be unlocked (worth $1 billion), and a total of 21 million SOL ($4 billion) will be gradually released from 2025-2028.
2.2 The 'Flood Discharge' Effect of DAT
Newly established SOL DAT entities are becoming key to absorbing selling pressure. Pantera's and Galaxy's $2.5 billion funds are likely to directly accept FTX legacy SOL through off-exchange agreements, avoiding impact on the secondary market. This operation has dual advantages:
Price Discount: Acquire tokens at a cost 5%-10% lower than the market price, equivalent to a 5.3%-11.1% increase in capital efficiency;
Liquidity Buffer: Reduce the impact of spot sales on prices.
III. The Inflation Problem: The Achilles' Heel of SOL's Growth
3.1 The Dual Pressure of Inflation and Unlocking
SOL's current annualized inflation rate is approximately 4.5% (based on circulating supply), and with the unlocking of the FTX legacy, the new circulating supply in the next year will reach 37.5 million (27.5 million inflation + 10 million unlocking), equivalent to 6.2% of the current circulating supply. If calculated at a market price of $190, $7.125 billion in annual capital inflow (an average of $19.5 million per day) is required to offset the selling pressure. In contrast, ETH is close to a deflationary state (3.2% staking yield), and its inflationary pressure is almost negligible.
3.2 Economic Model Flaws
SOL's high inflation leads to an almost negative real yield:
Low Fee Income: Solana's average handling fee is only $0.002, and stakers' income mainly depends on the issuance of new coins (that is, inflation);
High Cost of Capital: The cost of borrowing SOL in DeFi protocols is nearly 3 times higher than ETH.
This is in stark contrast to ETH - the latter has high handling fees (1.2−15), and almost all fees are returned to stakers, forming a positive real yield.
IV. Efficiency Competition: Breaking the Game with SOL DAT
4.1 Trading Supply Compression Strategy
SOL DAT can further reduce the circulating tokens in two ways:
Staking Return Reinvestment: Automatically convert 6%-7% annual staking returns into SOL, locking in long-term chips;
LST Conversion: Cooperate with protocols such as Jito and Marinade to convert holdings into interest-bearing assets (such as mSOL, jSOL). Currently, 40% of staked SOL in the Solana ecosystem has been locked through LST.
4.2 Synergistic Effect of ETF
Although the SOL spot ETF has not yet been approved (predicted probability of passing is 38%-84%), existing ETP products such as REX Shares' BONK ETF (code SSK) already provide an average daily inflow of $2 million. If more regulated products are launched, SOL DAT can serve as a 'pre-liquidity pool', providing tokens to ETFs and earning a premium.
4.3 Ecosystem Value Capture Upgrade
Solana is transforming from a 'Meme Chain' to a diverse ecosystem:
RWA Breakthrough: The white paper (Tokenized Stocks on Solana) proposes a new paradigm for the capital market, and institutions such as Franklin Templeton have already deployed;
AI Agent Network: Low cost and high TPS support large-scale deployment of AI agents, creating native consumption scenarios.
These upgrades will increase the practical demand for SOL and reduce reliance on pure capital inflows.
V. The Dilemma of ETH DAT: The Double-Edged Sword of Institutional Narrative
5.1 Limitations of Institutional Positioning
ETH DAT (such as The Ether Machine) focuses on the 'on-chain treasury' narrative, and its advantages are:
RWA Hub Status: 70% of on-chain RWA issuances occur on the Ethereum mainnet and L2;
Stablecoin Reserves: The proportion of WETH in Circle's USDC reserves has risen to 6.7%.
But this also leads to its low capital efficiency: institutions prefer to treat ETH as a low-volatility allocation asset rather than a high-growth target.
5.2 Marginal Effect of Technical Upgrades
Although the Dencun upgrade reduces L2 costs by 90%, and Verkle Trees are expected to improve node efficiency, these improvements have limited impact on price. ETH's upward momentum mainly relies on event-driven factors such as the approval of a spot ETF (75% probability), rather than ecosystem activity - its DEX trading volume has been surpassed by Solana.
Table: Core Efficiency Comparison of SOL and ETH DAT Strategies
VI. Conclusion: In the Era of Efficiency is King, the Window Period of SOL DAT
The outbreak of SOL DAT is by no means accidental; its essence lies in capital's efficiency choice under the triple factors of market capitalization leverage, scarce trading supply, and ecological growth potential. Although inflation and unlocking pose short-term resistance, $2.5 billion in new DAT funds (especially off-exchange acceptance of FTX legacy SOL) will become a key buffer. If Solana can accelerate the advancement of the Firedancer client (increasing TPS to 1 million) and reduce the staking inflation rate to below 1.5%, its monetary attribute shortcomings will be gradually filled.
In contrast, although ETH's 'financial infrastructure layer' positioning is stable, its high tradable supply and low volatility characteristics mean that its DAT strategy is difficult to replicate SOL's capital efficiency. The real winners in the future may be investors who adopt a dual-track allocation: a conservative combination of 70% ETH + 30% SOL captures institutional dividends, and an aggressive combination of 40% ETH + 60% SOL maximizes efficiency advantages.
Ultimately, the outcome of this DAT competition does not depend on technical faith, but on who can capture the highest proportion of the trading supply at the lowest cost. Solana's 350 million tradable SOL is becoming the most scarce battlefield for crypto capital in 2025.
