Sharps Technology reports ~7% gross APY from Solana staking, partners with Coinbase for validator custody
Sharps Technology, a Nasdaq‑listed medical device manufacturer that holds Solana (SOL) as a strategic treasury asset, says its validator partners have generated roughly 7% gross APY from Solana staking since inception. The company reports nearly all SOL holdings are staked and holds about 1,997,796 SOL (~0.323% of supply, ~USD 250M). The disclosure is the firm’s first public update on its on‑chain yield strategy and follows a lock‑up agreement limiting sales of advisory warrants and related shares. Sharps is expanding its institutional staking posture through a partnership with Coinbase: Coinbase Institutional will operate an institutional‑scale Solana validator (handling uptime, security and performance) while Sharps will commit part of its SOL to the validator and pursue custody and liquidity solutions via Coinbase Prime and OTC services. The move positions Sharps to shift from a treasury holder to active participation in Solana governance and staking revenue. Market context: SOL is down ~60% from its January 2025 ATH but showed short‑term price swings; Sharps’ stock has fallen over 64% in six months. The announcement reflects a broader trend of public treasury holders moving into validator operations and liquid staking to diversify revenue amid volatile crypto markets.
Bullish
The news is overall bullish for SOL and institutional staking adoption. Key positive signals: (1) a publicly listed company (Sharps) reports consistent ~7% gross APY from staking and notes nearly all SOL holdings are staked — this demonstrates institutional appetite for on‑chain yield and reduces immediate sell pressure from treasury holdings; (2) a formal partnership with Coinbase Institutional to run an institutional validator adds custody credibility, operational reliability, and may attract other corporates to delegate or run validators; (3) committing sizeable SOL (~2M SOL) to an institutional validator shows material on‑chain involvement by a public firm, which can support staking demand and network security. Short term, price impact may be modest because SOL remains well below its ATH and macro factors dominate; however, improved institutional participation and messaging around staking yields could boost market sentiment and reduce circulating supply pressure. Longer term, increased institutional staking, validator professionalization, and custody/OTC pathways typically support higher adoption and liquidity for SOL and can be supportive of price recovery. Risks/neutralizing factors: market‑wide volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and company‑level financial stress (Sharps’ stock decline) may limit immediate upside. Historical parallels: corporate crypto treasuries that publicly stake (or announce custody partnerships) — e.g., MicroStrategy (BTC purchases/custody) and other firms moving into staking — have tended to improve investor sentiment for the underlying asset, though price moves depend on broader market cycles.