Solmate Buys $50M SOL at 15% Discount; ARK Invest Stake
Solmate Infrastructure has acquired $50 million worth of SOL tokens from the Solana Foundation at a 15% discount. The purchase will support its bare-metal infrastructure projects under the Solana By Design initiative in the UAE. The deal also grants the Solana Foundation two board seats at Solmate. This follows Solmate’s $300 million private funding round led by the Solana Foundation and RockawayX. Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has taken an 11.5% stake in Solmate. Proponents say the discounted sale will accelerate the Solana ecosystem’s on-chain growth. However, critics warn it could dilute early participants’ advantages. Corporate SOL holdings now total $3 billion, reflecting rising institutional interest. Traders should monitor potential increases in SOL demand as Solmate scales its staking and data-centre services.
Bullish
The discounted purchase of $50 million in SOL tokens and the $300 million private funding round signal strong institutional support for Solana. ARK Invest’s 11.5% stake and the Solana Foundation’s board appointments at Solmate enhance governance and credibility. These developments are likely to boost SOL demand in the short term as infrastructure and staking services roll out. Over the long term, expanded data centres and regional adoption in the UAE under the Solana By Design initiative will strengthen the ecosystem’s fundamentals. While critics note potential dilution of early participants, the overall effect points to a bullish outlook for SOL.