Solmate Infrastructure, a NASDAQ-listed company formerly known as Brera Holdings, announced the purchase of $50 million worth of SOL tokens directly from the Solana Foundation at a 15% discount to market price. The acquisition occurred during a significant market downturn last week, where Solana's price dropped nearly 22% over two days, reaching a two-month low by October 14, 2025.
CEO Marco Santori described the move as "buying the dip" during what he characterized as a major liquidation event, stating the company secured the tokens at market lows. The SOL tokens will be used to power bare-metal validators in Abu Dhabi, UAE, as part of the Solana Foundation's "By Design" program, aimed at expanding infrastructure in the region.
As part of the deal, the Solana Foundation negotiated the right to nominate up to two directors to Solmate's board, granting direct influence over governance. Simultaneously, ARK Invest disclosed an 11.5% ownership stake in Solmate as of September 30, 2025, building on earlier investments, including 6.5 million shares in an oversubscribed PIPE transaction and subsequent purchases of approximately 780,000 shares. ARK is now the top holder in the company, which has a market value of $1 billion.
Solmate, rebranded last month after a $300 million investment from backers like the Solana Foundation, ARK Invest, RockawayX, and Pulsar Group, has shifted from multi-club football ownership to digital asset treasury and infrastructure. Santori positioned the company as "brand new Solana infrastructure" for the UAE, emphasizing digital asset treasuries as "capital accumulation machines." The company plans to partner with RockawayX on staking infrastructure and announce further initiatives post-validator deployment.
Broader institutional interest in Solana is rising, with corporate treasuries holding over $4 billion in SOL across 16 institutions, representing 2.75% of circulating supply. Companies like Forward Industries and Galaxy Digital have amassed millions of SOL, and Helius Solana Company is considering acquiring at least 5% of Solana, valued over $6 billion. Additionally, Solana generated $2.85 billion in annual revenue from October 2024 to September 2025, outpacing Ethereum's early growth, with speculation around potential spot Solana ETF approvals this month from firms like Fidelity and VanEck.
