SOL Strategies Inc., trading under CSE: HODL and NASDAQ: STKE, has launched STKESOL, a new liquid staking token (LST) for the Solana ecosystem. The product debuted with a backing of over 500,000 SOL, positioning the company to capture growth in Solana's liquid staking segment. Despite the strategic launch, the company's stock (STKE) fell 9.57% to $1.89 on the announcement day.
The STKESOL token allows users to earn staking rewards while maintaining liquidity to participate in decentralized finance (DeFi) activities on platforms like Orca, Squads, Kamino, and Loopscale. The firm employs an automated delegation system using the Wiz Score metric to distribute staked SOL across multiple validators, aiming to reduce concentration risk and support network decentralization. This model also generates revenue for SOL Strategies through deposit fees and a share of staking rewards.
The launch is a key part of the company's broader strategic pivot to Solana. Formerly known as Cypherpunk Holdings, the firm rebranded in September 2024 after beginning to accumulate SOL in June of that year. It now holds 523,497 SOL (valued at approximately $67 million) in its corporate treasury and, through acquisitions of validators like Cogent, OrangeFin Ventures, and Laine, manages a staked SOL footprint of around 3.3 million SOL.
The move enters SOL Strategies into a competitive but growing market. Data from SolanaFloor shows about 454 million SOL is staked on the network, with LSTs representing 14.06% (roughly 63.8 million SOL) of that total. Other entrants include DeFi Development Corp.'s dfdvSOL, exchange-issued tokens like Binance's BNSOL, and the jitoSOL token included in Rex-Osprey's Solana Staking ETF.
