In a significant development for institutional crypto finance, Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto bank, has partnered with the Solana-based decentralized lending protocol Kamino and Solana Company to launch a novel lending structure. This initiative allows institutional investors to borrow against their staked Solana (SOL) holdings without needing to move the assets out of regulated custody.
The integration expands Anchorage's Atlas collateral management platform by incorporating Kamino's protocol. Under this structure, institutions can use natively staked SOL as collateral for on-chain borrowing through Kamino's markets while the assets remain securely held at Anchorage Digital Bank. This enables investors to continue earning staking rewards while simultaneously accessing liquidity, addressing a key friction point that has historically limited regulated entity participation in DeFi.
Anchorage acts as the collateral manager, overseeing loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, margin requirements, and potential liquidations. Because the collateral stays in segregated custody, institutions avoid the requirement of moving assets into smart contracts—a major barrier for traditional finance players. The partnership leverages Solana Company, a publicly traded Solana treasury created with Pantera Capital and Summer Capital, which holds 2.3 million SOL, making it the second-largest SOL-based digital asset treasury.
This development unfolds against an uncertain U.S. regulatory backdrop, where the proposed CLARITY Act aims to establish clearer standards for digital assets and DeFi platforms. Industry groups have expressed concerns that the legislation does not sufficiently distinguish between centralized intermediaries and decentralized systems. Amid this deadlock, the Trump administration recently convened a meeting with industry representatives to gather feedback on DeFi oversight provisions.
Financial analysts view the product as a major step toward capital efficiency, effectively turning a locked, staked asset into a productive financial instrument. The service targets accredited and institutional entities, combining the security of Anchorage's OCC-chartered, compliant custody framework with the automated efficiency of Kamino's DeFi protocol. This model sets a precedent that could potentially be replicated for other major proof-of-stake assets like Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), or Polkadot (DOT).
