Howdy!

Some online posters are up in arms that I don’t own more solana, but on days like today, I’m happy I don’t own more solana. (Also, a reminder that conflicts of interest in media are generally a bad thing).

Today, we’ve got Sol Strategies’ acquisition of Laine, Solana DeFi TVL, and Jupiter controversy:

Sol Strategies nearly doubles Solana stake with Laine acquisition

Solana-focused holding company Sol Strategies disclosed that it acquired Laine, Solana’s 65th largest individual validator. The acquisition adds another 1.5 million to Sol Strategies’ existing pile of 1.8 million delegated staked SOL — nearly doubling its position. 

Sol Strategies has now acquired three Solana validator operators since its September pivot into Solana. The company’s biggest catch yet comes as a sizable cut to Solana validator revenue looks primed to pass a governance vote. 

Sol Strategies is a publicly traded company in Canada whose business can fairly be called Solana’s equivalent of Michael Saylor’s bitcoin-buying Strategy. Investors seeking regulated access to Solana can buy Sol Strategies stock, and Sol Strategies acquires SOL and runs validators. This service could be especially valuable for investors in the US, where SOL ETFs have been slow to develop. Sol Strategies is still only listed in Canada, however, though it has applied to be listed on the Nasdaq.

Laine founder Michael Hubbard was aqui-hired as Sol Strategies’ chief strategy officer as part of the deal. The company also gains access to stakewiz.com, a popular site for information about Solana validators. 

Hubbard — who is an active member of Solana’s validator community — confirmed the hire in an X post Monday afternoon, casting the move as a way to “amplify [his] impact” on Solana. 

As Sol Strategy doubles down on Solana staking, voting is underway and looking likely to pass for SIMD-0228, a proposal to move Solana to a market-based inflation mechanism. The measure is meant to prevent Solana from overpaying for security, but the reduced SOL issuance will cut into validator revenue. I’d bet Hubbard will have SIMD-0228 landing on his desk in the new role.

As of Monday afternoon, 72% of Solana validator votes — including Laine’s and Sol Strategies’ — were cast in favor of SIMD-0228, while 23% were against and 5% abstained, according to a dashboard. 

In a message, Wald said the vote wouldn’t change the “fundamental demand” for SOL staking, and the potential approval of Solana ETFs could create institutional inflows that would reinforce demand for staking services. In the end, Wald thinks SIMD-0228 could help drive Solana’s “potential appreciation.”

“We see these shifts as an opportunity to solidify our role as the leading publicly traded Solana company, leveraging both organic growth through staking and inorganic expansion through strategic acquisitions,” Wald said.

— Jack Kubinec

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Notice anything interesting here?

DeFiLlama’s total value locked measure shows that for the first time in a little while, no protocol has at least $2 billion in TVL. Also, Jupiter passed Jito atop the Solana TVL rankings.

Congrats, “catdets.” Condolences, Solana.

— Jack Kubinec

The Jupiter community is having a slight meltdown following a recent governance proposal. The DAO is deciding whether co-founder Meow should personally front 280m $JUP for new team hires — locking himself in until 2030 in exchange for a 220m $JUP bonus. On paper, this is supposed to be read as proof of his long-term commitment. In practice, it’s triggered outrage over team compensation, with some asking why new hires are getting what amounts to $60k+ per month in token incentives — on top of their normal salaries.

The debate seems to be about who actually deserves value in Web3. Meow and his supporters argue that Jupiter needs elite talent to compete with other tech giants, and that setting aside 280m $JUP (4.2% of supply, vested over four years) is the best way to secure it. Detractors say the level of compensation that such an allocation affords per-hire is out of touch, particularly in a market where many token holders have seen their $JUP bags drop 19% since the proposal went live. 

Takeaway: Crypto's ideals sometimes collide with reality in controversial ways. We often sell our industry as a space where users, not corporations, hold the power. But if DAOs operate just like traditional companies — big salaries, opaque decision-making — what are token holders really getting in return? Jupiter’s governance turmoil shines a light on the thorny question of whether Web3 can ever truly balance decentralization with the realities of running a high-growth business.

— Jeffrey Albus

A message from Leah Wald, CEO of Sol Strategies: