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Howdy!

My Thursday morning took an interesting turn when Sol Strategies suddenly announced its rebrand. 

It’s hard to come up with good parallels for Cypherpunk’s new strategy, but I compared it to a souped-up ETF in today’s main item. See for yourself:

A publicly-traded holding company is all-in on Solana

Toronto-based holding company Cypherpunk Holdings has rebranded to Sol Strategies in a pivot to a Solana-first investment approach, the firm disclosed today.

Following the rebrand, Sol Strategies will begin focusing on staking Solana and investing in the Solana ecosystem’s projects and infrastructure, the company said in a press release. The strategy shift was unanimously approved by the company’s board of directors at its July 30 shareholder meeting, Sol Strategies said in a press release.

Cypherpunk Holdings has been scaling up its Solana exposure for months now — particularly since ex-Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald took over the top job in early July. When it disclosed its holdings on March 31, Cypherpunk held zero SOL. By July 16 — a week after Wald took over — Cypherpunk had 63,000 SOL. On Aug. 1 — two days after Cypherpunk internally finalized its strategy shift — that figure had swelled to 86,300 SOL, worth some $11.6 million at current prices. 

Still, rebranding the company around just one blockchain ecosystem is pretty eye-catching. The revamped website reads that Sol Strategies’ “edge” is investing “in the Solana ecosystem.” Sol Strategies will also operate a Solana validator node through a third party service provider, the company said in a press release.

The company, which began dealing in crypto in 2018, trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange and OTC market.

In comments shared with me today, Wald said the strategy shift wasn’t “predetermined” when she took over as CEO, adding that Solana is a “high-growth” investment opportunity that seemed to be the “next logical step” for Cypherpunk Holdings.

At first blush, the mental model for this rebrand could be that Sol Strategies is offering an upgraded version of an ETF. Investors in the company’s stock get compliant, regulated exposure to not only the price of SOL with staking and validator revenue included, but to the success of Solana ecosystem projects as well. 

Wald told me a version of this today: ETFs are just passive spot funds, she said, adding: “Our approach goes beyond passive exposure as we are actively engaged in staking and exploring strategic investments.”

Plus, something that Ethereum ETF issuers are learning the hard way is that demand for regulated crypto investment products only runs so deep. In March 2024, Cypherpunk Holdings reported roughly $23 million in assets. In the institutional investment world, that isn’t very much money. 

Perhaps Wald — who had been a Cypherpunk Holdings board member since 2021 before stepping in as CEO — is making the bet that Sol Strategies can differentiate itself from its larger competitors by being the best possible regulated investment in a certain niche.

“As the only publicly traded company in North America focused on the Solana ecosystem, we are providing exposure to Solana’s growth and innovation prior to Solana-specific ETFs [being] approved in either the US or Canada,” Wald said.

— Jack Kubinec

Blockworks and the Solana Foundation are hosting Solana Founders Summit at Permissionless. Join a curated group of ~60 Solana industry leaders and founders for a day of workshops and off-the-record conversations.

$90 million

That’s how much funding the renewable energy company Fuse has raised to date.

The latest $12 million of this total came in a round announced today and led by Multicoin. With the fresh funds, Fuse is going to launch a Solana-based renewable energy-focused decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) network. 

The network will facilitate a market for renewable energy using a token. A points program will go live for the token in Q1 2025, and the network is slated to launch later in 2025. Fuse is demoing the product at Solana Breakpoint next weekend.

“Crypto capital markets are very, very good at coordinating things,” Fuse co-founder and CEO Alan Chang told me. “When there’s less renewables in the grid, you reward people for using less…you can spend and burn this token. When there’s loads of renewables, it’s super cheap, and we’ll convince you to use more.”

— Jack Kubinec

Phantom Wallet has been criticized over in-app swap fees allegedly so heinous, they've sent some members of the community scrambling for their pitchforks. Swap fees are a standard part of DeFi transactions. Users exchange assets by routing trades through DEXs or aggregators like Raydium or Jupiter. These protocols tend to offer swaps at better rates without the added fee, but with the trade-off of a more manual process that requires navigating multiple platforms. Phantom, one of Solana’s most popular wallets, allows users to swap tokens directly within its app with fewer steps, but adds a 0.85% fee for the convenience.

Critics stormed 𝕏, claiming the fees were unfair given that cheaper alternatives exist. @FamousCloudzz said, "This is actually ridiculous. Swap on Phantom vs swap on Jupiter -> always swap with Jupiter for the best prices." According to @brianmosher99, "I've never once swapped in-wallet. I always just go to Jupiter and do it. Can't believe people pay that fee for a couple clicks." Jupiter contributor @SlorgoftheSlugs added, "Phantom is a great wallet, one of the best. And I get it, the fee is for the convenience. But yeah, real ones know direct JUP swaps are free."

But is Phantom really the villain here, or are people just looking for someone to blame for their frustrations with the market?

Former Phantom team member Seb Montgomery clapped back at the criticism, pointing to the community's perceived double standards. He reminded everyone that wallets need revenue too. "You have probably lost $1000s on pure rubbish," Montgomery tweeted. "Don’t be a clown and not support the wallets that make it all possible."

@adelbudeiri14 echoed this sentiment, saying, "If they offer a good enough product that you’re willing to use, then just be happy to pay them...They will continue to grow and provide more value to the Solana ecosystem as a result." Convenience comes at a price, and for some, that price is worth paying. As @g_padprobe said, "I don’t see a problem, we pay for convenience every day of our lives, why not when we swap?"

— Jeffrey Albus

Blockworks Research is conducting a survey to gain insight into the institutional staking landscape. This data will help industry leaders adopt their strategies as the industry matures.

If you're an institutional staker, we want to hear from you (and if you’re new to Blockworks Research, get 20% off of our service while you’re at it!)

A message from Alan Chang, co-founder and CEO of Fuse: