Original Author: Biteye
SOL has recently strengthened, driven by multiple listed companies continuously buying in, with treasury reserves reaching 17.112 million coins, directly pushing up the price!
Just like Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum ETF have rewritten the funding landscape, Solana is also experiencing its own "position reshuffle."
Previously, we analyzed the holding structure of Ethereum; this is the second article analyzing the holdings of mainstream coins.
Who are Ethereum's "big backers," and do ordinary people still have a chance?
01 Why is it important to study holding institutions?
The pace of the crypto market is fast, so who is buying? How much have they bought? Who is selling? Where is the selling pressure concentrated?
Which funds are locked up long-term, and which funds might flow out at any time?
These questions determine the price elasticity of tokens and the potential rise and fall space in the next cycle.
02 Staking, accounting for about 66.9%
According to data from Solana Compass, the total supply of SOL is 610 million coins.
As of September 16, approximately 408 million SOL have been staked across the Solana network, accounting for 66.9% of the total supply. This is essentially composed of staked retail investors, DeFi protocols, treasury staking from listed companies, foundations, and institutional whales.
In comparison, the staking rate of ETH is only 40%. This makes SOL one of the mainstream public chains with the highest staking rate in the crypto market, indicating limited selling pressure and strong price support.
- Analysis of staking concentration:
There are also some highlights in the staking validator landscape, according to Everstake data:
- The top three validators, Helius, Binance Staking, and Galaxy, collectively control over 26%, with Helius alone holding 13.22 million SOL (accounting for 9.76%).
- Next are several nodes like Ledger by Figment, Kiln, Coinbase, and Everstake, each with shares in the 3-6% range.
This means that Solana's staking landscape shows a "head concentration + long tail dispersion": large institutional nodes have significant influence, but overall, a certain level of decentralization is maintained, avoiding complete domination by a single force.
⚠️ Note: The data in the pie chart below mainly shows the distribution of top validators and does not equal the total staked amount of 408 million SOL across the network.
- DeFi Protocols
According to DeFiLlama data, the total value locked (TVL) in Solana is approximately 52.89 million SOL; however, it is important to note that a significant portion comes from LST derivatives (such as JitoSOL, mSOL, bSOL), not all of which are SOL. This part of the data also overlaps with the 66.9% staking data across the network and is not an independently added locked amount.
- Foundation
The SOL held by the Solana Foundation and Solana Labs is mainly placed in staking accounts, which is included in the already staked 408 million SOL, with the specific proportion unknown.
- FTX, Alameda
The uniqueness of SOL lies in a "historical legacy position," which is the chips from FTX and Alameda.
During the early ecosystem development of Solana from 2020 to 2022, FTX and Alameda were among the most important supporters, buying and holding SOL in large quantities. After the collapse of FTX in November 2022, these assets were put into custody and entered liquidation procedures. Their future unlocking, auctioning, and even over-the-counter trading will affect the supply-demand balance of SOL.
Since November 2023, FTX and Alameda-related staking addresses have redeemed and transferred a total of 8.98 million SOL.
Currently, about 4.18 million SOL (accounting for 0.69%) are still staked on-chain, with phased unlocking until 2028.
This part is viewed by the market as potential selling pressure, which could lead to price fluctuations.
03 Listed Companies, accounting for about 1.59% (unstaked portion)
According to data from Strategic SOL Reserve (as of September 16), 17 entities have established SOL treasury reserves, totaling 17.112 million SOL, accounting for 2.8% of the current total supply.
Among these holdings, the number of staked SOL is approximately 7.4 million SOL, accounting for about 1.2% of the total supply.
The leading companies in holdings are:
- Forward Industries (FORD): 6.822 million SOL, approximately $1.63 billion
- Sharps Technology (STSS): 2.14 million SOL, approximately $510 million
- DeFi Development Corp (DFDV): 2.028 million SOL, approximately $480 million
- Upexi (UPXI): 2 million SOL, approximately $470 million
- Galaxy Digital: 1.35 million SOL, approximately $320 million
In the total breakdown, this part only counts the unstaked 9.71 million SOL (about 1.59%) to avoid double counting with the network's staked amount.
04 ETF/ETP, accounting for about 1.73% (unstaked portion)
ETP (Exchange-Traded Product) essentially refers to fund shares listed on an exchange. The following ETPs will directly buy and hold SOL spot, then issue corresponding shares for circulation on the exchange.
21 Shares ASOL with a scale of approximately $1.53 billion
CoinShares SLNC with a scale of approximately $699 million
Estimated in the $200–$260 range, this corresponds to holdings of about 8.57–11.15 million SOL, accounting for 1.41% – 1.83% of the total supply.
Although the traditional spot SOL ETF is still awaiting regulatory approval, the REX-Osprey SOL + Staking ETF (SSK) was launched in July 2025, becoming the first ETF in the U.S. to combine SOL spot and on-chain staking yields.
As of mid-September, the fund's scale is approximately $274 million. Of this, about 56.7% is in spot SOL, estimated in the $200–$260 range, corresponding to about 598–777 thousand SOL.
In total, the three spot holdings amount to approximately 9.17–11.92 million SOL, accounting for 1.50%–1.96% of the total supply, averaging about 1.73%, with this part of the funds being more long-term stable.
05 Others, accounting for 29.78%
- Whales / Exchanges
According to CoinCarp Rich List data (as of September 16), a single whale address holds over 5 million SOL (about 1% of the total supply) at most. Overall, Solana currently has about 9.15 million addresses, with the top 100 addresses accounting for only 22.8%, indicating limited concentration at the top, with most chips distributed among long-tail users, staking pools, and exchanges.
It is important to note that whale addresses are not necessarily all "retail investors"; they include early VCs, exchanges, dormant wallets, etc. Additionally, there is an overlap between whale holdings and staking, as many whale chips have already been staked.
- Retail Investors
Dispersed but numerous, they form the market's basic support.
- Undisclosed Institutions
Some funds or venture capital may hold but have not entered reports.
06 Government Holdings
As of now, there are no publicly disclosed government or sovereign funds that directly hold SOL.
07 Celebrity Endorsements
Beyond funds, there is also narrative. Who is bullish on SOL?
Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, recently emphasized in an article that Solana is at a critical window for ETP approval + the rise of corporate SOL treasuries, a combination that has historically led to significant price increases for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Former Goldman Sachs executive Raoul Pal @RaoulGMI stated that Solana is "stupidly bullish" in the long term, expressing a long-term bullish outlook on SOL.
Notable cryptocurrency trader Ansem @blknoiz 06 recently expressed bullish sentiments around "if treasury company funds enter Solana DeFi, it will be extremely bullish."
Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Labs, bets that Solana will rise 150% in the next five years, believing that any short-term price movements are just noise.
👉 From the holding structure to the narrative level, SOL has entered a phase of "institutional buying drive + market bullish sentiment." Combined with the Hyperliquid liquidation chart, the current price is at $238:
First target: $250 - $275 — the first layer of short liquidation zone above; once broken, it may trigger short-term acceleration.
Second target: $275 - $315 — the area with the densest accumulation of shorts; after breaking through, it may face stronger short squeezes.
As ETF/ETP and treasury companies resonate, market expectations for Solana will also be restructured. If the capital flow continues, it is possible for SOL to hit the $300-$400 range in a bull market.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
