Galaxy, Jump, Multicoin lead Forward Industry’s $1.65B Solana treasury raise

Nasdaq-listed design and manufacturing company Forward Industries secured $1.65 billion in cash and stablecoin commitments to launch a Solana-focused crypto treasury strategy. 

The company said Monday that it raised the largest Solana treasury to date, led by crypto-native companies Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto and Multicoin Capital. Other participants included C/M Capital Partners, which is one of Forward Industries’ existing shareholders. 

This follows a Bloomberg report in late August saying the three crypto giants were planning to raise $1 billion and take over a publicly-traded company to create the biggest crypto treasury dedicated to Solana.

According to the announcement, Forward plans to position itself as a publicly traded institutional vehicle. It plans to generate onchain returns and long-term value by participating in the Solana ecosystem.

Galaxy, Jump and Multicoin to support the Forward Industries

Forward said Galaxy Digital will provide treasury management, trading, lending and staking services. Jump Crypto will support infrastructure through projects such as Firedancer and DoubleZero, while Multicoin Capital will offer strategic guidance and governance.

Multicoin co-founder and managing partner Kyle Samani is expected to be chair of Forward Industries’ board of directors. 

Samani said the move reflects conviction in Solana’s resilience and growth potential, arguing that an institutional-scale treasury can “increase SOL per share at a faster rate than simply being a passive holder.”

He also said SOL is still misunderstood and discounted by market participants despite being resilient. “I believe this asymmetry creates tremendous opportunity for a Solana treasury strategy,” Samani added. 

Forward Industries to become the largest SOL treasury

Forward’s $1.6 billion Solana reserve would nearly triple the size of the largest existing Solana treasury. At the time of writing, supply chain management brand Upexi holds the largest SOL holdings with 2 million SOL tokens, worth about $430 million at current market prices. 

Following this, the DeFi Development Corporation said on Aug. 4 that it held 1.29 million SOL, worth about $280 million. In July, Bitcoin mining firm Bit Mining announced plans to raise between $200 and $300 million to build a SOL token treasury.