Solana is making headlines once again, this time for both individual and institutional success stories that highlight the blockchain’s rising appeal in the crypto economy. A prominent whale wallet has surfaced with an unrealized profit of $153 million from a four-year Solana staking play, while the newly rebranded DeFi Development Corporation has rapidly expanded its SOL treasury to over $34 million following a strategic buyout by former Kraken executives.
Solana Whale Nets $153M Profit in Four-Year Staking Masterstroke Amid Surge in Network Activity
A Solana (SOL) address has drawn widespread attention across the crypto community after blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain revealed the wallet is sitting on over $153 million in unrealized profit—marking one of the most successful long-term staking plays on the network to date.
According to the report, the whale initially staked nearly 1 million SOL in 2021 when the token was trading around $27. The total investment at the time came in at approximately $27 million. Over the following four years, as Solana weathered both bear markets and bullish rallies, the whale’s holdings grew steadily thanks to staking rewards, eventually reaching 1.29 million SOL.
With Solana now trading near $140, the whale’s total position is worth around $180 million. On April 22, the whale began taking profits by unstaking 100,000 SOL—valued at roughly $14 million—and transferring the tokens to Binance, a move widely interpreted as a precursor to selling.
Despite the offload, the address still holds about 1.19 million SOL, worth $166 million. Based on the original $27 million investment, this leaves the wallet with an unrealized profit of about $153 million, a stunning example of the potential power of long-term crypto staking strategies.
This whale's move is not an isolated event. Earlier this month, on April 4, Arkham Intelligence reported another massive SOL staking unlock involving four wallets that had initially staked $37 million worth of tokens in 2021. By the time the tokens were unlocked in 2025, their value had ballooned to over $206 million.
Following the unlock, approximately $50 million worth of SOL was sold, sparking conversations about the broader implications of large staking withdrawals and their influence on Solana's price and ecosystem health. The event was dubbed “the largest single-day unlock of staked SOL” by Arkham, highlighting the sheer scale and coordinated nature of these staking strategies.
Solana Temporarily Overtakes Ethereum in Staking Market Cap
These massive unlocks and wallet movements come at a time when Solana has seen renewed enthusiasm, not just in token price but also in network engagement and staking participation. On April 20, Solana briefly surpassed Ethereum in staking market capitalization, reaching over $53 billion in staked value. Although Ethereum soon reclaimed the top spot, the milestone served as a symbolic moment in Solana’s competitive trajectory.
Still, reactions from the crypto community were mixed. Some hailed Solana's brief dominance as a sign of maturity and adoption, while others raised concerns over sustainability, citing the risks associated with such high concentrations of tokens in the hands of a few players and potential sell-offs like the one currently unfolding.
The staggering $153 million gain not only shows the effectiveness of early strategic staking but also raises questions about the long-term impact of large-scale token unlocks on Solana’s market dynamics. As more whales consider liquidating parts of their portfolios, the market could face periods of volatility, especially if tokens are rapidly funneled to exchanges.
On the flip side, the strong price growth, robust staking participation, and increasing institutional attention suggest that Solana is maturing as a blockchain network capable of attracting both individual and institutional capital.
The rise of staking as a dominant investment mechanism in crypto portfolios could also be reinforced by such success stories, which might fuel more users to lock their assets in proof-of-stake protocols—further cementing staking as a core component of the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
DeFi Development Corporation Deepens Solana Treasury Strategy After Kraken Executive-Led Buyout
In other news, the DeFi Development Corporation (DDC), previously known as Janover, is emerging as a rising force in the crypto treasury movement following its strategic pivot into digital assets led by a group of former Kraken executives.
The company announced on April 22 that it had acquired an additional 88,164 Solana (SOL) tokens—worth $11.5 million—bringing its total SOL holdings to approximately 251,842 tokens, valued at $34.4 million.
The move marks the company’s latest and most aggressive expansion into crypto since its April 7 acquisition and rebranding. Prior to the buyout, the company operated as a digital platform facilitating connections between lenders and commercial real estate buyers.
According to the official announcement, the latest SOL acquisition builds on a previous $10.5 million Solana purchase completed on April 16. The firm’s leadership has emphasized that its treasury strategy is more than just a capital hedge—it’s a core component of its long-term business model. In line with this vision, DDC also confirmed plans to stake the entirety of its SOL holdings to earn yield and support the security and decentralization of the Solana blockchain.
Shares of DeFi Development Corporation (ticker: JNVR) jumped 12.83% on the news, trading sharply higher intraday, according to Google Finance.
DeFi Development Corporation's intraday performance (Source: Google Finance)
Pivot to Crypto Gains Momentum
DeFi Development Corporation’s pivot mirrors a broader movement among forward-thinking firms leveraging crypto not just as an investment, but as a strategic asset. The decision to hold Solana specifically aligns with the network’s recent performance gains and its unique positioning in the proof-of-stake ecosystem.
Solana briefly surpassed Ethereum on April 21 in total staked value, recording over $53.9 billion staked across more than 500,000 wallets. With an estimated 8.31% annualized staking return, it offers an attractive combination of speed, scalability, and passive income potential—traits that are increasingly appealing to companies looking to optimize capital reserves.
The decision to build a Solana-based reserve treasury puts DeFi Development Corporation in a growing class of companies that are redefining balance sheet management in the digital era.
The movement began gaining traction in 2020 when Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), under Michael Saylor’s leadership, made headlines for converting large portions of its cash reserves into Bitcoin. Since then, a wave of companies—ranging from tech firms to healthcare players—have experimented with similar treasury models.
Japanese company Metaplanet saw a staggering 4,800% surge in its share price after unveiling its Bitcoin holdings in 2024, though its valuation has since cooled. Likewise, US-based Semler Scientific experienced a 30% boost after adding BTC to its reserves.
However, companies like DeFi Development Corporation and Upexi—a Nasdaq-listed supply chain firm that recently announced a Solana treasury—are charting a new path by embracing cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin.
Institutional Confidence in Solana Grows
Solana’s increasing appeal to institutional actors shows its comeback narrative. Once plagued by outages and scalability concerns, the network has made major technical strides, including the launch of Firedancer, a second validator client built to enhance performance and resiliency.
The blockchain’s revival has been further fueled by a surge in developer activity, thriving NFT ecosystems, and DeFi protocols that now command billions in total value locked (TVL). Combined with aggressive staking incentives and institutional validation from companies like DDC, Solana is increasingly positioning itself as a viable competitor to Ethereum in both financial and technological dimensions.
DeFi Development Corporation’s $34.4 million Solana play marks one of the most significant treasury reallocations outside of Bitcoin in recent memory. As the firm transitions from real estate financing to blockchain-driven financial infrastructure, it sends a clear signal: the corporate treasury is being reimagined for the Web3 era.
Whether other mid-cap companies follow DDC’s lead remains to be seen, but one thing is certain—crypto is no longer just a speculative asset class. It’s becoming foundational to how forward-looking organizations manage capital, create yield, and future-proof their balance sheets.
