The $1B Bet on Solana

PLUS: SUI & JUP lead this week’s token unlocks while Trump fuels Intel’s risky turnaround.

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Cryptopolitan News
August 25, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Solana goes institutional: $1B war chest in the works

Galaxy, Jump, and Multicoin join forces for the biggest SOL bet ever

Galaxy Digital, Multicoin Capital, and Jump Crypto are reportedly in advanced talks to raise a $1 billion Solana-focused fund, according to Bloomberg. If finalized, this would become the largest single-token treasury initiative in crypto history and a major milestone in Solana’s post-FTX comeback.

The group has brought on Cantor Fitzgerald as lead banker. Sources say they may create a digital asset treasury firm by taking over a public vehicle similar to how MicroStrategy structured its BTC play. The deal is expected to close in early September, with backing from the Solana Foundation.

💡 Quick explainer: What’s a token treasury company?


Think of it as a public company that holds large amounts of crypto on its balance sheet but instead of BTC like MicroStrategy, this one would be loaded with SOL. Investors buy exposure to the asset through traditional equity markets.

📈 Solana’s rebound

This move comes just days after Galaxy Digital raised $1.4B to convert its Helios mining facility into a high-performance AI and crypto compute center showing its long-term bets go far beyond Bitcoin.

It also builds on Solana’s 2,000% rally from its 2022 low of $9, when it was nearly written off during the FTX collapse. The chain, once tightly linked to Sam Bankman-Fried, has now rebranded itself as the de facto memecoin playground, while quietly attracting institutional attention from tokenization and staking angles.

🏦 The race for SOL exposure

This $1B fund isn’t the first attempt to institutionalize SOL:

  • Upexi Inc., a Florida firm, pivoted into Solana and now holds 2M+ SOL (worth ~$415M).

  • The fund will also absorb SOL Strategies Inc., a Toronto-listed firm seeking a Nasdaq listing (ticker: STKE).

  • Analyst notes from Cantor Fitzgerald suggest staking yield + treasury ops could give SOL treasuries faster per-share growth than BTC ones.

❝

Combining staking with treasury operations should result in Solana treasury companies growing SOL per share faster than BTC treasury companies growing BTC per share.

— Thomas Shinske, Cantor Fitzgerald

🔎 Why this matters

  • Institutional conviction is shifting from just BTC/ETH into ecosystem-specific bets.

  • This would signal the next phase of crypto capital markets: active treasuries, staking, and long-term ecosystem development.

  • If the raise succeeds, it could soak up circulating supply, tighten liquidity, and add pressure to SOL’s price discovery.

📌 TLDR:
Solana is no longer just a retail favorite or memecoin chain.
It’s becoming a serious institutional asset and this $1B bet might just kick off a new phase of chain-specific treasuries.

🔓 Token unlock tracker

$620M in tokens are entering circulation this week. Are you ready?

Leading the charge are SUI ($159M) and JUP ($27M) in major one-time unlocks, while big names like SOL, WLD, TIA, DOGE, and TAO continue their linear unlock schedules.

These unlocks can increase short-term sell pressure especially for low-float tokens or small caps with double-digit supply releases.

🧠 Quick Explainer

Token unlocks = previously locked tokens (for teams, investors, or staking) released into the market.

Single unlocks = one-time, high-impact events

Linear unlocks = daily or periodic releases that add gradual pressure

Watch how markets react, especially for SUI and JUP, both topping this week’s unlock leaderboard.

📲 Want the full unlock calendar and token-by-token breakdown?
We’ve curated the complete list just for you → View all unlocks

📈 Chart our analyst is watching

Trump just made the U.S. government Intel’s biggest shareholder, with a proposed $8.9 billion stake in the chipmaker. But analysts say the deal, though headline-grabbing isn’t enough to fix the one thing Intel lacks: external demand.

💰 The problem? Intel’s cutting-edge 14A and 18A processes are still struggling with low chip yields, and no major clients have signed on.
🏭 The risk? Without volume orders, Intel’s foundry unit could be wound down, CEO Lip Bu Tan warned as much last month.
📉 The challenge? Intel’s stock rallied on the announcement, but insiders caution that even $11B in federal support won’t fix broken margins or unproven production.

❝

Government investment won’t change the fate of its foundry arm if they can’t secure enough customers.

— Kinngai Chan, Summit Insights

Meanwhile, TSMC continues to lead in contract chipmaking, and Nvidia dominates AI chips, leaving Intel caught between yield issues and fierce market rivals.

💡 Quick explainer: What’s a foundry?


A chip foundry is a factory that manufactures semiconductors for others. Think of TSMC making chips for Apple. Intel wants in but unless customers trust its tech, they won’t place orders.

🔍 Why it matters

  • This could reshape the global chip war: Intel as a U.S. government-backed foundry is a powerful geopolitical signal.

  • The $8.9B isn’t free money, the U.S. gets shares at a 17.5% discount and voting alignment rights.

  • Without customers, the foundry dies. The next few quarters will reveal if Tan’s turnaround plan holds.

Top Web3 founders to follow on X

Here are Cryptopolitan’s top picks:

@brian_armstrong – CEO of Coinbase. Regulation-first operator pushing crypto mainstream. Shares sharp takes on policy, tech, and market cycles.

@jessepollak – Creator of Base chain at Coinbase. Memes, metrics, and moves. Blends tech depth with on-chain growth insight.

@StaniKulechov – Founder of Aave and Lens Protocol. DeFi meets decentralized social. Speaks on Web3 UX, liquidity, and the future of digital identity.

@AntonioMJuliano – Founder of dYdX. DEX visionary who pivoted to appchains. Posts candid reflections on product, growth, and mission-aligned building.

@gluk64 – CEO of Matter Labs (zkSync). Privacy-obsessed and ZK-maxi. Tracks the philosophical and technical future of Ethereum scaling.

@EvgenyGaevoy – Founder of Wintermute. Market maker with no filter. Tweets range from macro insights to spicy protocol opinions.

@zmanian – Cosmos OG and Co-founder of Sommelier. Known for protocol-level thinking, tokenomics riffs, and cross-chain commentary.

Monday picks: Let’s kickstart your week!

Dwight Schrute Monday GIF by The Office

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