Institutional and ETF buys boost Solana (SOL) price

Solana (SOL) is improving its demand and supply balance, with signs of institutional buying. ETFs are also starting to build up reserves, decreasing the available SOL. 

Solana (SOL) is attracting whales, institutions, and demand from ETFs, offsetting the previous selling pressure and recent token unlocks. The inflows reflected the recent SOL recovery, extending the circle of buyers to institutions and funds. The renewed interest in SOL from external investors came just as SOL had recovered to over $144. 

SOL recovered to $144.98, following increased on-chain activity and demand for meme tokens. | Source: Coingecko

The most recent inflows came from the Canadian market. Canadian SOL-based ETF saw CAD 120 ($87M) of inflows in the past week, offsetting recent selling from whales and fee producers like Pump.fun. The increased volumes followed the launch of the first spot ETF on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 

On April 15, the Toronto Stock Exchange listed a batch of SOL-based ETFs, with one of the funds drawing in over 82% of the initial volumes. SOLQ by 3iQ drew in CAD 100.3M, far surpassing rivals Evolve, Purpose, and CI Galaxy. The funds are made more attractive, as SOLQ and Evolve offer zero fees until January 2026. 

The US asset management company Arc Invest is also among the buyers of SOLQ, another sign of institutional demand. The availability of SOL ETF in North America may tap some of the mainstream interest in SOL. US-based ETFs are still in the revision queue, going through the lengthy US SEC procedure. 

The Canadian spot ETF also includes staking rewards, as the firms have organized to deposit SOL with trusted validators, choosing Figment to secure the simple staking rewards. 

The renewed buying follows a shift of funds from Galaxy Digital, switching from Ethereum (ETH) to Solana (SOL). 

Janover rebrands as Solana treasury vehicle

One source of demand for SOL can come from the Janover public company. Trading under the JNVR ticker, Janover is now rebranding to the DeFi Development Corporation. The rebrand announcement on April 22 coincided with the latest purchase of additional SOL.

The entity’s mission will be to perform regular leveraged purchases of SOL, forming a growing treasury. The buying will resemble the approach of Strategy (MSTR) for Bitcoin (BTC). 

The company already holds 251,842 SOL after a few recent purchases. DeFi Development Corporation announced the purchase of another 88,164 SOL, valued at $11.5M, this Tuesday. 

The company is now allocating a $42M financing round to acquire more SOL. The tokens in the treasury will be immediately put into native staking, getting the basic Solana yield, while serving to secure the network. DeFi Development Corporation has a plan for deploying capital when conditions are favorable. The recent purchases tracked the SOL recovery from under $100 up to $140.

The company started its SOL buying strategy after wrapping up its acquisition by former Kraken executives. Having a dedicated buyer is helping reverse the pressures on SOL, especially after the peak unlocks during Q1. 

DeFi Dev Corp is measuring its acquisitions through SOL per share. Currently, the company holds 0.17 SOL per share. After the rebranding, the JNVR stock expanded by 5.9%, rising to $41.55 . The company is transparent about its SOL and crypto holdings and will issue regular updates for new purchases.

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