Cypherpunk Holdings Increases Solana Exposure

Toronto, Canada-based investment firm Cypherpunk Holdings has again increased its exposure to Solana (SOL), according to its latest public filing. Since mid-July, the firm has purchased about 23,000 additional SOL, bringing its total to 86,294 tokens worth $21.6 million.

Last month, The Block reported that Cypherpunk had 10xed its SOL holdings to 63,000 tokens (worth $14 million at the time) from an initial investment of 6,131 tokens. As of the end of the first quarter of 2024, it held no SOL.

This move is part of a significant shift in the company’s focus, as it was one of the first publicly traded firms to buy bitcoin as a proxy for investing in crypto.

Cypherpunk also reduced its once sizable bitcoin holdings by about 110 BTC, currently holding just over 52 bitcoin (valued at $5.2 million). The firm used about 45 bitcoin to exercise a buy order of 20,000 SOL options, while the remaining were sold for a profit. The firm purchased its first bitcoin in 2018.

When Leah Wald became CEO in early July, she indicated that bitcoin was “far and away” the firm’s largest holding, with a significant investment in metaverse company Animoca Brands close behind. However, it now seems that the firm is pivoting by reducing its bitcoin exposure and selling off $5.6 million worth of Animoca shares.

While the nominal value of Cypherpunk’s bitcoin investment is more than double its stake in Solana, the firm is clearly doubling down on the high-performing smart contract blockchain. Its Solana validator, which stakes the majority of its SOL, has earned over 230 SOL (valued at approximately $57,639) in token rewards since starting this process on June 14.

“The Solana ecosystem is presenting a lot of interesting opportunities,” Wald stated in a previous interview with The Block. “There’s a lot of community activity on the chain at the moment, and I believe that a blockchain’s growth can be directly correlated to community and developer activity.”

In addition to $4.9 million in cash, Cypherpunk holds $50,000 in other assets like Chia Network and $442,000 in private equity and venture capital investments in companies, including bitcoin wallet firm NGRAVE.