SOL returns to 150 USD, Upexi transforms into "Solana version of MicroStrategy", is the infinite rise about to start?

Will Upexi's aggressive entry trigger a new wave of value for Solana?

Written by: Fairy, ChainCatcher

With Trump's announcement to reduce tariffs on China, global market sentiment quickly rebounded. Bitcoin surged past $94,000, and Solana also broke through $150. Besides the macroeconomic benefits, another disruptive growth engine for Solana seems to be quietly starting.

On April 21, Upexi, a publicly listed company in the U.S. stock market, announced that it has secured $100 million in financing led by well-known crypto market maker GSR, of which approximately 95% will be used to establish and operate the Solana treasury reserve.

After Bitcoin, SOL is becoming the "next pivot" in corporate crypto strategies. Will Upexi's aggressive entry spark a new wave of value for Solana?

Upexi strides vigorously into crypto

Since its establishment in 2018, Upexi has focused on the development, manufacturing, and distribution of consumer goods, owning several innovative brands, such as the medicinal mushroom product brand Cure Mushrooms, the pet care brand LuckyTail, and the Prax series that features energy gummies.

In 2024, to focus on high-growth sectors, Upexi launched a major business restructuring: it sold E-core / Neti, Tytan Tiles, and the Clearwater warehouse in Florida, closed two operational sites in Las Vegas, and streamlined about 30% of its workforce.

To enter the cryptocurrency asset market, Upexi established two wholly-owned subsidiaries, ChainBitMiner and QuantumHash, specifically responsible for cryptocurrency investment management. Currently, the company's digital asset strategy mainly focuses on Bitcoin mining and the allocation of high-growth potential altcoins. ChainBitMiner will build a diversified cryptocurrency investment portfolio, in which 50-70% of the assets will be held in the form of Bitcoin, replacing traditional cash reserves. QuantumHash, on the other hand, expands its digital asset portfolio through self-mining, aiming to achieve low-risk, leveraged treasury growth.

In the strategic roadmap for 2025 announced by Upexi, in addition to crypto mining and investment, Upexi also plans to explore blockchain projects related to staking, decentralized lending, and yield generation models. This series of initiatives demonstrates that Upexi is gearing up to "make a big splash" in the crypto market.

Is Upexi's "All-in", the new engine for Solana?

Upexi is not fighting alone; even before it, projects like SOL Strategies and DeFi Dev Corp have deeply laid out their strategies in the Solana ecosystem. Below are their Sol holdings statistics:

SOL Strategies has chosen a slow but steady path. Its growth model can be understood as "first inorganic, then organic": initially relying mainly on external acquisitions to expand its business, and later gradually shifting to rely on natural growth brought about by its own team and infrastructure accumulation.

Upexi's strategy is different, directly "going all in on Sol", more like a micro-strategy on Solana. Upexi has signed securities purchase agreements with some investors to issue and sell 43,859,649 shares of common stock or pre-purchase warrants at a price of $2.28 per share, with expected fundraising of up to $100 million. It plans to use about $5.3 million of this for working capital and debt repayment, while the remaining funds will be used to establish the company's Solana treasury system and increase its holdings in Solana assets.

A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners serves as the exclusive sales agent for this private placement. The transaction is expected to be completed around April 24, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

If this model of "public companies continuously raising funds to keep buying crypto assets" can be successfully replicated with Solana, will SOL usher in a new round of explosion?

Upexi's Strategy: Geometry of Success or Failure?

Upexi announced the purchase of SOL tokens, and on the same day, the company's stock price soared from $2 to a peak of $22, an increase of 1000%. Although it later fell back to $9, this wave of market activity has already demonstrated that this move has attracted widespread attention.

Arif Kazi, head of commerce at Sonic SVM, said in a post on the X platform that the move marks "a shift in the perception of on-chain gains in traditional capital markets." He emphasized that Upexi is not allocating SOL for hedging purposes, but rather sees SOL staking as an "infrastructure investment". This operation is likely to be the largest allocation of Solana's native treasury among U.S.-listed companies, priced above market price, with no token incentives, no lock-up period, and no convertible bond structure.

"When the treasury strategy combines with DeFi primitives, it's not just 'alignment', it's 'acceleration.'" Arif wrote, "Solana now has an operational manual that capital allocators can directly copy."

But the market is not only filled with applause; doubts also emerge rapidly.

Some people point out that Bitcoin, due to its scarcity and the presence of long-term believers, can support Strategy to leverage BTC holdings through debt instruments; however, SOL has no supply limit, is more volatile, and it is not easy to get traditional institutions to accept an asset characterized as "high-risk, high-volatility, and continuously issued" as a core treasury.

The chip distribution of SOL on the chain differs from that of BTC. The "faith chain" of Bitcoin can continuously convert into holding power, but SOL lacks this user structure. Community user @DL_W59 pointed out, "How to stimulate the willingness of holders to hold long-term or even increase their positions will be the key to the success or failure of the Upexi strategy."

Whether it's the Solana community, the traditional market, or crypto VCs and regulators, they're all watching Upexi's big gamble. As traditional capital gets deeper and deeper into the on-chain world, similar stories will continue to play out. In this era of the convergence of the old and new financial orders, every "all in" is a big gamble and a rehearsal of the script about the future financial landscape. This time, Upexi is betting on Solana.

And this spring, the answer is being written.