Solmate Launches Validator Amidst Tough Conditions For $SOL DATs

Solmate, the $SOL Digital Asset Treasury backed by RockawayX, has announced the launch of its UAE-based validator and its expansion into network infrastructure provision.

The launch comes at a difficult time for Solana DATs, many of which are suffering from $SOL price performance. In the face of contracting mNAVs, some $SOL DATs have announced share buybacks, while others have exited their positions entirely.

Is Solmate’s foray into RPC and co-location services enough to separate it from the competition?

Solmate Validator Goes Live

On November 6, Solmate officially announced the launch of its proprietary network validator, which has been operating quietly since mid-September. According to the firm, Solmate’s validator successfully created the network’s first UAE-minted block, inscribing the following quote in the Solana network forever:

“The future is for those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it.”

Solmate’s new 0%-commission validator will serve as the foundation for its expansion into RPC and colocation services, which the firm argues will bolster yield-generation and accelerate $SOL accumulation as part of what it calls an ‘infrastructure flywheel’.

“Companies who merely stake their $SOL are leaving money on the table. We want to do more with our treasury, so our team toured data centers and interviewed the most sophisticated telecommunications providers in the UAE to select the best partners for our bare-metal validator. Solmate’s Infrastructure Flywheel leverages the $SOL already staked to this validator to maximize RPC and colocation fees, reflexively generating more $SOL for the treasury in the process.” - Marco Santori, Solmate CEO

Onchain data indicates that the Solmate validator currently holds just over $511k $SOL in stake, and is operated out of a data center based in Prague. Solmate has confirmed to SolanaFloor that Solana Beach's data is out of date. Jito's records suggest that the Solmate validator is indeed located in the UAE.

DATs Are Buying Shares, Not $SOL

Amidst the market downturn and a depreciating $SOL price, Solana’s Digital Asset Treasury companies are finding themselves in a difficult position. Despite buying “discounted” $SOL from the Solana Foundation on October 14, Solmate is still down on its initial investment. 

Similarly, the portfolios of rivals like Forward Industries have dropped by over 30%, suffering a $500M drawdown. 

Of the top ten firms running a $SOL treasury strategy, only 2 currently have an mNAV over 1, making it difficult to raise additional capital to drive ongoing accumulation.

Forward Industries and The Solana Company, the two biggest players in the $SOL DAT landscape, have this week announced stock repurchase programs. Solana Company Executive Chairman Joseph Chee argues that this measure has been taken with shareholders’ best interests in mind.

“For our goal of maximizing SOL per share accumulation, there may be times when the best expected return of our capital is to acquire our own shares," - Joseph Chee, Solana Company Executive Chairman

Meanwhile, smaller DATs are throwing in the towel and exiting their positions entirely. Torrent Capital, a Canadian firm, recently announced the sale of its entire $SOL holdings, realizing gross proceeds on $12.4M CAD.

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