SkyAI Winds Down $SOL DAT Strategy, Extends Cash Tender Offer to Shareholders

SkyAI, a former $SOL DAT, has settled with activist shareholder Bastion Trading, clearing the way for its $3.00 cash tender offer.

The deal marks the end of the road for one of Solana's largest digital asset treasury (DAT) experiments. SkyAI held more than 2 million $SOL six weeks ago, purchased at an average cost of $194. Today, the firm is giving its investors a cash tender exit at $3 per share.

SkyAI’s unwind comes amidst a difficult period for Solana ETFs, which are on track to record their worst month in capital outflows since launch.

SkyAI Settles With Activist Investors, Ending its DAT Era

After originally pushing back on SkyAI’s original offer, Bastion, a majority shareholder owning about 9.99% of SkyAI, will tender all of its stock and warrants and has agreed to a three-year standstill. 

Both sides have signed mutual releases, and Bastion will not bring legal proceedings over the offer. According to CEO Ningxiang Zhang, the deal "gives Bastion Trading a clear and orderly exit."

Bastion secured one key concession, with SkyAI now buying up to 100% of its pre-funded warrants instead of 95%. Stapled warrants join the offer at $0.17 each, while the $3.00 price stays short of the $3.50 Bastion had demanded. If fully subscribed, the offer will cost about $214.3 million against roughly $223 million in cash.

That cash is all that remains of SkyAI's $SOL treasury, after the firm sold about 2 million $SOL at an average of $107.20, roughly 45% below the $198 cost basis in its annual disclosures. Records indicate the firm was down over $152M in unrealized losses by December 31, 2025.

Chart history is not particularly kind to SkyAI, with market data illustrating the firm adopted its $SOL treasury strategy just weeks before the asset entered a sustained downtrend lasting three quarters.

SkyAI is not the first $SOL DAT to cash in its chips and abandon the strategy. Canadian investment issuer Torrent Capital ($TORR) sold its entire position between September and October 2025. Unlike SkyAI, Torrent sold at an average of CAD $281 and booked a realized gain of about CAD $1.57 million.

Investors Better Off Accepting Forward Industries June Offer

In the months leading up to its unwind, SkyAI received multiple acquisition offers from Forward Industries, the market’s largest $SOL DAT. Forward offered 0.367 FWDI shares per SKYA share in June, then 0.306 in September after $FWDI had climbed from about $4.22 to $6.95.

At market values, rejecting both offers has paid off for SkyAI’s shareholders. $FWDI now trades at roughly 2.33 times $SKYA's price, valuing each $SKYA share at about 0.43 $FWDI shares, more than either bid offered. 

$SOL ETFs Face Worst Month Since Launch

SkyAI's exit coincides with the worst month yet for spot $SOL ETFs. According to SolanaFloor data, the funds have shed $99.62 million so far in October, with total net assets slipping to $1.54B from roughly $1.9 billion in September.

The slide included a record $24.8 million weekly outflow in early October, ending a 14-week inflow streak. That could signal waning institutional appetite for $SOL, though $BTC and $ETH ETFs also bled capital over the same period.

Despite optimism for an upcoming bull cycle permeating through crypto markets among native users, $SOL ETF outflows suggest institutional allocators could be starting to derisk after a strong Q3 for the industry. 

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