DeFi Development Corp. has announced a strategic collaboration with Gauntlet. The firm, known for its expertise in vault curation and risk management, will provide DeFi Development Corp. with advanced yield strategies deployed through the Solana-based platform Drift. This move makes DeFi Development Corp. the first public Solana Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) to leverage a curator for complex onchain activity.
The company’s goal is to maximize its $SOL Per Share (SPS), a metric that tracks how much Solana each shareholder effectively holds. By moving beyond traditional staking and into risk-adjusted yield generation, DeFi Development Corp. aims to deliver superior capital efficiency across its treasury.
Leveraging Liquid Staking with $dfdvSOL
At the heart of this initiative is $dfdvSOL, a liquid staking token adopted by DeFi Development Corp. in May 2025. This token enables treasury assets to remain liquid while being deployed into yield-generating strategies across Solana’s DeFi ecosystem. Unlike conventional staking, which historically yields about 7% annually, the strategies curated by Gauntlet target returns in the 10 to 20 percent range through hedged liquidity provision.
The strategy involves four key steps. First, users (including DeFi Development Corp.) deposit $dfdvSOL into a Gauntlet-curated Drift vault called dfdvSOL Plus. Second, the vault uses $dfdvSOL as collateral to borrow $USDC through Drift Lend. Third, the borrowed funds are deployed into a basis trade across Drift and Jupiter DEX, and the yield generated is converted back into dfdvSOL. Finally, Gauntlet’s optimization engine actively monitors and adjusts the positions to maintain efficiency and manage risks.
Beyond Staking: Capital Efficiency as a Differentiator
“Our mandate is clear: to be the most innovative and effective Solana treasury. This partnership with Gauntlet is a direct execution of that mission. We are not passive holders; we are focused on productive, onchain activity that leverages the full power of the Solana ecosystem. By allocating capital to sophisticated, risk-managed strategies like those curated by Gauntlet on Drift, we are actively working to compound our $SOL holdings and create a durable competitive advantage.” - Joseph Onorati, CEO of DeFi Development Corp.
Gauntlet’s Head of Institutional Partnerships, Rahul Goyal, echoed this view. He remarked, “Gauntlet’s purpose is to make DeFi more efficient for institutions within strict risk parameters. DFDV is a true innovator, and their forward-thinking approach to treasury management is a perfect match for our capabilities.”
Traditional staking has long provided a straightforward but limited means of earning yield. By contrast, DeFi Development Corp.’s integration of Gauntlet strategies reflects a shift toward maximizing capital efficiency. This hands-on treasury management sets the company apart from competing DATs and from alternatives such as Solana ETFs, which typically rely on simple staking or accumulation strategies.
SPS as a Central Metric
$SOL Per Share (SPS) remains the key measure of value for DeFi Development Corp. In July, the company projected 261 percent growth in SPS by mid-2026, with a target of one $SOL per share by 2028. At that time, SPS stood at 0.0457. The metric has since risen to 0.0816, representing a 94 percent increase over the past three months.
Interestingly, the company’s compensation framework for executives and the core treasury strategy team directly ties bonus outcomes to growth in $SOL per Share, aiming to align management incentives closely with long-term shareholder value. The first bonus target, set at 0.085 SPS, is already within reach.
What Has DeFi Dev Corp. Been Up To?
The Gauntlet partnership builds on a series of significant moves by DeFi Development Corp. In September, the company acquired over 250,000 $SOL, bringing its total treasury to 2.1 million $SOL, valued at approximately $411 million. This ranks the firm as the entity with the third-largest Solana treasury, according to Strategic Solana Reserve data.
The company has also expanded internationally. It launched Britain’s first $SOL DAT through DFDV UK and recently entered the Korean market by partnering with Fragmetic, a Solana restaking protocol, to launch Korea’s first publicly traded $SOL DAT. In addition, DeFi Development Corp. authorized an expansion of its stock repurchase program from $1 million to $100 million earlier this week.
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