SOL Strategies Inc., a publicly traded Canadian firm, significantly deepened its role in the Solana ecosystem in March 2025, completing key validator acquisitions and participating in network governance initiatives. The company’s latest operational update, released on April 7, details its most impactful month to date—marked by strategic expansion, performance upgrades, and protocol-level involvement.
Major Validator Acquisition Boosts Stake by 102%
The centerpiece of SOL Strategies’ March activity was the $24 million acquisition of three leading Solana validators, including the Laine validator—widely respected for its performance—and the analytics platform Stakewiz.com.
Finalized on March 17, the deal resulted in a 102% increase in total staked SOL, bringing the company’s holdings to 3,351,617 SOL, worth approximately $388 million at current prices.
As part of the acquisition, Laine’s founder Michael Hubbard joined SOL Strategies as Chief Strategy Officer. Known for his deep technical background within the Solana network, Hubbard is now leading the company’s push into infrastructure scaling and institutional validator partnerships.
Enhanced Validator Performance
The acquisition wasn’t just strategic—it also brought measurable performance gains. SOL Strategies reported:
- 99.955% uptime across all validators
- An average APY of 7.41% for delegators—above the Solana network average
These metrics underscore the firm’s growing influence and operational reliability within the staking ecosystem.
Governance Engagement: Backing SIMD-228
SOL Strategies also played an active role in Solana governance, supporting the high-profile SIMD-228 proposal, which aimed to reduce the network’s inflation rate from 4.5% to 0.87%.
The company confirmed that all of its validators voted in favor of the proposal, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable long-term tokenomics.
Despite securing 61.4% approval, SIMD-228 fell short of the two-thirds threshold required for implementation. Still, SOL Strategies’ support signals the company’s increasing role in shaping Solana’s protocol-level direction.
