Solana's Treasury Staking: From Balance Sheet to Ecosystem Flywheel

Organization: Golden Finance

As the intersection between cryptocurrency and traditional financial markets deepens, Digital Asset Carriers (DAX) have emerged as a key tool connecting the two and are gradually becoming the focus of market attention. In this field, the Solana ecosystem, with its efficient computing power, low-cost transaction advantages, and promising ecological layout, has become a core choice for many institutions to deploy digital asset carriers. At the Token2049 event held in Singapore on October 2, professionals from institutions such as the Solana Foundation, Galaxy, Drift, Pantera Capital, and Jump Crypto engaged in dialogue on core industry issues, providing key references for understanding the integration path between the crypto ecosystem and traditional capital.

The following is the full content of the round table meeting:

Akshay BD (Solana ): Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the event. Thank you to the organizers for the invitation, and also to all the audience members who have stayed to listen to this session. I look forward to discussing digital asset carriers with all of you, as well as the future development landscape of public markets and cryptocurrencies in this intersecting field. To help those who are unfamiliar with digital asset carriers, I suggest starting with the basic concepts. Jason Urban, could you please explain the definition of digital asset carriers?

Definition and Positioning of Digital Asset Carriers

Jason Urban (Galaxy): No problem. First, it must be clarified that the digital asset carriers emerging this year are essentially public trading tools, so I urge everyone to conduct their own research. The content of this session does not constitute any investment advice — as an industry insider, I believe it is necessary to emphasize this key fact. Digital asset carriers are an effective pathway for foundations (or related entities) in the cryptocurrency field to enter the public market, and can even be seen as the only pathway. In the past, many crypto projects chose to operate in the form of foundations to avoid being classified as “securities”; some Layer 1 projects have also transitioned to foundations. Today, the United States has formed a clear regulatory framework, and many Layer 1 and Layer 2 projects are no longer defined as securities. In this context, digital asset carriers have become a bridge for these projects and related participants (especially those who previously had difficulty accessing cryptocurrencies) to enter the public market, serving as a highly influential tool. Its core function is to allow publicly listed companies to hold large amounts of cryptocurrency and conduct trading in the public market.

David Lu (Drift): A tool for holding a large amount of cryptocurrency and trading on the open market.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): This definition is clear and easy to understand. Next, I would like to ask, what attitude have you all observed from institutional investors currently? Why do they not directly open institutional accounts and directly purchase the underlying crypto assets, but instead choose to go through digital asset vehicles? Is there a fundamental difference between the two? What core benefits can digital asset vehicles bring to investors, especially in the initial stages?

David Lu (Drift): Understanding this issue is not complicated; I believe the core reason lies in the adaptability of the target audience.

Jason Urban (Galaxy): The operational model of large asset management institutions can be referenced, as a crucial part of the global financial system is built around stocks, bonds, and commodities. These institutions have dedicated risk control systems, settlement systems, and corresponding trading markets. However, cryptocurrencies are entirely different from this system; for them, cryptocurrencies are like a “foreign language,” making it difficult to integrate into the existing framework. The emergence of digital asset carriers perfectly adapts to the operational model of traditional financial systems, allowing institutions to smoothly enter the crypto market and express investment views. Therefore, the key value lies not in the convenience of front-end operations, but in whether the back-end can adapt to traditional systems.

David Lu (Drift): I believe there is another key factor: the traditional capital market supply chain system is mature, not only having sufficient depth but also covering multiple sub-sectors — including the stock market, bond market, and other emerging segments, among which the stock market is highly segmented. By leveraging digital asset carriers as equity instruments, the entire supply chain can be linked in various forms, allowing investors to indirectly gain exposure to the risks of crypto assets. For investors who previously had no understanding of cryptocurrencies or lacked access channels, they can indirectly participate in the crypto space by investing in companies related to digital asset carriers, without facing the barriers of directly holding cryptocurrencies, and also avoiding the cumbersome processes of initial account opening and compliance review. Therefore, digital asset carriers provide an alternative path for these types of investors to participate.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Following this topic, I would also like to know how each of you entered this field? Some institutions are not traditional public market participants; is there anything particularly different about your participation logic or scale compared to your peers?

Why Institutional Investors Choose Digital Asset Vehicles

Cosmo Jiang (Pantera Capital): I believe the key lies in the fact that when we first encountered digital asset carriers, we felt their potential. My career has mainly focused on public market equity investments, and this background makes our understanding of digital asset carriers differ from that of other crypto venture capital firms' initial perspectives. In early April of this year, we participated in the first Solana ecosystem digital asset carrier project, at a time when there was no consensus on this direction and the market attention was low.

At first, I was worried that the project would be difficult to operate in the long term, but I am familiar with the logic of equity packaging tools, which is the area I have been deeply engaged in for a long time. Recently, I delved into the cryptocurrency field, and digital asset carriers happen to provide a viable path to combine crypto assets with traditional equity instruments. Since that transaction, we have evaluated more than 50 related projects, with investments in the digital asset carrier field accumulating over 500,000 USD. Today, this field has developed into a large industry, and as Jason mentioned, the core reason lies in its realization of the integration of traditional finance and the crypto ecosystem.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Everyone is currently participating in the Solana ecosystem digital asset carrier project. It must be emphasized again that this sharing does not constitute any investment advice, and everyone needs to conduct their own research. However, it is clear that you are all competing for the “marginal funds” of investors—i.e., the additional funds planned for investment in the cryptocurrency field. Could each of you please elaborate on your views and layout strategies regarding the Solana ecosystem? You may refer to a format similar to short program sharing, explaining the reasons for being bullish on Solana, the basis for your optimistic outlook on its future, and the current focus of your layout.

David Lu (Drift): It should be noted that this discussion has gradually shifted away from purely technical aspects, while technology is the foundation of the entire ecosystem — in the long term, the development of large new ecosystems relies on technological support, especially breakthroughs in critical technological fields (such as the morning unlock mechanism). If you are a seasoned investor planning to invest in future potential areas and wish to gain exposure to crypto ecosystem risks, Solana is one of the preferred options: it has a high-quality ecosystem environment and an efficient computing system, enabling fast, low-cost, and practical operations. If you wish to gain exposure to risks related to “productivity economy”, you need to select projects that have advantages in specific areas: such as significant investment in technology research and development, a deep understanding of ecological logic, the ability to build applications on the ecological foundation, and always aiming for maximizing shareholder value. This is my core viewpoint for your reference.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Thank you for sharing. Jump Crypto is also deeply involved in Solana ecosystem projects, right?

David Lu (Drift): Indeed, Jump has made significant strides in this field, and its positioning in the track essentially leverages its comprehensive capabilities, including resource integration, market analysis, and multidimensional collaboration, attracting more participants to join. This direction aligns with the expectations of all parties.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Thank you. Next, I would like to ask you to share with the audience why you are optimistic about the Solana ecosystem?

Jason Urban (Galaxy): Of course. To answer “Why is Solana promising?” we must first clarify the core value of blockchain—different blockchains have different positions and advantages, and Solana is very suitable for building a financial ecosystem. Whether it is transaction speed, throughput, or other on-chain metrics, Solana performs excellently, making it a solid foundation for the future financial system. We often discuss innovation and industry trends, and from a broad perspective, cryptocurrencies and blockchains will inevitably change the global business operation model. In the financial sector, Solana, with its unique design philosophy and the significant investment attention it has attracted, is fully capable of seizing this opportunity. Therefore, we believe Solana is likely to become the core infrastructure for future financial operations.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Thank you for sharing. Cosmo Jiang, please elaborate on your views next.

Cosmo Jiang (Pantera Capital): In my opinion, the core significance of digital asset carriers lies in “conveying the value of the crypto ecosystem to new audiences.” Everyone present is familiar with the crypto space, but the broader public has limited understanding of it. Therefore, we hope to attract traditional hedge fund investors (such as Tiger, Viking, etc.). From this perspective, we need to think about what kind of investment logic can impress hedge fund practitioners and what they truly care about. At this point, I recall my experiences in the public markets with Amazon—its success is based on simple principles. Bezos once mentioned that consumers have three eternal needs: faster service, lower prices, and more convenient access. Solana just happens to meet these three points: its speed far exceeds that of the existing financial system, transaction costs are only a small fraction of those in other systems, and anyone can access the Solana ecosystem with a smartphone and the internet. This clear positioning of “faster, cheaper, more convenient” makes investors willing to commit long-term. For hedge fund practitioners, they also pay attention to the basic logic that asset value follows, such as the Bitcoin halving mechanism, which is a typical case, making Solana's investment logic even more attractive.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Good. Could you please elaborate on the business-level details? David Lu, as a co-founder of Drift, which is an early “internet startup” project in the crypto ecosystem, this ecosystem is gradually merging with the capital market. Can you discuss your expectations for the launch of future digital asset carriers? How do they evolve from short-term market phenomena and niche trends into the core driving force of the ecosystem?

David Lu (Drift): Of course. When I entered the field in 2021, the Solana ecosystem was still in a quiet phase, with only 75 developers and low recognition. We hoped to contribute to the Solana ecosystem, and the current scale has far exceeded expectations. I believe that capital allocation is starting to play a key role at this stage – as the industry returns to fundamentals, the importance of capital allocation will become prominent. After 2021, many Solana ecosystem teams faced difficulties and setbacks, but have all bounced back and can now take public market capital allocation seriously. Looking back at the development of crypto companies or protocols, many large projects have foundation support behind them, but foundations are a special organizational form, and their operational models can vary. I have worked in law and understand the nature of such organizations – they are more like non-profit institutions than commercial entities. Without a robust token mechanism and operational system, foundations find it difficult to manage assets effectively: they cannot promote asset value, sell assets, or achieve commercialization. The emergence of digital asset carrier companies has changed this situation – they can be publicly traded, are compliant securities, and do not have arbitrage barriers or entry obstacles. I believe this allows more investors to participate in the crypto ecosystem, fundamentally changing the way the crypto field connects with the capital markets.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Under the current model, what are your expectations for these digital asset carrier companies? For example, how can they demonstrate their commitment to the Solana network through concrete actions like your team has since 2021? What key strategies can help them integrate into the ecosystem? For instance, can they enhance liquidity by guiding public market funds or through other means?

David Lu (Drift): I believe a key step is to clarify the value positioning, such as the financing goals of a public chain at a specific stage - taking Peanut Protocol as an example, it can provide around 20% returns, a type of product that does not exist in traditional finance (like the market environment of 1974). Although there are speculative behaviors chasing high returns in the current market, the digital asset carrier provides an excellent opportunity for ecological communities to participate in rule-making.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): This raises an important point: there is a difference between digital asset carriers and ETFs. ETFs typically only buy and hold assets, while digital asset carriers are actively managed by a management team that continuously monitors the asset risk status — this management capability may not be available to ordinary investors. Therefore, although everyone is investing in digital asset carriers within the Solana ecosystem, the final returns may vary due to different management strategies, right?

David Lu (Drift): That's right. Returning to the previous question, the core difference between ETFs and digital asset carriers lies in “active management”—ETFs are mostly passive tools, and this attribute is not inherently problematic; investors can certainly choose to hold Solana tokens directly. However, if one wishes to achieve active management returns, institutions like Jump, Galaxy, and Terror can play a role: we not only generate returns through staking and other methods, but also raise funds through balance sheet management to promote the appreciation of Solana ecosystem assets, thereby enhancing shareholder value. This is the reason why investors choose digital asset carriers, and it is key to their potential to create considerable returns from the initial stage.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Does this mean that… In the past, we observed that passive funds significantly outperformed actively managed funds, leading many traditional equity active management funds to close down. However, the opposite trend is evident in the crypto space—only active management seems to yield returns. For example, in the 2017 crypto bull market, if one had invested in the entire market index, the returns might not have been ideal; it was necessary to select specific projects (like popular tokens at that time) to achieve high returns. Therefore, I would like to know, is it possible for passive investing to return in the crypto space? What factors in the public market would drive the return of passive investing?

Saurabh Sharma (Jump Crypto): Refer to the situation in the U.S. market (such as the Chicago trading market) — traditional capital markets have a mature and large-scale system, high information transparency, and market mechanisms that can achieve long-term stable operations. In such an environment, actively managed funds find it difficult to consistently outperform the market, as obtaining excess returns is challenging, and fee costs can erode profits. However, the “ontology economy” of the crypto ecosystem is a new field and is still in the construction phase — whether it's the launched products or the application scenarios of those products, they are all in the early stages. To achieve stable returns in this field, one needs to grasp a large amount of information and have a high risk tolerance, so investors must deeply understand market information to make informed decisions. I believe that active management will be crucial in the crypto ecosystem's “ontology economy” for a considerable time in the future, at least until the market stabilizes. Of course, the ultimate goal is to enable everyone to participate conveniently in the crypto market, at which point passive investment may be more meaningful, but the importance of active management at this stage is irreplaceable.

Akshay BD ( Solana Foundation ): Jason Urban, what are your thoughts on this issue?

Industry Integration and Future Development Path

Jason Urban (Galaxy): I want to add a structural difference: ETFs have inherent limitations - they must constantly respond to investor redemption requests. Even for passive ETFs (such as those tracking specific indices), it cannot allocate all funds for long-term investment because investors may redeem at any time, and cannot refuse on the grounds that “funds have been invested.” Once an investor requests redemption, the ETF manager must sell assets to meet the demand. However, digital asset vehicles do not have this problem - their funds are “locked-in” and while they may face price fluctuations (such as trading at a discount or premium), there is no concern about short-term redemption pressure. As company management, we can take measures to address stock price fluctuations, and more importantly, we can allocate funds for longer-term and more efficient investments. If we had discussed views on digital asset vehicles six months ago, I would have thought their future positioning would be similar to ETFs, or even more advantageous than ETFs and mutual funds, primarily because of the “non-redeemability” of the funds.

Jason Urban (Galaxy): This judgment has been validated based on the current situation.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): So does this mean that the advantages of digital asset carriers will gradually emerge?

Jason Urban (Galaxy): Yes, ETFs have shown stronger advantages than mutual funds in many ways, and digital asset vehicles will start from the crypto space – due to the most innovation in the crypto field. However, in the future, this model may expand to more areas. For example, instead of choosing to only “hold gold,” with minimal returns from a gold ETF, one could opt for an actively managed gold digital asset vehicle, which not only holds gold but can also create additional income through leasing, staking, and other methods. The risk-return characteristics of different digital asset vehicles vary significantly: some may adopt high-risk strategies (such as high-frequency trading, leverage up to 10,000 times) to pursue high returns; others may be more conservative, with returns potentially lower than high-risk strategies, but higher than those of ETFs or self-managed assets, and requiring only a small management fee, offering good value.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Good. From the perspective of an ordinary investor, the traditional “60/40 portfolio” (60% allocated to stocks and 40% to bonds) has been ineffective for many years, at least for the past 5 years. Originally, bonds played a role in the portfolio as a “risk hedge,” but due to inflation rates exceeding the nominal yield of bonds, bonds have instead become a “risk redundancy item,” failing to provide a hedging effect. Therefore, investors need to readjust their asset allocation - after reducing the bond allocation, which assets should the funds be directed towards? Clearly, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and digital asset vehicles are all viable options. It is also worth mentioning that a recent report from Goldman Sachs indicates that in family office asset allocation, cryptocurrencies are categorized as “other assets” rather than “alternative assets,” highlighting that the current proportion of crypto assets in traditional portfolios is still very low. Therefore, I would like to ask everyone to discuss how investors should think about asset allocation issues? What role should crypto assets (or digital asset vehicles) play in your investment portfolio?

Saurabh Sharma (Jump Crypto): From my perspective, digital asset carriers should still be a part of the portfolio that has allocation value. They belong to “functional assets,” which can generate returns during market upswings and provide some hedging during market downturns. If investors have allocated utility-type assets, digital asset carriers can serve as a natural supplement, adding new growth dimensions to the portfolio. Moreover, as the crypto ecosystem develops, the return potential of this dimension will continue to increase, so investors should indeed consider allocation. Specifically, investors first need to clarify whether they are willing to participate in the crypto ecosystem; if willing, they need to further determine which type of “productive economy” assets they want to lay out (such as the Solana ecosystem or other ecosystems), which should be judged based on the development potential of different ecosystems. Afterwards, investors need to decide whether to choose passive holding (such as directly purchasing tokens) or to obtain actively managed returns through digital asset carriers— the latter allows one to fully enjoy the dividends of ecosystem development, and I believe this is the better allocation method.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): So it's a growth-type asset in the portfolio that also brings some returns, right?

Jason Urban (Galaxy): I agree with this view. For a long time, there has been a misconception in the crypto space: people always try to categorize crypto assets as a type of traditional asset, such as equity, commodities, or currency. However, in reality, crypto assets are a fusion of finance and technology, possessing uniqueness, and therefore should occupy a unique position in investment portfolios. From the perspective of global development trends, artificial intelligence and blockchain are currently the two most influential fields, and crypto assets should undoubtedly become an important component of any investment portfolio. What investors need to consider is not “whether to allocate,” but “how to allocate”—whether to spend time researching and directly operating crypto assets themselves, or to entrust professional institutions to manage them through digital asset vehicles (the latter being more cost-effective). Regardless, crypto assets should have a long-term presence in investment portfolios, and I believe more and more people are becoming aware of this.

Cosmo Jiang (Pantera Capital): Yes. In my daily work, I often communicate with the asset allocation teams of institutional clients such as pension funds, and I have noticed a significant shift in the market this year: the stock market's acceptance of digital assets is continuously increasing. Several signs can prove this: for example, the stock performance of the crypto exchange Coinbase, which has been included in the S&P 500 index; the impressive performance of IPOs (initial public offerings) by crypto companies like Circle, the issuer of stablecoins; and the rise of digital asset carriers, indicating strong market demand. However, one important catalyst has not received enough attention: digital assets have been indirectly incorporated into the investment scope of the S&P 500 index.

Every asset allocation manager I have encountered uses the S&P 500 index as a benchmark. Before this year, they ignored crypto assets because they were not included in that benchmark; however, the situation has changed — due to the emergence of companies involved in digital assets among the S&P 500 constituents, they now have to make a choice every day: whether to add additional exposure to crypto assets outside the benchmark allocation or to maintain the status quo. More and more people are choosing the former.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): There is currently a new perspective suggesting that combinations like “16/20/20” (specific ratios may vary) should replace the traditional “60/40” combination, which includes a certain proportion of alternative assets. Do you think that crypto assets will become an important component of such combinations? As various alternative assets gradually integrate into mainstream investment portfolios, what role will crypto assets play? From another angle, many people are currently cautious about whether the Solana network can support financial services, partly because it is becoming a pricing venue for alternative assets. If in the future, digital asset carriers choose to diversify their assets into other projects within the ecosystem, what kind of scenario will emerge? What stages might be experienced? I hope everyone can elaborate on this.

Cosmo Jiang (Pantera Capital): I believe that the most unique value of digital asset carriers lies in their ability to connect cryptocurrency projects to the capital markets in meaningful ways. The capital market resources that can be unlocked by digital asset carriers vary depending on their market capitalization – for example, most digital asset carriers need to reach a market cap of 3 million, 4 million, or 5 million USD to enter the conventional bond market and sell assets to institutional accounts.

If the market value of a certain digital asset carrier is only $300, $400, or $500, its token special purpose entity valuation must reach at least $20 to be sustainable. However, there are not many tokens that can reach the MicroStrategy level, as maintaining that market value scale is quite challenging. For this reason, we recommend that all companies in the portfolio consider launching a digital asset carrier — this is the best way to create “perpetual capital tools” and to voice their own ecosystem.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Have you considered acquiring other companies? For example, acquiring a company involved in the discussion here, or providing support for some DeFi projects?

Cosmo Jiang (Pantera Capital): Currently, there are no plans for this, as our core objective is to enhance shareholder value. At this stage, the best way to achieve this goal is to become the most steadfast supporter of the Solana ecosystem. Of course, ecological projects like Drift are indeed exciting, but the value of Solana itself has not yet been fully recognized and explored. Therefore, we need to focus on this core first.

We first need to convey the core message to the market: why Solana has investment value, as previously detailed by several individuals. Once the timing is right, considering diversification is also not too late. I believe the future development path of digital asset carriers is clear — assets like the Drift community token have currently shown performance surpassing benchmark indices, which is highly significant. At the same time, the performance evaluation of asset allocation managers will increasingly focus on 'whether to participate in the construction of the crypto ecosystem'; if this opportunity is missed, performance may lag behind peers. We need to prove that free cash flow (expected to reach $50 million this year) is sufficient to support continued participation in the ecosystem; only in this way can we gain market recognition; otherwise, we will face a crisis of trust.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): This achievement is astonishing. Your products perform excellently, setting industry benchmarks and providing valuable insights for other companies. I hope that as the regulatory framework in the United States improves, this model can become the norm in the industry. This financial innovation model also meets the needs of practitioners in traditional finance, and if they delve deeper, they will surely recognize it. I would like to understand further what your specific strategies are. How does your strategy differ from the other two digital asset carrier companies?

Jason Urban (Galaxy): When discussing specific strategies, it is important to note that some details involve trade secrets and cannot be disclosed extensively. However, the overall approach is more based on industry insights rather than mere market operations. Our core objective is to accumulate more Solana tokens, and we already have some transparent implementation methods, such as participating in “block construction,” “transaction propagation,” and other ecological infrastructure development. In the future, we will further delve into on-chain business and participate in more core aspects of the ecosystem. As for acquiring companies within the ecosystem, this is indeed a feasible direction — as our core goal is to enhance the “per share Solana token holding amount,” and acquiring influential companies within the ecosystem and integrating them into the overall strategy is undoubtedly an effective way to achieve this goal.

Therefore, when formulating a long-term strategy, we will comprehensively assess the entire ecosystem's resources, including user feedback, project dynamics, etc., solely to find the most effective growth path. Of course, this does not mean that there will only be one successful company in the market — multiple companies may succeed at the same time, but they will serve different groups of investors and focus on different goals. Nevertheless, we will do our utmost to enhance our competitiveness.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): This means that you have unique strategies and are willing to adopt more flexible cooperation methods if you can find the right partners. Can you specifically discuss which of the current implemented strategies are derived from past experiences and which are innovative attempts?

Saurabh Sharma (Jump Crypto): Yes. However, the specific details are still not convenient to elaborate on too much. I believe that to make digital asset carriers a successful “common capital tool”, the key lies in the team's expertise and understanding of the market.

Looking back at the existing digital asset carriers in the market, the largest ones usually have several core advantages: first, they reduce financing costs through economies of scale; second, they can access more high-quality resources (such as tech giants like Google); third, they adopt diversified development paths, actively participating in ecosystem construction while focusing on community operations. Our team's advantage lies in our proficiency in technology research and development, our understanding of different market rules, and our ability to coordinate various stakeholders (including investors and project parties), while consistently adhering to the principle of “open and transparent” operations. Therefore, with our strong team execution and rigorous strategies, we can fully leverage all available resources to achieve sustainable growth.

We will flexibly utilize various capital tools and explore different financial innovation models, but in the long run, the core focus will always be “returning value to users.”

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Okay. Let's make an assumption: If one year later, 90% of digital asset carrier companies in the public market are forced to sell assets and redeem, is this situation possible? If it happens, what are the main reasons? How should investors view this situation with “reverse thinking”? At the same time, what kind of optimistic expectations should be maintained for the future of the Solana ecosystem?

Cosmo Jiang (Pantera Capital): When we first started investing in digital asset carriers, we anticipated that there might be 3 to 6 companies that could survive in the market, but ultimately, only 2 to 3 might grow strong — these will become the larger market cap assets. Other companies will either be forgotten by the market or trade at a significant discount. However, this is actually a good consolidation opportunity. I believe that the idea that “all digital asset carriers can succeed” is unrealistic — it does not align with the development patterns of startups, most startups eventually fail, which is a normal phenomenon and a necessary path for healthy industry development. But stronger companies will survive, which is beneficial for the Solana ecosystem and also promotes the construction of infrastructure for the entire industry.

Jason Urban (Galaxy): That's right. I think there could be a few outcomes: first, many companies may try to narrow the stock price discount by repurchasing shares through the sale of underlying assets; second, there may be a resurgence of the “corporate raider” phenomenon of the 1980s — if some institutions have financing costs lower than the market average, they will acquire digital asset carrier companies and then proceed to split and reorganize. This also means that those digital asset carrier companies with larger market capitalizations, better performance, and stock prices close to their net asset values may become the leaders of industry consolidation, expanding their scale through acquisitions of other companies. Therefore, there is an objective “gravity of consolidation” in the financial sector, and industry consolidation is bound to happen — this is a universal law of all financial ecosystems.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): This reminds me of another question: when I first started exploring digital asset carriers, I researched some financial cases in the American Midwest. I found that over the past 15 to 20 years, growth stocks have consistently outperformed value stocks. For example, some growth companies operate in a regulated manner, have stable cash flows, and are good at leveraging technology stacks to enhance efficiency, but the market prefers companies with “grand growth stories.” However, I am pondering whether value investing could make a comeback? Because every value company actually has the potential to launch digital asset carriers - if they could create premium demand through effective capital management, such as utilizing lower financing costs, distributing dividends from stable cash flows (of course, dividends involve tax issues at both the corporate and personal levels), or optimizing asset allocation through purchasing bonds (even though current bonds may face losses), real estate investments, issuing bilateral equity, etc.

Therefore, I can't help but wonder if we will enter an era where “every company is a digital asset carrier”? It may sound exaggerated, but I am serious.

Jason Urban (Galaxy): I hope this situation does not occur. However, you have overlooked an interesting perspective: the potential for tokenization. Why can't we tokenize equity like Galaxy? We can completely replace traditional dividend payments with tokenization — why must it be cash dividends and not token airdrops? We should explore attempts that can push the crypto ecosystem beyond the traditional financial system. We all know that blockchain technology is more advanced and the crypto ecosystem has greater potential; this is the evolutionary direction of the financial industry, and there must be ways to achieve breakthroughs. Therefore, when equity tokenization becomes possible (of course, regulatory compliance issues need to be addressed), why should we not use other means to return value to shareholders and token holders? In my opinion, the true goal of digital asset vehicles should not be to 'mimic traditional financial products' but to 'bring traditional financial products closer to the crypto ecosystem.'

Saurabh Sharma (Jump Crypto): I completely agree with this point.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): There is an example that illustrates this: some companies, when going public, attempt to simultaneously gain the dual incentives of equity and tokens, but the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) do not allow it. However, with digital asset carriers, the situation is different — it adds an asset to the balance sheet at nearly zero cost, equivalent to having an additional “asset sheet.” You can use this method to engage users from over 200 countries and regions, which is undoubtedly a huge advantage. However, I still want to return to the previous topic…

I believe that the core logic of value investing has not changed. As we all know, the logic of value stock investment mainly stems from the research of Graham, with the key being the effective utilization of capital. However, the value logic of digital asset carriers is different — their asset preservation capability is stronger, as the underlying assets (cryptocurrencies) themselves have anti-inflation properties.

Saurabh Sharma (Jump Crypto): Traditional value companies need to continuously invest capital to maintain value, but digital asset carriers do not require this — they are unique investment tools in themselves, capable of providing companies with “high-quality value packaging,” allowing the underlying asset value to be better reflected.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation)： I understand your point. I am not suggesting that utility companies invest all their cash into digital asset vehicles, but rather that they could allocate a portion of their funds to experiment — this might yield unexpected premium returns for the company. For value investors who have underperformed the market over the past 15 years, this could be a new opportunity. If insights from the public markets can be applied to digital asset vehicles, it could create an entirely new investment model. I would also like to know how many of you are considering offering “fund management” as a service to companies looking to participate in the crypto ecosystem?

Jason Urban (Galaxy): Galaxy has indeed started this business - we provide consulting services for numerous digital asset carrier companies. Of course, this is not an easy task, as we need to balance multiple interests and be “responsible to everyone.” But this is exactly our job. We are confident in participating and supporting the development of digital asset carriers because we have accumulated rich experience - we know which strategies are effective and which do not work, and we will continue to optimize our methods. Digital asset carriers started in the cryptocurrency field, as it is the most innovative industry, but in the future, it will definitely expand into more areas. Therefore, we have plenty of space to help more companies.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Our discussion is coming to an end, and for the last question, I would like everyone to envision the future: 10 years from now, if the Solana ecosystem achieves great success and becomes mainstream in the industry, how would you describe the scene at that time? Please present it with specific imagery, and I will start with some inspiration.

Cosmo Jiang (Pantera Capital): If someone were to ask me for a bold prediction, I would say that in five years, every financial application on your phone will be supported by blockchain technology, but you won't even notice it — that would be the ideal state. Taking HSDT as an example, our core goal is to become the “third pillar” of the Solana ecosystem, working alongside innovative projects within the ecosystem and Solana Labs to accelerate ecosystem development and ultimately achieve the comprehensive democratization of finance. This democratization will not only be reflected in asset acquisition but also in value distribution — everyone can fairly participate in ecosystem building and receive corresponding rewards. Moreover, by then, the global regulatory framework will be more complete, allowing the crypto ecosystem to seamlessly integrate with the traditional financial system, without any barriers. You will be able to easily participate in the crypto ecosystem from anywhere in the world, using any device, and enjoy efficient and low-cost financial services; this is the future scenario I envision.

Akshay BD (Solana Foundation): Everyone's ideas are very inspiring, which makes us full of expectations for the future of the Solana ecosystem. Thank you all for your sharing, and this discussion comes to an end.