DeFi Development Adds Solana and Pays First CHAD Dividend
Treasury holdings reached about 2,564,212 SOL worth $302 million after a 26,203 SOL buy since September 28, and the company said it expects more than 100% NAV-per-share growth versus August 12.
DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV), the first U.S. public company with a treasury strategy built to accumulate and compound Solana, said it had added about 26,203 SOL since September 28, 2026, lifting total holdings to approximately 2,564,212 SOL and SOL equivalents worth $302 million.
That latest purchase brought SOL and SOL equivalents growth to about 11% since the company’s August 12 earnings update, when the treasury stood at 2,311,523 SOL and SOL equivalents. Chief Executive Officer Joseph Onorati said the company had continued buying SOL and grown the treasury by 11% since that date.
The company expects to report, as of September 30, 2026, compared with August 12, double-digit growth in SOL per share, more than 100% growth in net asset value per share, double-digit growth in total SOL and SOL equivalents, a reduction in notional SOL-denominated borrowings, and more than 100% growth in cash and cash equivalents. Those preliminary estimates cover roughly seven weeks of accumulation, Onorati said, and remain subject to finalization. SOL per share was 0.066 as of August 12.
Onorati said the company’s focus remains on making each common share represent more SOL over time, and that it intends to keep accumulating through disciplined capital deployment and organic treasury growth while putting holdings to work through staking and validator operations. SOL outperformed the Nasdaq-100 by 56% in the third quarter, and DFDV outperformed SOL by 1.5 times over the same period.
A $300 million CHAD ATM provides an additional source of growth capital, and the company believes its SOL accumulation flywheel is continuing to gain momentum. On October 1, 2026, DFDV paid the first dividend on CHAD, its Nasdaq-listed variable-rate preferred stock, which carries a 13% annual dividend rate on a $10 stated amount, or $1.30 a share annually at the current rate, with payments continuing each business day when declared. The company described CHAD as Digital Credit 2.0: preferred equity supported by a productive treasury, with staking and validator rewards providing an organic source of income to support dividend obligations. It continues to maintain ample dividend coverage, and additional SOL accumulation can expand the treasury’s earning capacity. Onorati said the company is focused on expanding investor awareness, market access, and liquidity as it works toward establishing CHAD at its $10 stated amount.
The August 12 update had already flagged a slower year-over-year pace in SOL per share: SPS was 0.066, up about 24% year over year, after 0.0670 as of May 13, 2026, which had been up 108% year over year. Total SOL and SOL equivalents were 2,311,523 as of August 12, up 1% since the prior update, after 2,294,576 as of May 13, which had been up 3% from March 30. The company reaffirmed a long-term target of 1.0 SPS by December 2028 in both the August 12 and May 13 updates; the May 13 update had also reaffirmed June 2026 guidance of 0.075 SPS, fully converted.
Convertible-note buybacks continued in that August period: about $3.5 million principal of July 2030 notes was repurchased for $2.3 million in cash, an approximately 35% discount to par, after about $4.4 million principal for about $2.6 million cash, a 41% discount, as of May 13. The August 12 update announced operating efficiencies expected to drive a step-down in the third-quarter cost base, with further reductions expected in later quarters, and said the company discontinued the Treasury Accelerator program and concentrated onchain activity in fewer institutional-scale protocols. The May 13 update had still listed the Treasury Accelerator among SPS-contribution initiatives.
Onorati said CHAD is fuel for the DFDV engine and central to the next phase of growth, opening the strategy to income investors and giving the company another source of capital to accumulate SOL. Trading CHAD at par would position the company to raise additional perpetual capital on terms that support accretive growth for common shareholders. Preliminary September 30 metrics remain subject to finalization and may differ from final reported results.