ARK Invest Partners with SOL Strategies for Solana Staking
ARK Invest Selects SOL Strategies as Staking Partner
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has chosen SOL Strategies, a Canada-based firm, as its exclusive staking partner for the Digital Assets Revolutions Fund. This collaboration involves transitioning ARK Invest's validator operations to SOL Strategies' infrastructure.
Established in 2020, the Digital Assets Revolutions Fund typically invests in 10 to 12 cryptocurrencies, targeting returns over a four-to-five-year market cycle.
Leah Wald, CEO of SOL Strategies, stated, "We serve a growing number of institutional and enterprise clients seeking compliant, reliable access to Solana through delegated staking and custom validator infrastructure." BitGo, which partnered with SOL Strategies in April, will also participate in this venture.
What is Staking?
Staking involves locking up cryptocurrencies to support a blockchain network and earn rewards. In the Solana network, epochs last approximately two to three days. After each epoch, Solana (SOL) stakers receive a portion of the native coin.
SOL Strategies currently manages five validators with over 3.59 million SOL (approximately $647.2 million) in assets under delegation, involving more than 5,700 unique wallets. Only 12% of this comes from their treasury, with the remainder from third parties, according to Wald.
Risks of Staking
It's important to acknowledge the risks involved in staking. A validator's misconduct can lead to slashing, resulting in potential losses for investors. Currently, about 403 million SOL tokens, valued at approximately $73.5 billion, are staked, according to Solana Compass.
SOL Strategies reported a loss of $3.5 million for the second quarter of 2025, despite a significant increase in staking and validating revenue. Other entities like DeFi Development Corp. and Upexi have also shifted toward Solana treasuries, as the asset attracts more traditional investors.
Institutional Interest in Staking
ARK Invest’s move highlights growing institutional interest in earning yield from crypto assets, alongside potential price appreciation. Asset managers are also exploring Ether (ETH) staking.
Several Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers have submitted requests to the SEC for approval of income-generating features.
Wald noted, "We’re seeing a clear surge in institutional interest in Solana exposure, not just to the asset, but to structured, investable vehicles that provide access with regulatory clarity."
As the U.S. regulatory landscape becomes more defined, family offices, hedge funds, and asset managers are actively seeking products like ETFs, structured notes, and public equities (DATs and Solana technology firms like ours) that offer clean Solana exposure.
ARK Invest is known for its substantial investments in the crypto space. Recently, it acquired shares in Circle’s IPO before selling an initial batch for $52 million on June 17. The firm actively participates in Bitcoin ETFs and has previously invested in crypto company stocks.
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