SOL Strategies CEO Leah Wald, who led transition into a Solana holding company, to step down
Quick Take
- SOL Strategies CEO Leah Wald is stepping down after joining the firm in July 2024 and leading its transition to become one of the first Solana treasury firms.
- The firm, previously known as Cypherpunk Holdings, sold off its existing balance sheet, rebranded, and raised capital to fund its Solana play under Wald’s leadership.
SOL Strategies (ticker STKE) CEO Leah Wald is stepping down after about a year and a half, according to an announcement on Monday. The company was among the first, if not the first, public companies to begin heavily investing in Solana tokens.
Chief Strategy Officer and Director, Michael Hubbard, will serve as interim CEO.
Wald joined the Toronto-based firm, then known as Cypherpunk Holdings, in July 2024 to roll out its Solana strategy. She previously served as CEO of Valkyrie Investments, which issued the first-ever Nasdaq-listed bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund.
Under Wald’s leadership, the holding company quickly began selling off its balance sheet — including a large equity stake in metaverse firm Animoca Brands and bitcoin stockpile — to purchase SOL tokens and invest in the Solana ecosystem. The firm also rebranded to reflect its new focus.
"Having accomplished these objectives, this feels like the natural time to transition to my next chapter," Wald said on X. "After October 1st, I'm excited to explore new opportunities in AI and financial technology."
Notably, Sol Strategies was one of the first public companies to raise capital via credit lines and debt sales to fund its crypto investment play, months before firms like DeFi Development Corp. and Upexi got in the game.
That said, later market entrants like Sharps Technology and Forward Industries have surpassed STKE in terms of total Solana holdings, according to The Block’s data.
As of Monday, Sol Strategies holds over 435,000 SOL, worth about $89 million at current prices, according to The Block’s data and Solana price page. Solana is down over 6% to about $221 amid a wider market downturn.
Sol Strategies’ validator business recently surpassed CAD $1 billion in delegated assets, from over 7,000 unique wallets.
Earlier this month, Nasdaq granted Sol Strategies permission to cross-list on the U.S. exchange.
Editor's note (Sept. 22 — 23:00 UTC): Updates total amount of tokens Sol Strategies has accumulated.
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