Upexi is betting big on Solana, and they’re not shy about it. In a recent podcast conversation hosted by The Block’s Tim Copeland, Upexi CEO Allan Marshall and CSO Brian Antolin broke down their entire Solana-driven crypto treasury strategy while also voicing strong support for the long-anticipated spot Solana ETF.
“We’re excited about this,” said Upexi CEO Allan Marshall when asked about the possibility of a spot Solana ETF. “We’re looking at it squarely as a big positive catalyst.”
Solana ETF in 2025?
The conversation quickly shifted to the timeline for a potential spot Solana ETF approval. Marshall didn’t make a firm prediction but hinted at hurdles.
“I think that the staking revenue is actually causing a little issue,” Marshall explained. “What I heard is that how them figuring out how to stake it is causing a little bit of an issue.”
Upexi’s CSO Brian Antolin was more optimistic. “I’ve seen a lot of ETF experts saying, you know, we’re in the 90% range for getting one this year. There were just some headlines out two days ago basically saying that it could happen this month,” he noted. “So we’re hopeful that it will happen sooner rather than later… but just like Allan said, it’s a bit TBD.”
Upexi’s Solana Treasury Strategy
So why did Upexi dive headfirst into Solana in the first place?
“We added the treasury strategy to our business because, as we watched over the years the value MicroStrategy’s created, we were trying to figure ways to bring Upexi into its next stage,” said Marshall. “When we were looking at raising capital and doing something creative, we decided on some sort of treasury strategy… and then us having to meet with GSR and then Brian—what we learned in that relationship was just the value of how it was created.”
That’s where Antolin stepped in with deeper insights.
“Digital asset treasury companies, when done right, can just create an enormous amount of value and might be the best way to invest in a digital asset for a lot of different investors,” Antolin said.
He went on to explain Upexi’s model by drawing parallels with traditional banking.
“If you think about it, a bank will take a deposit, make a loan—they earn the spread between the yield on the loan and the cost of deposits. We’re the exact same way. We raise funds from the capital markets, we invest in Solana, and then we earn the return between—or the spread between—the return on Solana and our cost of capital.”
But it’s more than just buying and holding.
“As Allan mentioned, we are staking our SOL and we’re turning our treasury into this productive asset rather than letting it sit there idle,” Antolin explained. “We are buying locked SOL at a discount for built-in gains for shareholders.”
Antolin emphasized what he calls a “capital markets flywheel.”
“In my opinion, most of this magic actually emanates from… capital markets arbitrage. When the market awards us a premium to the underlying value of our digital assets, we can actually monetize that for the benefit of shareholders,” he said.
Following MicroStrategy’s Playbook, With a Twist
The comparison to MicroStrategy came up more than once. Antolin made it clear that Upexi is not only following the playbook but trying to improve it.
“We’re just basically employing that same model… and actually trying to improve on it,” he said.
So why should Upexi, and others like it, trade at a premium to their digital asset holdings?
That’s part of what Antolin believes makes this Solana strategy so compelling: it’s not just a bet on price appreciation, but on how financial structure and capital efficiency can create long-term shareholder value.
Also Read: Solana Price Crash: ETF Hopes Fade as SOL Breaks $140 Support
