Forward Industries announced a $1.65 billion private placement in public equity (PIPE) to build a treasury focused on Solana. The shift marks a pivot from the company’s earlier product work toward a crypto-first balance sheet. Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani is expected to become chair once the PIPE closes, while Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto will provide strategic support.
The announcement produced a sharp market reaction: FORD shares surged roughly 92% in pre-market trading to $31.50, traded nearer $28.61 after the open, and later settled around $22.95 — still roughly 40% higher on the day. Such swings are common when large PIPE deals interact with public-market liquidity and investor lockups.
If Forward were to allocate the full PIPE to Solana, it would rank among the largest single-asset corporate treasuries. Several publicly traded firms already hold more than $1.65 billion worth of Ethereum or Bitcoin, and within the Solana ecosystem Forward could quickly eclipse current treasury holders. For context, Solana treasuries like Upexi and DeFi Development each hold roughly 2 million SOL (about $434 million combined at recent prices).
Galaxy will provide advisory, risk management and infrastructure for trading, lending and staking. Jump brings technical resources and network expertise — including work on the Firedancer validator client — which could support node operations and staking strategies. Solana itself traded near $214 on Monday, up about 5% day-over-day.
Why this matters: institutional treasuries can deepen liquidity and strengthen protocol support, but there are immediate risks. PIPE investors selling shares can depress stock prices (Upexi plunged more than 60% after a registration filing became effective), and crypto price volatility can quickly erode treasury value. Execution, lockup schedules and market swings should factor into any assessment of Forward’s pivot.
Source: Decrypt. Read the original coverage for full details.