DeFi Development Corp, formerly Janover, nets $24 million PIPE to buy more SOL

DeFi Development Corp, a former real estate software firm known as Janover, said Thursday that it expects to receive a total of $24 million for a private investment in public equity (PIPE) that will help the firm finance general corporate purposes, including buying more Solana. 

After rebranding in mid-April, the PIPE furthers DeFi Development Corp's quest to expand its Solana treasury strategy, which includes staking its holdings. As of May 1, the firm held 317,273 SOL valued at around $46.2 million, with staking rewards included. 

Participants in the PIPE include Galaxy Digital, Amber International Holding Limited, Arrington Capital, Republic Digital, Borderless Capital, RK Capital, and Great Point Capital, according to a Thursday release.

As part of the deal, DeFi Development Corp is selling around 310,000 shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants to buy about 215,000 shares of its common stock at around $46 per share, the release continues. Shares of the company, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker JNVR, were priced at $76.36 as of publication.

"This raise is a milestone in our mission to build the most transparent, crypto-native treasury vehicle in public markets," said DeFi Development Corp Chairman and CEO Joseph Onorati in a statement, adding that “it enables us to scale our SOL position with speed — while continuing to deliver SOL-per-share growth to our investors."

DeFi Development Corp completed its rebrand from Janover on April 22, The Block previously reported. At the time, the firm's SOL holdings were valued at $34.4 million. A team of former Kraken executives acquired a majority stake in the firm on April 7, and DeFi Development Corp maintains a partnership with Kraken to facilitate its SOL staking. 

Solana is the sixth most valuable cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $79.8 billion. SOL traded at $153, a price increase of 7% in the past 24 hours, and with $3.5 billion in trading volume in the past day, according to The Block's solana price page.