Galaxy’s $700M Solana Purchase Triggers Major Market Upswing

Solana (SOL) surged on Friday, reaching $239.47—its strongest level since January—as institutional demand signals gained momentum. The token advanced 5% in the past 24 hours, extending weekly gains to 18% and outpacing both bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), which rose about 4%–5% over the same stretch.

Data from Arkham Intelligence showed that Galaxy Digital withdrew roughly 3.1 million SOL, worth $724 million, from Binance and Coinbase over the past two days. Market watchers link the move to Forward Industries (FORD), a digital asset treasury firm that recently raised $1.65 billion to accumulate Solana. Galaxy backed the fundraising round and has been tasked with actively managing Forward’s portfolio.

Institutional demand builds
Analysts say Solana could continue to outperform as new treasury strategies and speculation around spot ETF approvals fuel inflows. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan argued this week that SOL’s smaller market cap compared with bitcoin and ether makes it more responsive to fresh demand.

Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz struck a similar tone in a Thursday interview with CNBC, calling this moment the “season of SOL.” He cited Pantera’s upcoming Solana treasury vehicle and the potential for Solana ETFs to channel additional institutional money into the network.

Galaxy has also been expanding its footprint in the ecosystem. Earlier this month, the firm chose Solana to tokenize its own shares in partnership with Superstate.