Solana Company (HSDT), the digital asset treasury company formerly known as Helius Medical Technologies and backed by Pantera Capital, has moved forward with unlocking shares for early investors in its $500 million PIPE round, as the company’s shares trade below the initial purchase price.
The shares, sold in a private placement in September for $6,881 each, became eligible for sale ahead of schedule, the firm said in a news release Monday. HSDT shares have fallen to around $6.50 after a sharp three-session decline that erased nearly 60% of its market value, including a 17% drop on Monday.
“‘Ripping the Band-Aid’ is the approach we’re confidently taking, while many other DATs are choosing to stagnate,” the company posted on X on Monday.
“The pressure on our share price that comes with the effectiveness of the resale registration statement will likely shake weak hands, but we believe this will also establish a remaining base of committed long-term shareholders,” Joseph Chee, the firm’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Private placement in public equity deals, or PIPE for short, allows institutional investors to buy shares of public companies at pre-set prices, often at a discount. It has become a favorite method among recently launched digital asset treasury companies to quickly raise capital to accumulate cryptocurrencies.
However, several companies saw their share prices collapse when sales registration for PIPE investors went live, raising questions about the sustainability of the structure in crypto markets.
HSDT shares rose above $25 following the PIPE deal before plunging more than 70% as enthusiasm for digital asset treasuries across the market died down.
Read more: The rise and (mostly) fall of the PIPE model in Bitcoin treasury strategies
