- ARK Invest chose SOL Strategies to run its Solana validators, aligning with institutional grade staking via BitGo custody.
- SOL Strategies manages 3.59M SOL across 5,700 wallets, with validator rewards issued every 2–3 days under Solana’s epoch system.
- Despite a $3.5M Q2 loss, SOL Strategies’ rising validator revenue and delegations secured its key partnership with ARK Invest.
ARK Invest has selected SOL Strategies Inc. as its exclusive staking provider for Solana, marking a major operational change for its Digital Assets Revolutions Fund. This fund, managed by the investment firm led by Cathie Wood, holds between 10 and 12 digital assets and focuses on capturing long term yield across market cycles.
ARK has now transitioned its validator operations to SOL Strategies’ infrastructure, which is integrated with BitGo’s institutional custody platform. The move aims to enhance operational scale and secure staking returns from Solana’s epoch-based reward system.
Validator Operations Move to Institutional Infrastructure
The partnership will see ARK Invest’s Solana validator nodes operated directly by SOL Strategies, a Canada-based blockchain infrastructure provider. This transition allows ARK to consolidate its staking operations under a more scalable, enterprise-grade framework.
According to SOL Strategies, it manages five active validators with over 3.59 million SOL staked. Notably, only 12% of this is funded internally, while the remainder comes from third-party delegations spread across 5,700 unique wallets.
SOL Strategies’ validator services operate under Solana’s standard epoch system, which distributes staking rewards every two to three days. By integrating with BitGo for custody, the arrangement enhances both fund security and yield reliability for institutional participants.
ARK’s adoption of this setup reflects a growing focus on infrastructure maturity and validator network trust.
ARK’s Fund Strategy Aligns with Institutional Staking Trends
The validator partnership supports ARK’s broader investment approach, which includes exposure to staking-based yield products. Previously, ARK backed Solana and Ethereum ETF products developed by 3iQ, incorporating staking features.
These financial instruments are designed to offer structured staking income through SEC-compliant vehicles. The goal is to include blockchain-based yields in regulated portfolios.
ARK Invest continues to expand into institutional staking, aligning with a larger trend of fund managers entering crypto yield strategies. Several asset managers have filed Ethereum ETF applications that include income generation through staking, showing increased demand for such products.
With this infrastructure now in place, ARK can operate more securely within this evolving segment.
SOL Strategies Expands Despite Financial Setback
Despite reporting a $3.5 million net loss in Q2 2025, SOL Strategies has steadily increased its validator revenue in recent quarters. The company also expanded its third-party delegation base, enhancing its credibility within Solana’s validator network.
This operational growth helped secure the ARK partnership, offering added visibility in the institutional staking space. Leah Wald, CEO of SOL Strategies, confirmed the company’s new role and noted the significance of working with a fund like ARK.
This development is a step forward in establishing regulated validator services tailored to institutional clients across the Solana ecosystem.
