DeFi Development Launches SOL-Based Preferred Stock CHAD, Raises $11 Million

DeFi Development Corp., a Solana treasury company, has launched a SOL-based preferred stock product called CHAD and raised $11 million.

The Nasdaq-listed company completed the issuance of its floating-rate perpetual preferred stock, Series C, or CHAD, according to The Block on Sept. 8. DeFi Development described it as the first "Digital Credit" product based on SOL. Fundstrat's Tom Lee also participated in the investment.

CHAD's initial annual dividend rate was set at 13%. Its initial effective yield based on the offering price is about 16.25%, and the first regular dividend is scheduled to be paid on Oct. 1.

DeFi Development plans to use the proceeds to buy additional SOL. The structure gives the company a way to raise capital and increase its SOL holdings without issuing new common shares.

"Through CHAD, investors can access Solana-based digital credit for the first time, and the company has secured a new source of permanent capital that can be used for additional SOL purchases," Chief Executive Officer Joseph Onorati said.

CHAD is structured similarly to the preferred stock issuance strategy Strategy has used to accumulate Bitcoin. DeFi Development, however, has highlighted that SOL can generate its own yield through staking and validator operations.

The company also recently resumed accumulating SOL, buying roughly 19,000 more tokens. That brought its total holdings to about 2.33 million SOL, including SOL and SOL-equivalent assets.

Onorati said the transaction should increase SOL per share, or SPS, without expanding the number of common shares. Over time, scaling up CHAD could accelerate a capital-markets flywheel that supports more aggressive SOL accumulation and higher SPS, he added.