Shares of Sharps Technology surged nearly 100% on Monday after the medical device manufacturer revealed a $400 million initiative to establish a new treasury strategy centered on Solana’s native token. The stock climbed 96% from $7.40 to an intraday peak of $14.53 before settling at $12.01 at the time of this report.
Sharps has entered a letter of intent with the Solana Foundation to acquire Solana (SOL) tokens through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction—a financing arrangement where accredited investors purchase shares of a publicly traded company at a discount to the current market value.
The agreement, anticipated to conclude on or around August 28, would enable Sharps to acquire $50 million in SOL tokens at a 15% discount compared to their 30-day average price.
Investors may utilize locked or unlocked SOL for their allocations, receiving pre-funded and stapled warrants in exchange, a structure directly linking equity exposure to Solana.
Sharps has also appointed Jambo co-founder Alice Zhang as chief investment officer to spearhead this transition and has brought on James Zhang as a strategic adviser—both prominent figures within the Solana ecosystem.
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Health sector companies pivot to crypto treasuries
Crypto treasury companies are publicly traded firms that incorporate digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) or SOL on their balance sheets, granting investors indirect access to crypto assets via their stock. This concept was initiated by Michael Saylor of Strategy in 2020 and has since motivated many companies to adopt similar strategies.
The model is witnessing growth in the health sector, with numerous small-cap and mid-cap firms shifting to crypto treasuries to diversify their portfolios and capture investor interest.
In November 2024, Hoth Therapeutics, a biopharma from New York focusing on therapies for skin, cancer, and autoimmune diseases, announced it would allocate $1 million in Bitcoin as a treasury asset, presenting the move as a hedge against inflation.
In March, Atai Life Sciences, listed on Nasdaq and developing psychedelic-based treatments for mental health, announced plans to purchase $5 million in Bitcoin. Founder Christian Angermayer argued in a Substack post that drug development is “cash-hungry” and can span over a decade for regulatory approvals.
In July, 180 Life Sciences, a biotech firm working on anti-inflammatory treatments, rebranded to ETHZilla and revealed aspirations to establish a $425 million Ether treasury after witnessing a 99% drop in its stock value.
Wall Street firm Charles Schwab recently cautioned in an educational video that companies “allocating significant amounts of cash to a historically volatile asset that isn’t aligned with their core business has raised a few red flags.”
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