Upexi: Treasury Firms Are Still Holding Strong After Crypto Crash
October 18, 2025 — New York / Crypto.news
Despite a trillion-dollar crypto market wipeout that sent Bitcoin and Solana tumbling, treasury firms are standing firm. According to Brian Rudick, Chief Strategy Officer at Upexi, the Solana-based treasury company hasn’t sold a single token following the latest market crash — and remains confident in its long-term strategy.
Upexi’s $400M Solana Treasury Remains Intact
Rudick confirmed that Upexi continues to hold its 2 million+ SOL position, even as markets saw double-digit declines.
“The impact for us was basically zero,” Rudick said. “We follow a buy-and-hold strategy. We’re not trading or using leverage — we just stake our Solana.”
Upexi currently holds roughly $400 million in Solana against $40 million in debt, representing single-digit leverage. Rudick noted that the firm’s conservative debt structure and long maturities prevent forced liquidations.
“The only way a treasury company becomes a forced seller is if it’s highly levered and prices stay down for years,” he said.
Volatility as an Advantage
While retail investors view volatility as a threat, Upexi sees it as an opportunity. Rudick explained that volatility enhances the value of convertible bonds, which Upexi issues to raise capital.
“The more volatile the underlying asset, the more valuable that embedded option becomes,” he said.
“Volatility actually helps us raise capital more efficiently.”
The Case for Solana Over Ethereum
Upexi’s entire treasury strategy revolves around Solana, which Rudick calls the “first second-generation smart contract chain.”
He cited Solana’s throughput, monolithic architecture, and ecosystem versatility as key advantages over Ethereum.
“Solana processes transactions in parallel — it’s like comparing a modern processor to a single-threaded one,” Rudick said.
“You can build anything on Solana — DeFi, AI agents, social, gaming, stablecoins, tokenization. The user experience is also simpler because everything runs on one unified layer.”
By contrast, Rudick said Ethereum’s Layer-2 ecosystem introduces fragmentation and centralization risks through centralized sequencers and bridges.
“Solana avoids that complexity,” he said. “It’s secure, decentralized, and high-performance — purpose-built for internet-scale capital markets.”
Accretive Capital Formation
Rudick detailed how treasury firms like Upexi generate shareholder value:
- Staking Rewards: The company earns ~8% annual yield from staking.
- Discounted Acquisitions: Upexi occasionally buys locked SOL at mid-teens discounts, doubling its effective yield.
- Equity Issuance Strategy: When trading above book value, Upexi raises equity through private placements or convertible notes, using proceeds to accumulate more SOL.
“It’s all about compounding SOL per share,” Rudick said. “That’s our north star.”
The company recently completed a $100 million private placement in April and a $200 million equity and convertible debt offering in July.
Industry Trends: Treasury 2.0
Rudick acknowledged that Upexi’s early success has sparked imitators.
“Now everyone’s trying to build a digital asset treasury,” he said. “Valuations have come down, and the market’s asking — what’s Treasury 2.0?”
He outlined three emerging directions in the sector:
- Operating Businesses as Treasury Vehicles: Firms combining cash flow from traditional businesses to accumulate crypto — though Rudick doubts the model adds value.
- Aggressive On-Chain Yield Strategies: Leveraging DeFi for higher returns, which he sees as too risky.
- Mergers & Acquisitions: A possible next wave of consolidation, though Rudick remains cautious.
“If you’re trading below NAV, why sell for less than your token value?” he asked.
“And if you’re buying, why pay a premium when you can buy the tokens directly?”
He pointed to Strive’s acquisition of Semler — which caused a 40% drop in Strive’s stock despite being accretive per Bitcoin — as a warning sign.
“We’ll see how the next few deals go,” Rudick said. “If markets reward them, consolidation will come. If not, it’ll stay muted.”
Long-Term Vision
Despite market volatility, Rudick reaffirmed Upexi’s strategy:
“Be disciplined, raise capital accretively, stake responsibly, and compound Solana per share over time. That still works — without unnecessary risk.”
