For over 60 years, Forward Industries quietly designed equipment for medical and tech companies. But in December, the Nasdaq-listed firm made a radically different kind of history: it became the first US public company to have its equity used directly in decentralised finance, via the Solana blockchain.
The foundation for this milestone was laid in September 2025, when Forward transitioned into a digital asset treasury, or DAT. A DAT is a public company that stockpiles cryptocurrency on its balance sheet, offering investors a familiar vehicle to gain exposure to digital assets without needing to hold them directly.
But to Forward, just holding crypto assets is not the endgame. “Our longer-term aspiration is to be the Berkshire Hathaway of the Solana ecosystem,” says Ryan Navi, chief investment officer at the company. “We believe Solana is best positioned as the blockchain for the future of internet capital markets.”
The $1.65bn reverse takeover
To become a DAT, Forward closed a $1.65bn private placement in public equity financing last September to buy Solana. The financing was led by digital asset financial services group Galaxy Digital, market maker Jump Crypto, and venture capital manager Multicoin Capital.
Navi describes the process as the trio executing a reverse takeover of a public company. The original business still exists, but Navi and his team were brought in to lead Forward’s new Solana focus.
Forward’s shares were tokenised in December on the Solana blockchain using Opening Bell, a regulated platform from fintech Superstate. Investors traditionally hold shares through a brokerage account, but non-US shareholders can ask their broker to transfer them to Superstate to be tokenised and put in a digital wallet.
Robert Leshner, co-founder and chief executive at Superstate, explains the company is an SEC-regulated transfer agent, making tokenised shares on Opening Bell the same as traditional equities. Therefore holders of the tokenised Forward stock have the same legal rights as traditional shareholders.
Currently only non-US shareholders can tokenise their Forward shares, but this may change if the US passes the Clarity Act (see Provision Tracker) for crypto market structure. “My hope and expectation is that all issuers will begin to see the benefits of tokenisation in 2026,” says Leshner.
Public equity meets DeFi
Tokens have use cases for investors outside the traditional world. For example, Forward’s tokenised shares can be posted as collateral on Kamino, a protocol on the Solana blockchain allowing eligible investors to borrow stablecoins. Navi says: “This is the first instance [. . .] of a regulated public equity being used as live collateral on-chain, so it is a big milestone.”
A shareholder remains the registered owner, even when they lend out the stock, and continues to receive dividends or participate in corporate actions. “This demonstrates how public equity can operate on continuous, programmable rails while retaining its existing legal forms — so that’s a big evolution,” Navi continues.
He believes secondary trading and liquidity will eventually be developed for tokenised shares.
“It’s like streaming versus DVDs. It took time, but better technology eventually wins.”
Forward remains open to using traditional capital markets and has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an at-the-market (ATM) equity offering of up to $4bn, which could be used to buy more Solana stock. In an investor presentation, Forward also revealed it may tap debt capital markets.
“I have a fiduciary duty as CIO to get the best possible terms, whether that is traditional or on-chain,” says Navi. “We’re looking at the full gamut, but over time I believe these worlds will converge.”
Cantor Fitzgerald was the lead placement agent of the private placement in public equity financing with Galaxy Investment Banking, a division of Galaxy Digital, as co-placement agent and financial adviser. Cantor Fitzgerald is also a sales agent for the ATM offering. Navi says he spoke with various banks to see which bank could drive the best terms on potential transactions.
Playing offence in a bear market
Scepticism has grown over DATs’ viability in recent months, following a fall in crypto asset prices that have largely wiped out the gains of the past 18 months.
In its 2026 first-quarter results, Forward reported revenue increased to $21.4mn from $4.6mn in the year ago period, primarily driven by staking revenue generated via its Solana treasury strategy. However in the same period, net loss jumped from $700,000 to $585.6mn due to changes in the estimated fair value of Solana.
While DATs aim to use strategies to outperform the underlying assets they hold, Navi acknowledges many have failed. He argues Forward is in a strong position as the largest Solana digital asset treasury as it is entirely funded by cash and stablecoins and has no debt at the corporate level. He says: “Some DATs may be forced into liquidation but we can play offence when others are playing defence.”
According to Navi, Forward has a playbook for when the crypto market is bullish or bearish and can draw on his previous six years at alternative asset manager KKR, where he focused on liquid and distressed credit situations.
Navi’s strategy is to drive accretion and shareholder value, and that could be achieved with near-term debt, or by becoming one of the net consolidators in this space. “The market doesn’t need 20 Solana or blockchain DATs,” he says.
