Asset management company Pantera Capital has emerged as one of the successful bidders in an auction of discounted Solana (SOL) tokens held by liquidators overseeing the bankruptcy of former cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
The sale, which included approximately 2,000 SOL tokens, signifies Pantera Capital's continued interest in expanding its Solana portfolio.
FTX sells additional locked Solana tokens in private auction
The auction, the details of which have not been publicly disclosed, was confirmed to Bloomberg by a source familiar with the matter who requested anonymity. Neither Pantera Capital nor representatives of FTX's estate have commented on the recent sale.
This recent acquisition follows a deal earlier this month in which the FTX property sold a substantial portion of its $2.6 billion Solana token holdings at a discount rate.
According to knowledgeable people, Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital were among the successful participants in the auction.
The 41 million SOL tokens sold by FTX's estate are currently locked under a previously agreed vesting period, making them unavailable for immediate trading in the market. These tokens will be available for sale gradually over four years.
Sources familiar with the sale indicate that the tokens were sold at a higher price than the previous auctionwhich sold for approximately $60 per token.
Pantera Capital aims to launch Pantera Fund V
According to Bloomberg, Pantera Capital is actively seeking to launch a new fund to raise more than $1 billion. The fund, called “crypto-fund” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>Panther V Background”, aims to provide investors with greater investment options across the spectrum of blockchain assets, including seed capital, early-stage tokens, and liquid tokens.
If fundraising efforts prove successful, the Pantera V Fund would be the largest fund raised since the tumultuous period marked by bankruptcies in the blockchain sector in 2022.
The new fund is also designed with a minimum investment threshold of $1 million for qualified investors. The first closing is scheduled for April 1, 2025. As Bloomberg notes, limited partners are expected to contribute at least $25 million.
Sources familiar with the matter, who preferred to remain anonymous, have indicated that Pantera Fund V is expected to reach a similar size to its predecessor, which accumulated approximately $1.25 billion in capital two years ago.
Solana's native token, SOL, has shown minimal fluctuations compared to Thursday's trading and is currently valued at $144 per token at the time of writing. SOL has witnessed a significant rise of over 500% year-to-date, contributing to its market capitalization of $64 billion.
According to CoinGecko dataThis performance has propelled Solana to fifth place among the 10 largest cryptocurrencies on the market.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
