Solmate Infrastructure selects Kraken Institutional to support Solana staking while assets remain in qualified custody

Solmate Infrastructure (NASDAQ: SLMT) said on July 30 it selected Kraken Institutional to support its Solana validator operations under a commercial agreement that allows the company to earn SOL staking rewards while the assets remain in qualified custody throughout. The structure is aimed at a longstanding institutional hurdle in digital assets, where participating in native staking has often required moving tokens in ways that can conflict with qualified custody requirements. Under the arrangement, Kraken Institutional will provide both custody and validator infrastructure services for Solmate's SOL holdings, with qualified custody delivered in the United States through Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution supervised by the Wyoming Division of Banking. Solmate said the setup is intended to increase its participation in value generated by its Solana validator operations and support long-term recurring revenue. The partnership fits into Solmate's broader model of raising capital through at-the-market stock offerings, deploying that capital into bare-metal Solana validators, and acquiring SOL through discounted agreements with the Solana Foundation. The company says it is targeting a blended annual return of 11% or more for shareholders by combining staking yield from its SOL treasury with validator revenue. The announcement comes after leadership changes in June 2026, when the prior CEO left and several board members resigned; Ron Sade was later named CEO.