Forward Industries forms crypto advisory board to guide Solana treasury strategy

Nasdaq-listed Forward Industries (ticker FORD) has established a crypto advisory board of 25 members drawn from the Solana, DeFi, and traditional-finance sectors to help steer its Solana-centric corporate treasury.

The group includes Helium founder Amir Haleem, Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante, Drift Labs co-founder Cindy Leow, Superstate CEO Robert Leshner, and Gauntlet founder Tarun Chitra. Galaxy Digital executives Harry Austin and Michael Marcantonio also joined.

"Establishing a dedicated Crypto Advisory Board is an important milestone as Forward executes on its strategy to bring the value of the Solana ecosystem to investors," said Chairman Kyle Samani. "The caliber of leaders joining reflects growing conviction in Solana within global capital markets."

The move comes just weeks after Forward spent about $1.6 billion acquiring 6.8 million SOL and filed a $4 billion at-the-market equity offering to fund additional accumulation.

The Solana Foundation has played a key role in fueling th i s wave of Solana-based digital-asset treasuries, backing several listed firms with discounted SOL allocations , including Sharps Technology , Solana Company, and DeFi Development Corp. Forward's program, according to Bloomberg, was also endorsed by the foundation alongside its partners Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital.

Data from The Block's corporate treasury dashboard shows public companies now hold roughly 15.9 million SOL, up from near zero at the start of 2025, with Forward representing the single largest holder.