Nasdaq-listed SkyAI has transferred another 211,623 Solana (SOL) tokens, worth approximately $23.5 million, to Coinbase Prime as the company moves ahead with plans to use its cryptocurrency treasury to finance a major share repurchase.
The transaction occurred around 11:36 UTC on October 12, according to blockchain analyst EmberCN. The analyst estimates that approximately 1.25 million SOL, valued at roughly $138 million, has been sold or moved toward trading venues over the past five days.
SkyAI has separately confirmed selling approximately 1 million SOL, representing half of its previously reported holdings. However, the latest Coinbase Prime transfer does not independently establish that another 211,623 tokens have been sold.
The activity comes as SkyAI prepares a cash tender offer potentially worth $201 million, a transaction that could substantially reshape the company’s shareholder structure and remaining exposure to Solana.
SkyAI Confirms Selling Half Its Solana Treasury
SkyAI previously held approximately 2 million SOL as its principal digital treasury asset. In an official corporate announcement issued late on October 11, the company disclosed that it had recently sold roughly 1 million tokens and retained approximately 1 million SOL.
The company also acknowledged that additional sales could follow depending on market conditions.
EmberCN subsequently identified another 211,623 SOL moving into Coinbase Prime. At the estimated transaction-time valuation, the transfer was worth approximately $23.49 million, or roughly $111 per token.
The analyst’s broader estimate of 1.25 million SOL reflects reported disposals and exchange-related movements over five days. It should not be interpreted as a company-confirmed cumulative sales figure.
This distinction matters because Coinbase Prime provides institutional custody and trading services. A corporate treasury can move cryptocurrency into such infrastructure before selling it, but assets can also remain in custody or be transferred for other operational purposes.
A similar question emerged in October when US government-linked wallets transferred $103 million in Bitcoin and BNB, including a substantial Bitcoin deposit to Coinbase Prime, without confirmation that the assets had been liquidated.
For SkyAI, the confirmed 1 million SOL sale is significant on its own. Any further reduction must be established through subsequent disclosures or stronger transaction evidence rather than inferred solely from deposit addresses.
SkyAI’s $201 Million Tender Offer Could Repurchase 95% of Its Shares
SkyAI plans to offer $3 in cash for each eligible common share and specified warrant included in its proposed tender offer.
The company expects to purchase up to 46.37 million common shares, representing approximately 95% of its outstanding common stock, alongside up to 20.72 million warrants across several classes. The maximum aggregate consideration would be approximately $201 million.
The proposed price represents a 65% premium to SkyAI’s October 9 closing share price and more than twice its 60-day volume-weighted average price, according to the company.
SkyAI expects to begin the tender offer around October 15 and keep it open for approximately 10 business days unless extended or otherwise terminated.
Importantly, the transaction has not yet commenced, and its completion remains conditional.
At least 50% of each eligible security class must be validly tendered and not withdrawn. Another condition requires SOL’s closing price to remain above $100 throughout the offer period, although SkyAI has indicated that conditions may be waived.
The company expects to finance the purchases using existing cash and proceeds from selling its Solana holdings. It maintains that its combined cash and digital assets exceed the maximum proposed purchase price.
Following the transaction, SkyAI intends to continue developing its agentic AI financial platform, which combines artificial intelligence with stablecoin-based financial infrastructure.
Forward Industries’ Rejected Acquisition Proposal Adds Another Dimension
The treasury sales also follow a corporate dispute involving Forward Industries, another publicly traded company with substantial Solana exposure.
SkyAI’s board rejected Forward’s latest unsolicited acquisition proposal, which offered 0.306 Forward shares for each SkyAI share.
Forward had previously indicated that the exchange ratio implied approximately $2.13 per SkyAI share using September 14 market prices. However, because the proposal involved stock consideration, its dollar value would fluctuate with Forward’s share price.
SkyAI’s board concluded that the proposal undervalued the company and opted instead to pursue its own capital-return strategy.
The proposed tender offer therefore represents more than a routine treasury adjustment. It provides shareholders with a potential cash exit while allowing those who remain invested to retain exposure to SkyAI’s future business.
Bitcoin Whale Separately Shifts More Than $50 Million Into Ethereum
Meanwhile, another large cryptocurrency investor has continued rotating capital from Bitcoin into Ethereum, illustrating a different form of portfolio repositioning during the same trading session.
According to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, an unidentified whale sold another 229 BTC, valued at approximately $19.1 million, and purchased 7,469.8 ETH for a similar amount on October 12.
The latest transaction followed an earlier reported rotation involving 410.14 BTC worth approximately $34.16 million and purchases of 14,341 ETH valued at roughly $36.14 million.
Taken together, the two reported rounds involved approximately 639.14 BTC worth $53.26 million sold and 21,810.8 ETH worth $55.24 million acquired, using the respective transaction-time valuations.
Lookonchain identified Hyperliquid and decentralized exchanges among the venues involved in the trading activity.
The whale’s identity, overall portfolio exposure and investment rationale remain unknown. There is also no established connection between the whale’s transactions and SkyAI’s corporate treasury sales.
Why SkyAI’s Solana Sales Matter Beyond the Immediate Selling Pressure
SkyAI’s decision raises a fundamental question about the corporate cryptocurrency treasury model: what happens when management concludes that its digital assets are more valuable as a source of cash than as long-term balance-sheet holdings?
For much of the industry’s recent history, cryptocurrency treasury companies have promoted accumulation as a central part of their investment proposition. Holding more tokens was supposed to provide investors with enhanced exposure to appreciation in the underlying asset.
SkyAI is moving in the opposite direction, at least temporarily.
Instead of accumulating SOL, the company is converting a substantial portion of its holdings into liquidity intended to repurchase equity.
That is not necessarily negative capital allocation. If management believes its shares are materially undervalued relative to the company’s assets and future earning potential, retiring shares can theoretically increase the residual value attributable to continuing shareholders.
But the strategy involves a trade-off. Every SOL sold reduces the company’s direct participation in a potential Solana recovery. A successful buyback would leave a smaller shareholder base, but potentially also a much smaller digital treasury.
Comparable questions have emerged elsewhere in corporate cryptocurrency finance. When MARA-linked wallets moved $81 million in Bitcoin toward Galaxy Digital, the central issue was similarly whether a treasury movement represented genuine asset disposal or another institutional transaction.
SkyAI provides a clearer example because management has explicitly acknowledged significant completed sales and identified the intended use of proceeds.
The $100 SOL Threshold Creates a Direct Market Risk
The most revealing detail in SkyAI’s proposed tender offer may be the condition requiring SOL to remain above $100.
At the approximately $111 valuation implied by the latest Coinbase Prime transfer, that threshold sat around 10% below the token’s price.
For an asset as volatile as Solana, such a distance is hardly insurmountable.
A decline below the threshold could jeopardize the transaction under its announced terms unless the condition is waived. Additional sales during falling market prices could also reduce the amount of cash generated per remaining token.
There is a potential feedback loop here. If investors anticipate further treasury liquidation, they may become less willing to absorb supply at prevailing prices. Falling SOL prices could then complicate the very capital-return plan motivating the sales.
The interaction with leveraged traders is another consideration. Dave Finances previously examined a nearly $20 million leveraged Solana position whose reported liquidation threshold was close to $100 at the time it was identified.
That historical position should not be assumed to remain open, but it illustrates how concentrated leverage can make certain price levels particularly sensitive.
Nevertheless, a corporate transfer does not prove that equivalent spot-market selling pressure has materialized. Institutional desks can execute block transactions, arrange liquidity privately or hold assets pending later instructions.
The Bitcoin-to-Ethereum Rotation Tells a Different Market Story
The unidentified whale’s decision to exchange Bitcoin for Ether contrasts with SkyAI’s apparent need to convert cryptocurrency holdings into cash for corporate purposes.
One investor is changing exposure within the crypto market. The other is restructuring a public company’s balance sheet.
For Ethereum, the whale’s purchases represent identifiable demand, but interpreting them as a broad bullish signal would be premature. A single large wallet cannot establish that institutional capital generally prefers Ether over Bitcoin.
There are also substantial risks surrounding leveraged ETH positioning. Previous reporting on a $252 million Ethereum whale position approaching liquidation levels demonstrated how quickly large exposures can become vulnerable when market prices reverse.
The developments leave investors with two separate indicators worth monitoring: whether SkyAI confirms additional SOL sales as its tender offer approaches, and whether the Bitcoin-to-Ethereum whale continues acquiring Ether or reverses course.
Ultimately, the larger lesson is that cryptocurrency flows require context. A confirmed sale, an exchange deposit and a deliberate portfolio rotation can involve similar amounts of money while carrying very different implications for prices, liquidity and investor returns.
Johan Shamshad is a financial markets writer at Dave Finances covering cryptocurrencies, trading platforms, brokers, fintech, financial regulation, and developments across global markets. He previously worked at Gulf News, adding newsroom experience to his coverage of fast-moving financial and digital-asset markets.
His work focuses on identifying market-moving events, company developments, regulatory changes, product launches, and shifts in trading and financial infrastructure.
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