SOL Strategies Secures Darklake Labs In $1.2M Deal, Expanding Blockchain Expertise And Research Capabilities

In Brief

SOL Strategies announces the acquisition of Darklake Labs for $1.2 million, with payment in cash and common shares, to enhance its focus on zero-knowledge technology within the Solana ecosystem.

SOL Strategies, a Canadian investment firm focused on the Solana ecosystem, has announced an agreement to acquire Darklake Labs, a Solana-native startup specializing in zero-knowledge technology, for $1.2 million. The deal will be primarily settled in common shares, with $200,000 in cash and the remainder in shares of SOL Strategies.

Darklake, which has developed a zero-knowledge proof system called Zyga for the Solana blockchain, enables private transactions and eliminates issues such as front-running and sandwich attacks. The startup has gained attention in the DeFi community, placing second in the DeFi track of the Solana Radar Global Hackathon. It was also accepted into the Colosseum Accelerator and has established academic partnerships with two universities in Brazil. Darklake is currently in the process of filing a patent for its technology.

Following the acquisition, the core team from Darklake will join SOL Strategies. Vitor Py Braga, the CEO and technical founder of Darklake, brings significant infrastructure engineering experience from his time at Meta and IBM. Amber Hales, co-founder and COO, has nearly a decade of compliance expertise from her roles at Coinbase and Coincover. Tiago Alves, Darklake’s Head of ZK Research and an academic professor, will lead the company’s expanded research and development efforts.

SOL Strategies Acquires Darklake Labs For $1.2M, Deal Includes Common Shares And Four-Month Lock-Up

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, and the common shares issued as part of the payment will be subject to a statutory four-month lock-up period. The purchase price of $1.2 million reflects both the innovative nature of Darklake’s technology and the strategic value it brings to SOL Strategies, which is focused on supporting the growth of the Solana ecosystem.

SOL Strategies, listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker HODL and NASDAQ as STKE, is dedicated to investing in blockchain innovations and providing infrastructure solutions to drive the next generation of decentralized applications on the Solana blockchain.