Forward Industries' Historical Crypto Move: Shares on the Blockchain

Solana (SOL) ecosystem's largest corporate treasury holders, Forward Industries, has taken a historic step by tokenizing its publicly traded shares directly on the blockchain for the first time. This development has attracted the attention of investors by creating a new bridge between decentralized finance and traditional markets.

Investors were excited to learn that the SEC registered FWDI shares can now be traded on the Solana blockchain. With this move, Forward Industries became the first public company to transition its shares to the blockchain. The tokenized shares stand out as the first example that can be used in DeFi applications.

In particular, Forward Industries is supported by major investors such as Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital. Initially, the company planned to use the ticker symbol FORD, but updated it to FWDI due to confusion with the Ford company. It has been reported that the company holds approximately 6.8 million Solana on its balance sheet, with a net asset value of about $832 million. This figure is even higher than the total of the other three major SOL treasury companies.

The tokenized FWDI shares can be used as collateral on the Opening Bell platform developed by Superstate. The shares, created with Solana’s SPL token standard, can be directly integrated into DeFi protocols on Solana. Forward Industries stated that these shares could be used as collateral on a lending protocol called Kamino, allowing investors to borrow stablecoins against FWDI. Share price data is provided through the Pyth oracle infrastructure.

The company describes this development as "the first example of regulated public shares being used as collateral in a live DeFi market." Kyle Samani, founder of Multicoin Capital, emphasizes that this structure creates a tangible bridge between traditional finance and programmable financial systems. It is noted that the tokenized shares are held by a transfer agency working for Superstate, and that all shareholder transactions, including voting rights, are tracked on-chain.

Forward Industries' historic move stands out as one of the most notable examples of increasing corporate experiments in the tokenized stock space. For investors, these developments may create fresh opportunities and new strategies.