Sol Strategies ( CYFRF ) , a crypto investment firm led by Leah Wald, the former boss and co-founder of Valkyrie Investments, bought four validators for nearly $18 million in cash and shares.

The Toronto-based firm, formerly known as Cypherpunk Holdings, will buy the validators from Cogent Crypto, a high-performance validator operating within the Solana ecosystem, according to a statement on Thursday. The total value of the investment is nearly $18 million, broken into three tranches: $1 million cash and about $1 million in company shares at the closing of the deal, and the rest distributed over three years in shares, Sol Strategies ( CYFRF ) said.

The firm will buy validators of Solana {{SOL}}, Sui {{SUI}}, Monad {{MONAD}} and ARCH {{ARCH}} networks from Cogent Crypto, with most dollars focused on SOL. Validators are entities that process transactions and help maintain the security of proof-of-stake blockchains, such as Solana and Ethereum, by staking or pledging certain amounts of the network's cryptocurrencies. Essentially, validators work like miners on a proof-of-work blockchain, such as Bitcoin.

Sol Strategies ( CYFRF ) has been actively investing in the digital assets sector for several years and has various investments, including Animoca Brands. The company shifted its strategy from just investing in digital assets to Solana after hiring Leah Wald to provide investors with exposure to indirectly participate in staking rewards and Solana-based projects. The company recently said it holds about 130 million SOL, worth C$32.2 million ($22.9 million).

Read more: Ex-Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald to Take Reins of Crypto Investment Firm Cypherpunk

The Solana network, which hosts numerous meme coins, has recently started to catch institutional investors' interest. The layer 1 blockchain saw many giant financial institutions, such as Franklin Templeton, Citibank and Société Générale, announce new Solana-based projects last September during Breakpoint, the network’s biggest yearly conference.

"This acquisition will meaningfully expand Sol Strategies' ( CYFRF ) staking capabilities, which underpins Solana’s reputation as a next generation blockchain for institutional and decentralized applications alike," said Leah Wald, CEO of Sol Strategies ( CYFRF ).

The shares of the investment firm rose more than 900% this year, while Solana rose 113%, according to TradingView data.

Read more: ‘It’s So Early’: How Solana Is Competing With Ethereum for Institutional Interest