Janover Raises $42 Million to Accelerate Acquisition of Digital Assets

Janover, a platform that connects the commercial real estate industry, said Monday (April 7) that it plans to accelerate its acquisition of digital assets after raising $42 million in an offering of convertible notes and warrants.

The company will start by acquiring digital assets in the Solana ecosystem through U.S. public markets, it said in a Monday press release.

Janover said in another Monday press release that majority ownership in the company has been acquired by a team of former leaders of crypto platform Kraken who are “dedicated to bridging the liquidity gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).”

Two members of the group that acquired Janover have been appointed by the board of directors to roles at the company: former Kraken Chief Strategy Officer Joseph Onorati is now chairman and CEO of Janover, and former Kraken Engineering Director Parker White is now chief investment officer and chief operating officer, according to the release.

In addition, former Kraken Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori will join the board of Janover, the release said.

Janover Founder Blake Janover and Director and Audit Committee Chair William Caragol will remain on the board, per the release.

The board has adopted a treasury policy in which the principal holding in its treasury reserve on the balance sheet will be allocated to digital assets, starting with Solana (SOL), and the company will consider acquiring Solana validators and acquiring and staking SOL through them, according to the release.

Janover will continue operating its core business — the platform that provides data and software subscriptions and value-add services to multifamily and commercial property professionals — and will continue its transition to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model, the release said.

The company plans to change its name to DeFi Development Corp., per the release.

“After building in the crypto industry for more than a decade, we are at a tipping point in mass DeFi adoption,” Onorati said in the release. “We’re proud to be the first to introduce a digital asset treasury strategy in the U.S. public markets initially focused on Solana.”

Corporate treasurers are increasingly evaluating crypto’s role in their financial ecosystem, PYMNTS reported in February. Companies such as MicroStrategy — which is now doing business as Strategy — and Block have added bitcoin to their balance sheets, while other firms across industries are exploring its potential as both an investment vehicle and a transactional asset.

Retail gaming destination GameStop said March 25 that its board voted unanimously to add bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.