DeFi Development opens $300M CHAD ATM with 13% dividend

DeFi Development Corp. launched an at-the-market (ATM) program in a prospectus dated Sept. 11 to offer up to 30 million CHAD preferred shares. The shares carry a $10 stated amount, which multiplies to a $300 million stated aggregate amount.

CHAD is a variable-rate perpetual preferred security. Dividends initially accrue at 13% annually on the $10 stated amount, equal to $1.30 per share. Dividends are cumulative, but cash payment requires board declaration and legally available funds.

If all 30 million shares were outstanding at the initial rate for a full year, they would accrue about $39 million in dividends. Actual dividend obligations will vary with the number of shares sold, timing of sales and any future rate changes. The board will set the regular rate at least monthly; any single monthly reduction is limited to 50 basis points and is conditioned by timing, prior-dividend obligations and market-price considerations.

The prospectus imposes no minimum offering amount and does not obligate DeFi Development or sales agent R.F. Lafferty to sell any specific number of shares. The agent may receive up to 0.75% of gross proceeds and the company will pay specified offering expenses. Cash proceeds will depend on actual issuance volume and market prices.

The prospectus permits the company to use a portion of net proceeds to acquire SOL tokens. Working capital and other strategic initiatives are also listed as permitted uses. The company did not set a fixed allocation to token purchases.

As of Sept. 11, DeFi Development reported holding 2,388,923 SOL and SOL equivalents, up 55,491 tokens from its Aug. 27 report. The company attributed the increase to purchases and organic treasury growth without separating the two sources. A separate CHAD offering that closed Sept. 8 at $8 per share generated about $11 million in gross proceeds.

The ATM provides an optional preferred-share financing channel alongside existing common-share financing. The program’s eventual economics will depend on how many shares are sold, the prices achieved, future dividend rates and management’s allocation of any net proceeds.