Investment firms ARK Invest and Pulsar Group suffered heavy losses after backing Brera Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed company that pivoted from owning football clubs to hoarding cryptocurrency. The firm rebranded as Solmate and shifted its focus to the Solana blockchain, effectively abandoning its sports assets to operate as a crypto treasury.

This strategic shift followed a $300mn preferred equity investment that has since evaporated. Shares of the company crashed by more than 90 per cent as the trend of crypto treasury companies collapsed. This financial freefall coincided with internal turmoil, including lawsuits between insiders and a total share decline of 99 per cent since its IPO.

Victims of this pivot include Brera Ilch FC in Mongolia, which faced relegation after failing to secure its spot in the Premier League. Solmate officially ceased operations in Mongolia and Mozambique in October 2025, treating its football clubs as a legacy business. The company subsequently sold its interest in S.S. Juve Stabia S.r.l. in April 2026.

This collapse demonstrates the risk of diversifying into volatile digital assets at the expense of operational stability. By prioritizing the Solana token over its sports portfolio, the company liquidated its global footballing footprint to chase blockchain gains. The result was a near-total loss of shareholder value and the dissolution of its international clubs.