Solana's Kamino Protocol Taps Yieldstreet Co-Founder Michael Weisz as New CEO

Key Highlights

Table of Contents

Michael Weisz, co-founder of Yieldstreet, takes the helm at Kamino, a Solana lending platform managing $1.4 billion in assets
The protocol plans to establish New York headquarters and recruit senior executives including CFO and legal counsel to pursue institutional business
Kamino’s tokenized real-world asset initiative has attracted over $600 million in deposits within its first quarter through the PRIME market
While Solana’s tokenized asset ecosystem exceeds $4 billion, actual borrowing activity remains minimal with RWA debt under $3 million on Kamino
Solana implemented Transaction V1 upgrade, expanding maximum transaction capacity threefold to accommodate sophisticated institutional operations

Kamino, a prominent lending platform on the Solana blockchain, has selected Michael Weisz to serve as chief executive officer. This strategic appointment signals the protocol’s ambition to bridge decentralized finance with conventional financial institutions and asset management firms.

JUST IN: Michael Weisz joins Kamino as CEO to lead the company’s next phase of institutional expansion in the U.S.https://t.co/e1vMywMicm

— Kamino (@kamino) September 15, 2026

As co-founder of Yieldstreet—rebranded as Willow Wealth—Weisz oversaw the deployment of over $6 billion in capital alongside major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Carlyle, KKR, and Ares. His background in private market distribution and institutional investment brings significant expertise to the decentralized finance sector.

With $1.4 billion in managed assets and over $650 billion in total transaction volume across four years of operation, Kamino enables users to provide liquidity through crypto asset lending or access capital by borrowing against digital collateral.

New York Headquarters Targets Institutional Capital

Kamino’s expansion includes establishing operations in New York City, with plans to secure approximately 20,000 square feet of office space. The protocol intends to bring on board a chief financial officer and general counsel as part of its institutional growth strategy.

“Being in New York puts Kamino at the intersection of the asset managers, distribution platforms and institutional capital that will define the next phase of on-chain finance,” Weisz said.

The expanded team will incorporate specialists across finance, legal affairs, product development, regulatory compliance, and business development. This positioning aims to facilitate direct access to capital providers and institutional asset managers that represent Kamino’s target market.

The protocol is broadening its lending capabilities to include tokenized real-world assets—traditional financial instruments such as equities, fixed income, and investment funds represented on blockchain infrastructure. According to Citi projections, the tokenized securities sector could expand to $5.5 trillion by the end of the decade.

PRIME Product Attracts Deposits While Borrowing Activity Remains Limited

Kamino’s PRIME offering, developed in collaboration with Figure Technologies and Hastra, utilizes blockchain-based home equity loans from Figure as underlying collateral. The product accumulated over $600 million in deposits during approximately three months following its introduction.

Figure Technologies has originated more than $19 billion in blockchain-based loans and commands an estimated 70% market share in the RWA private credit space. This collaboration provides Kamino with direct exposure to actual borrower payment streams.

However, despite impressive deposit figures, actual credit utilization on Kamino’s platform remains notably low. Real-world assets represented 17.2% of the protocol’s lending supply in August, totaling approximately $426 million. Yet combined RWA and liquid staking token debt remained under $3 million.

PRIME experienced $13.6 million in net withdrawals during August, while a rival product named ONyc surpassed it as the leading RWA asset by total supplied value.

The broader Solana RWA ecosystem reflects similar patterns. While the network hosts more than $4 billion in tokenized assets distributed across over 350,000 wallets, the median RWA transaction on Solana measured just $29, compared to $70 on other platforms.

Both Nasdaq-listed Forward Industries and digital asset investment firm Galaxy leverage Kamino’s platform infrastructure for tokenized equity holdings and U.S. Treasury positions.

Coinciding with Weisz’s appointment announcement, Solana deployed its Transaction V1 upgrade to the main network. This enhancement increases maximum transaction size from 1,232 bytes to 4,096 bytes, providing greater capacity for complex institutional transaction structures within single operations.

Galaxy Research observed that “capability now runs ahead of adoption” and indicated the latter half of 2026 will determine whether this disparity narrows.

Weisz faces the critical challenge of converting tokenized asset deposits into meaningful borrowing activity, which represents the protocol’s most significant obstacle to sustained growth.

✨ Limited Time Offer