Solana lender Kamino taps fintech veteran Michael Weisz as CEO for massive U.S. expansion
Reported by CoinDesk · AI-assisted summary by ChikoCorp AI News Desk
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Summary
Kamino, a Solana lending protocol managing $1.4 billion in assets, is establishing a New York headquarters and appointed Michael Weisz, co-founder of Yieldstreet, as CEO. The company plans to expand its lending services to include tokenized real-world assets, such as blockchain-based home equity loans, while forging closer ties with Wall Street firms. Kamino has processed over $650 billion in transactions over four years and attracted more than $600 million in deposits within 107 days in its PRIME lending market.
Why it matters
According to the source, Kamino's move to New York positions it at the center of institutional capital and asset management that could shape the next phase of on-chain finance. The expansion reflects growing Wall Street interest in tokenization as a way to facilitate faster settlement and innovative collateral use, signaling broader institutional engagement with DeFi through platforms like Kamino.
Key context
Kamino operates in the Solana ecosystem, providing lending services where users can lend or borrow against crypto assets. It is extending this capability to tokenized traditional assets, collaborating with Figure Technologies to use blockchain-based home equity loans as collateral. The source notes tokenization’s rise on Wall Street, with Citi projecting a $5.5 trillion market for tokenized securities by 2030.
Key numbers and entities
Kamino has $1.4 billion in assets and processed $650 billion in transactions over four years. Its PRIME lending market holds over $600 million in deposits within about three months of launching. Michael Weisz, formerly of Yieldstreet (now Willow Wealth), has been named CEO. Partners include Figure Technologies, Nasdaq-listed Forward Industries (FWDI), and Galaxy (GLXY).
What remains unclear
The source does not specify the timing for the New York office opening, hiring progress for CFO and legal head roles, or detailed plans for specific tokenized asset classes beyond home equity loans. It also lacks clarity on the expected impact of Kamino’s services on end users and how regulatory factors might affect the expansion.