Solana Foundation Adds Binance, Polygon Veterans for Institutional Push
The Solana Foundation appointed former Binance global CMO Rachel Conlan as chief strategy officer and former Polygon Labs executive Jamal Raees as general manager of payments on Sept. 24. The appointments target institutional partnerships, ecosystem growth and payment adoption as financial activity expands on Solana.
Conlan spent three years at Binance and previously held senior roles at OKX, CAA Sports and Havas. Raees joins from Polygon Labs and previously worked at Bridge and Wyre. He will focus on payment companies and enterprises using Solana as financial infrastructure. CoinDesk reported that the hires come as Solana courts institutions moving payments and assets onchain.
The Foundation said Solana processed more than $5 trillion in stablecoin volume during 2026. Real-world assets have surpassed $4.5 billion, while tokenized equity supply has exceeded $620 million. These figures come from the Foundation.
Why it matters
The appointments put dedicated leadership behind Solana's institutional and payments expansion. Greater adoption could increase activity across the network and demand for SOL.
