Poker fans couldn’t go anywhere without seeing the Solana branding at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), and it was for good reason.
The public blockchain platform went all-in this summer working alongside the WSOP to ensure smooth payment processing for the thousands of players who attended the series in Las Vegas. How much of an impact did Solana have on the series? Hear it straight from the company’s Chief Product Officer (CPO), Vibhu Nordy (“vibhu”), on the PokerNews Podcast.
“I don’t know if you saw, but we processed $23 million of Solana-based payments into the World Series this year,” vibhu told co-hosts Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz.
The eight-figure number is even bigger when you consider Solana use accounted for approximately 6% of all 2026 WSOP buy-ins, and more than twice the payout Lucas Jumalon received for winning the Main Event.
“This is the first time we’ve ever done this,” Nordy said. “We’ve never sponsored anything. We actually don’t even believe in it. The only reason we did this is that we felt there was actually product and things we could do with the industry to make it better. It felt like more than just slapping our logo on something.”
Nordy isn’t just a blockchain enthusiast and an investor. He’s a poker fan himself and used the WSOP sponsorship deal to bring Solana’s services to the WSOP and to promote poker to wealthy crypto investors.
During the 2026 WSOP Main Event final table at Horseshoe Las Vegas, in association with 2006 World Champ Jamie Gold, PokerNews live reported the first-ever $100,000 WSOP Solana Showdown freeroll, a nine-player sit-n-go tournament featuring some high-profile personalities in the crypto space.
When all was said and done, crypto trader Rasmr defeated MinhxDynasty to win the $50,000 first-place prize, while the runner-up collected $25,000. The recreational players all received coaching from Gold, who famously won $12 million in poker’s biggest annual event 20 years ago.
Vibhu will have an opportunity to prove his poker skills on Saturday in Austin, Texas when he competes on Poker at The Lodge, the popular cash game livestream show at The Lodge Card Club, a prominent poker club co-owned by Doug Polk, Brad Owen, and Andrew Neeme.
The Solana executive, on X, wrote that his upcoming appearance at The Lodge is “good news for people that enjoy watching me lose money.” Perhaps, he’s using his bluffing skills to convince his opponents in the game that he’s just a fish. Stay tuned on Saturday to find out.
