Solana Foundation Hires Vets from Binance, Polygon to Boost Tokenized Finance Push

The Solana Foundation has made two key hires as it ramps up its push into institutional finance and tokenized assets. Rachel Conlan, a former Binance executive, joins the foundation as chief strategy officer. She will lead strategy across institutional partnerships, ecosystem growth, and efforts to bring more companies onto Solana.

Conlan spent three years at Binance, most recently as global chief marketing officer, before leaving in June. Jamal Raees, a veteran of Polygon Labs and Bridge (now part of Stripe), has been hired as general manager for payments. He will focus on getting payments companies and other businesses to use Solana for moving money.

The appointments come amid a push by Solana to position its network as infrastructure for more than just crypto trading. Stablecoin payments, tokenized funds, and equities are becoming increasingly important parts of this pitch, as financial institutions experiment with moving assets and settlement onto public blockchains.