Why is Solana attracting Wall Street firms and payment companies?

Solana is gaining traction because it offers low transaction fees, fast settlement speeds and growing tokenised asset infrastructure. Financial firms are increasingly using Solana for stablecoin payments, tokenised funds and blockchain-based financial products.

How much did Solana’s real-world asset market grow?

According to Messari, Solana’s real-world asset market capitalisation rose 43% quarter-on-quarter to $2.01 billion in the first quarter. Growth was largely driven by tokenised funds and institutional blockchain integrations.

What is BlackRock’s BUIDL fund doing on Solana?

BlackRock’s tokenised money market fund BUIDL expanded to roughly $525.4 million on Solana. The fund uses blockchain infrastructure to represent traditional money market assets digitally onchain.

Why are payment giants like Visa and PayPal using Solana?

Payment companies are experimenting with Solana because the network supports near-instant settlement and relatively low fees. Firms including Visa and PayPal are exploring stablecoin payment infrastructure tied to Solana.

Is Solana moving beyond its memecoin reputation?

Yes. While Solana became popular during previous memecoin trading booms, institutional adoption is increasingly shifting the network toward tokenised finance, payments and enterprise blockchain applications.

What are tokenised assets and why do they matter for Solana?

Tokenised assets are blockchain-based representations of traditional financial products like stocks, ETFs or money market funds. Their growth on Solana could expand the network’s use cases beyond speculative crypto trading into mainstream finance.

What companies are building tokenised finance products on Solana?

Ondo Finance launched more than 200 tokenised stocks and ETFs on Solana, while Franklin Templeton partnered with Ondo for tokenised ETF products. Citigroup also tested tokenised trade finance on the network.

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Solana draws Wall Street tokenisation push

Written by Heidi Cuthbert Published May 19, 2026, 2:59 AM

Solana attracted increasing institutional finance and payments activity during the first quarter as Wall Street firms expanded tokenised asset and stablecoin infrastructure on the network despite weaker broader crypto markets.

Research firm Messari said Solana’s real-world asset market capitalisation rose 43% quarter-on-quarter to $2.01 billion, driven by growth in BlackRock’s tokenised money market fund BUIDL and rising payment integrations.

BUIDL, developed by BlackRock and Securitize, grew to $525.4 million on Solana after Anchorage Digital added custody support, with Anchorage holding roughly 81% of the fund’s Solana-based supply by the end of the quarter.

Institutional adoption also expanded through tokenised finance initiatives, with Ondo Finance launching more than 200 tokenised stocks and ETFs on Solana while Franklin Templeton partnered with Ondo to bring tokenised ETF products onchain.

Citigroup also completed a proof-of-concept for tokenised trade finance on Solana alongside PwC as traditional financial institutions accelerated blockchain settlement experiments.

Messari said payment firms including Visa, Stripe, Worldpay, Western Union and PayPal either integrated Solana for stablecoin settlement or launched Solana-native payment products over the past year.

The report added that Solana’s upcoming Alpenglow upgrade could reduce transaction finality times from roughly 12.8 seconds to around 150 milliseconds, strengthening the network’s positioning in payments, tokenised finance and AI-driven applications.

At the time of reporting, Solana price was $84.79.