The Solana Foundation has entered a partnership with the World Series of Poker, bringing crypto payments into the 2026 WSOP in Las Vegas and WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas. Under the announced arrangement, Solana becomes the official presenting sponsor of both events, and the partnership starts with two practical uses: tournament entry payments and prize settlements.
SOL buy-ins are already live at Las Vegas venues
At Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas, players can now pay tournament entry fees in SOL through MoonPay. The rollout includes zero processing fees for those payments. MoonPay handles the payment flow on the back end, which keeps the process familiar for players while the crypto rails operate behind the scenes.
The appeal is straightforward. International players have long dealt with wire delays and foreign exchange costs, especially at major global events. Stablecoin and crypto-based settlement offer a faster cross-border option, and this partnership starts by replacing one of the most cumbersome pieces of the tournament experience: getting money in.
Stablecoin prize settlements are planned for December
The second phase comes later. According to the announcement, winners at WSOP Paradise in December 2026 will be able to choose stablecoin settlements on Solana’s network for their prize money. That expands the use case beyond registration and pushes crypto into the payout side of live tournament operations.
That distinction matters. Paying an entry fee is one thing; receiving winnings through on-chain settlement is another. If both ends of the transaction work smoothly in a live event setting, the partnership will offer a clearer test of whether blockchain-based payments can function inside mainstream tournament infrastructure.
Why Solana is targeting poker
Johnny Norby, chief product officer at the Solana Foundation, linked trading and poker in the project’s public remarks, saying both involve decisions under incomplete information and careful bankroll management. He also pointed to Solana’s scale, saying the network has processed more than $4 trillion in trading volume, and framed poker as a natural extension of that broader financial ecosystem.
The partnership is not limited to payments. Solana’s published plans also include sponsored player ambassadors during the 2026 summer series, hospitality events in Las Vegas and the Bahamas, and future on-chain poker products developed together with the tournament brand. MoonPay Commerce president Jim Walker described crypto poker payments as a direct response to demand from international players.
Adoption at live events will be the key measure
What has been announced so far moves Solana into a consumer-facing environment outside its usual DeFi and trading narrative. The next signal will come from usage, not branding: how many players choose SOL for buy-ins in Las Vegas, and how many winners opt for stablecoin settlement once the December rollout begins.
No adoption figures have been released yet. What is clear today is that Solana and WSOP have pushed crypto payments into a real tournament workflow, covering both entry and payouts rather than stopping at sponsorship visibility alone.