Poker’s most famous stage hosts a different kind of tournament on August 4. Nine of crypto’s most influential creators will play the Solana Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Additionally, they will compete on the same Final Table stage the World Series of Poker reserves for its champions. No blockchain network has staged an event like this inside a live WSOP before. The tournament also arrives as the 2026 Main Event final table plays out on ESPN. Meanwhile, the Solana Foundation’s wider WSOP partnership has already moved more than $20 million in tournament buy-ins.
A Partnership That Has Already Moved $20 Million
Players have purchased more than $20 million in WSOP tournament tickets using Solana. That volume has accumulated since the integration went live on June 10. Notably, the figure reflects real player usage rather than projected demand. It also shows the adoption the partnership has generated in under two months. The Solana Foundation serves as Presenting Sponsor of the 2026 World Series of Poker and the 2026 WSOP Paradise.
MoonPay supplies the payment infrastructure through its Commerce division. Players fund entries with SOL, USDC, or USDT directly from a compatible wallet. Furthermore, the integration charges zero processing fees on every purchase. Solana’s average transaction cost sits below $0.001, which makes that fee structure practical at scale. This also marks the first time in WSOP history that players buy tournament entries directly with crypto.
The scale of the surrounding series puts the number in context. The 2026 Main Event alone drew 9,208 entries and built an $85.6 million prize pool. Additionally, the series reaches more than 130 countries and over 300 million homes through ESPN and international broadcasters.
“Crypto is a natural fit,” said Jim Walker, President of MoonPay Commerce. Walker said the integration delivers faster, borderless payments for players entering tournaments worldwide. Meanwhile, WSOP CEO Ty Stewart framed the technology fit in competitive terms. Stewart said Solana’s speed and efficiency mirror the fast-paced energy of WSOP tournaments. As a result, an international player can now fund a seat without wire delays or conversion costs.”Crypto is a natural fit,” said Jim Walker, President of MoonPay Commerce. Walker said the integration delivers faster, borderless payments for players entering tournaments worldwide. Meanwhile, WSOP CEO Ty Stewart framed the technology fit in competitive terms. Stewart said Solana’s speed and efficiency mirror the fast-paced energy of WSOP tournaments. As a result, an international player can now fund a seat without wire delays or conversion costs.
What the Solana Series of Poker Is
The Solana Series of Poker puts nine crypto creators head to head in a dedicated tournament. Importantly, the event runs on the WSOP Final Table stage itself. That set carries real weight in poker, since the sport’s defining moments happen there each year. Solana will livestream the tournament professionally across its own channels. Additionally, the WSOP will cross-promote the broadcast through its channels.
The format marks a first at this scale. Blockchain networks have sponsored poker events before. However, none has staged a branded creator tournament inside a live World Series of Poker on the Final Table stage. The nine competitors are the player ambassadors the Foundation referenced when it announced the partnership in June. PokerNews has since published full player profiles for each of them. Consequently, the roster now carries formal recognition inside poker’s own media ecosystem.
Meet the Nine Competitors
The field brings more than 12 million combined followers to the table, based on published figures. Additionally, the nine cover distinct corners of the crypto audience. Players appear alphabetically within each group below.
Meet the 9 players of the @WSOP: Solana Showdown@Banks, @IOV_OWL, @Bangerz, @MINHxDYNASTY, @CryptoWendyO, @rasmr_eth, @AshleyDCan, @gabrielhaines, @blknoiz06 pic.twitter.com/fw6Kx024Y5
— Solana (@solana) August 4, 2026
Traders and Market Analysts
Ansem (@blknoiz06) has built an audience above 800,000 on X. PokerNews describes him as the most trusted voice in internet capital markets. He studied computer science and worked as a software engineer before trading full time. He co-created and co-hosts Market Bubble, a technology podcast presented by Polymarket.
MINHxDYNASTY (@MINHxDYNASTY) reaches roughly 76,000 followers on X, where he has posted since 2020. PokerNews describes him as an artist and gib philosopher. He writes frequently about trading psychology and the discipline of taking profits. One widely shared post reads, “if you’re a good trader, take profit aggressively into real life.” Additionally, he maintains an active presence on Instagram and TikTok under the same handle.
Rasmr (@rasmr_eth) streams to an audience of more than 117,000. PokerNews describes him as a livestreamer and trader. He has worked in crypto since 2011 and trades publicly in front of his audience. His broadcasts run on both Twitch and Pump.fun, mixing live trading with blockchain discussion and gaming. Additionally, he launched his own streaming token, $rasmr, which has held a multi-million dollar market cap.
Media, Education, and Broadcast
AshleyDCan (@AshleyDCan) brings more than 190,000 followers and deep campaign experience. The Austin-based creator started her career as a fraud analyst before moving into crypto full time in 2021. Since then, she has worked alongside major industry leaders such as Trust Wallet, OpenSea, Magic Eden, Avalanche, Polkadot, Sui, and the Solana Foundation. She also produces Web3 shows including NFTMZ, Afternoon Tea, and High Reviews. Additionally, her charity NFT collection raised more than $50,000 for the American Cancer Society. Forbes, TMZ, CNBC, and Bloomberg have all featured her work.
Ryan Solomon (@IOV_OWL) competes under the alias King Solomon. He reaches more than 250,000 followers across X and YouTube. Solomon founded Genfinity, an institutional media company covering digital assets and financial infrastructure. Its coverage spans tokenization, AI, payments, and the builder economy. Additionally, he has conducted more than 1,000 executive interviews with industry leaders since 2021. He is a United States military veteran and a former project manager. His interviews publish through the Genfinity YouTube channel and his own King Solomon channel. Readers can also follow Genfinity on X at @Genfinity.
Wendy O (@CryptoWendyO) reaches 1.3 million followers worldwide. She worked in healthcare with infectious disease patients before entering crypto in 2017. That same year she founded The O Show, which she grew into a long-running educational channel. Outlets including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, ABC, and Time regularly feature her analysis. Her daily market analysis reaches audiences across YouTube, X, and TikTok.
Builders, Creators, and Entertainment
Bangerz (@bangerz) works as a content creator, founder, and builder on Solana. She began in onchain art and tokenized her own digital work. Additionally, she launched 3.land, an NFT launchpad for creators. She now develops Gib Meme, a Solana trading card game where NFTs work as playable cards. That game lives in the Solana Mobile App Store and has sold more than 70,000 cards. Her music videos, including “Crypto Girl” and “Me, My Quant & I,” found wide audiences across crypto.
Banks (@Banks) reaches more than 10 million people across platforms. PokerNews describes him as the King of Attention. He co-founded FaZe Clan and helped build it into a leading esports and entertainment organization. In 2014, he created the group’s first content house, which merged lifestyle content with gaming. Additionally, he co-created and co-hosts Market Bubble, the prediction markets series presented by Polymarket. The show streams live on Twitch and covers markets, technology, sports, and culture.
Gabriel Haines (@gabrielhaines) reaches roughly 62,000 followers on X, where he has posted since 2015. He works as a crypto creator and television producer, and he runs the production company 1000x. Additionally, he produced The Max Extractor, a dark comedy pilot set in the world of cryptocurrency. He raised $150,000 to fund the first episode, drawing on influences like Breaking Bad and The Sopranos.
Taken together, the roster spans traders, educators, builders, and entertainers. Consequently, a single broadcast reaches audiences that rarely overlap.
Trained by a World Champion
Jamie Gold will lead a private training session before play begins. Gold won the 2006 WSOP Main Event and collected $12 million for it. That payday still ranks as the second largest in WSOP history. Additionally, 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of his championship run. He remains an active competitor rather than a retired name on a poster. Gold made a deep run at this year’s Event #59, the $500 Salute to Warriors. The session gives the nine players direct access to a champion’s strategy and table reads. Gold built his reputation partly on table talk and reading opponents under pressure. As a result, the field receives preparation that most amateur players never get.
Before they play, they learn from the best.
— Solana (@solana) August 4, 2026
2006 @WSOP Main Event champion @RealJamieGold puts the Solana Showdown lineup through training.
The game is live on @Solana today, 12pm PST. pic.twitter.com/yAvXZov7Do
A Seat Waiting in the Bahamas
The Solana Series of Poker champion earns an automatic seat at WSOP Paradise in December. That prize connects the August tournament directly to the partnership’s next phase. Winners at WSOP Paradise can choose to receive their payouts in stablecoins on Solana. Traditionally, international tournament settlements require multi-day wire transfers and currency conversion. Stablecoin settlement removes both frictions and delivers near instant access to winnings. Consequently, the Solana Series champion steps straight into the first live test of onchain prize payouts. For international players especially, that change carries real practical value. The December event therefore becomes the proving ground for the settlement side of the integration.
Why This One Matters
The August 4 tournament arrives at a well-chosen moment. The 2026 Main Event final table plays live on ESPN from August 3 through August 5. Meanwhile, attention on the WSOP brand peaks across search, social, and broadcast. Solana’s tournament lands inside that window with its own professional livestream.
The partnership now runs on two tracks at once. First, the $20 million in buy-ins shows the payments layer working at real volume. Second, the roster puts crypto’s largest voices on poker’s most recognizable stage. Additionally, December’s stablecoin payouts will extend the integration from entry all the way to settlement. For now, nine creators get a shot at a Bahamas seat and a Final Table spotlight.
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