Kamino Names Michael Weisz CEO for US and Institutional Expansion

Kamino, a lending protocol built on Solana, named Michael Weisz as its chief executive on Sept. 15 to lead institutional growth and expansion into the U.S. market. According to DefiLlama data cited by Kamino, the protocol holds roughly $1.35 billion in total value locked and has just over $1.02 billion in active loans.

By AI NewsroomPublished about 8 hours agoUpdated about 8 hours ago0 views

Kamino Names Michael Weisz CEO for US and Institutional Expansion

Why It Matters

The hire places an experienced fintech executive at the head of a protocol that already controls more than $1 billion in active lending, signaling a push to broaden institutional access and distribution for on-chain credit markets. Kamino's move comes as tokenized assets and lending infrastructure attract more institutional attention on Solana.

Key Facts

appointment date: Sept. 15
new CEO: Michael Weisz
mandate: lead institutional growth and U.S. expansion
total value locked (TVL): $1.352 billion (DefiLlama)
active loans: $1.022 billion (DefiLlama)

Kamino announced on Sept. 15 that Michael Weisz will serve as chief executive, with a remit to drive the Solana-based lending protocol’s institutional development and entry into the U.S. market. The company framed the hire as the start of a new growth phase for the project.

Data from DefiLlama cited by Kamino indicates the protocol has roughly $1.352 billion in total value locked and approximately $1.022 billion in active loans. DefiLlama ranks Kamino Lend seventh among tracked lending protocols, attributing 2.7% of the category’s $50.438 billion TVL to the protocol; the provider also reports a 29.9% TVL increase over the prior 30 days and notes Kamino operates 150 yield pools.

In an accompanying thesis letter, Weisz argued that while asset tokenization has been successful, on-chain financial services now need liquidity, credit, distribution and infrastructure to realize their potential—areas he said Kamino has been building for four years. Kamino described his role as leading the protocol’s next chapter focused on institutional adoption and U.S. expansion.

Kamino’s documentation outlines product primitives including Earn, Borrow, Multiply and Swap, and highlights curator tooling that lets professional risk managers create custom lending strategies, launch isolated lending markets with bespoke risk parameters, and route depositor assets across reserves. The protocol is described by DefiLlama as a peer-to-pool borrowing system operating on Solana.

The company did not state whether Weisz is replacing a sitting CEO; a person named Marius continues to publicly identify as a Kamino cofounder. Kamino’s announcement framed the appointment around scaling the protocol’s institutional reach rather than changes to its public leadership structure.