WSOP Partners With Solana to Introduce Crypto Tournament Ticket Purchases

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the Solana Foundation, officially introducing cryptocurrency into the global live poker experience. 

Under this new agreement, the Solana Foundation will serve as the official Presenting Sponsor for both the 2026 World Series of Poker and the 2026 World Series of Poker Paradise.

The initiative launches today at the 57th annual summer event, hosted at Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas. For the first time in WSOP history, players can purchase tournament tickets directly with cryptocurrency. 

This payment method utilizes Solana's high-performance blockchain technology and is powered by MoonPay’s payment infrastructure, resulting in zero processing fees for players.

The cryptocurrency integration is scheduled to expand further this December during the 2026 WSOP Paradise in The Bahamas. At this winter event, tournament winners can receive their payouts as settlements in stablecoins on the Solana blockchain. 

This feature aims to provide near-instant access to payments and reduce the transactional friction traditionally tied to international tournament settlements.

As a high-performance blockchain, Solana is capable of processing thousands of transactions per second. Its ultra-low transaction costs feature average fees remaining below $0.001. By enabling ticket purchases via MoonPay and cashouts in stablecoins, the collaboration provides several distinct benefits to the poker ecosystem:

The collaboration bridges the digital asset space and live poker, connecting two communities with shared characteristics. Leaders from the participating organizations highlighted the alignment between the strategic thinking found in both cryptocurrency trading and poker.

"We are incredibly proud to bring such an innovative and passionate community into the fold," said Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of WSOP. "Solana’s ecosystem, like the WSOP, constantly challenges conventions and remains laser-focused on the consumer experience. Solana’s speed and efficiency mirror the fast-paced energy of our tournaments, and we are excited to showcase their technology to our global audience."

Vibhu Norby, Chief Product Officer of the Solana Foundation, noted that trading has been a massive growth sector for the digital economy, generating over $4 trillion in volume on Solana over the last few years. "At its core, trading shares many of the same characteristics as poker: hard decisions, incomplete information, minding your bankroll," Norby stated. "We’re incredibly excited to grow the game of poker with the WSOP and bring these two worlds together."

Jim Walker, President of MoonPay Commerce, added that poker players naturally adopt tools that provide an edge. "Crypto is a natural fit," Walker said. "By powering ticket purchases and settlements through MoonPay on Solana, we're meeting that demand directly: faster, borderless payments that make it simple for players anywhere to take their seat at the world's biggest tables."

Beyond financial infrastructure, the partnership extends into player representation and fan experiences. The Solana Foundation will sponsor a select group of individual poker player ambassadors to represent the ecosystem during the summer events in Las Vegas. 

Furthermore, the Solana ecosystem will host exclusive hospitality events at Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas, alongside a premier experience at WSOP Paradise in The Bahamas.

Future plans also include the development of collaborative onchain poker products created alongside the WSOP.

Fans can follow live tournament action through daily streams on the WSOP YouTube channel and on X via @Solana. In the United States, linear television coverage of the 2026 WSOP Main Event will return to ESPN starting July 2. 

Globally, the tournament will broadcast to more than 130 countries and over 300 million homes via ESPN networks, TSN, Disney+, Groupe M6, Abema Japan, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Eurosport.