Who is Solana's Tom Lee?
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Who is Solana's Tom Lee?
Famous reality show judge, renowned hedge fund founder, a major figure in the American crypto scene, founder of one of the most profitable funds in crypto, and a staunch Solana bull...
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: BUBBLE, BlockBeats
Tom Lee (Thomas Lee) has become Ethereum's newly recognized kingmaker, buying 1.5 million ETH within 50 days, transforming Ethereum from a doomsday vehicle into "the one we'll still be counting on in the next decade." Meanwhile, Solana, which loudly proclaimed last year to "take down Ethereum," has lost its earlier momentum. Amid this crypto-stock wave, the community has realized: "Solana needs its own Tom Lee."
SOL/ETH exchange rate continues to decline
So who is Solana's Tom Lee?
Dao Research BlockBeats revealed six candidates from the community—each highly qualified—even early SOL bull Raoul Pal didn't make the list.
Ultimately, our top choice is Anthony Scaramucci.
This Wall Street stalwart and unwavering Solana Maxi holds absolute influence in both crypto and Wall Street circles. More importantly, he displays unmistakable passion for Solana.
Below we explore why Anthony Scaramucci stands out among names like Kyle Samani (founder of Multicoin) and Chamath Palihapitiya (top Silicon Valley investor).
Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony Scaramucci is arguably one of Wall Street’s most steadfast Solana Maxis. A former Goldman Sachs investment banker, he founded hedge fund SkyBridge Capital in 2005 and gained fame for his brief 11-day tenure as White House Communications Director. By hosting the annual SALT Summit, he has gathered Wall Street leaders and built deep financial industry connections. As an experienced fund manager, Scaramucci boldly embraces emerging assets, often making contrarian investments during market downturns, establishing himself as a visionary figure in finance. In recent years, he has actively entered the crypto space, allocating part of SkyBridge’s capital to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and personally advocating for the industry, boosting his profile within the crypto community. Beyond connections, he also runs a YouTube channel with over 170,000 subscribers, giving him substantial reach and influence.
Compared to other “candidates,” Scaramucci shows greater conviction in Solana. At the Solana Breakpoint conference in September 2024, he stated: "I hope tokenization of financial assets happens on Solana because I hold a large amount of Solana, and I believe it will eventually happen." He openly disclosed his Solana holdings and predicted Solana would lead the global tokenization wave in financial markets. Earlier in May 2024, Scaramucci tweeted that "we’re going to get a Solana ETF." He firmly believes that after Bitcoin and Ethereum, Solana could be the next cryptocurrency to receive U.S. ETF approval—a prediction fulfilled on July 2, 2025.
At the DigiAssets Summit in June 2025, he revived the slogan "SOL Will Flip ETH," emphasizing this wasn’t a rejection of Ethereum but rather reflecting his deeper understanding of Solana’s narrative. While many crypto-stock firms and traditional institutions are aggressively embracing Ethereum, he maintains his view that Solana is the true Ethereum killer, demonstrating strong confidence in Solana’s future.
Scaramucci has repeatedly emphasized his Solana holdings in public. As of early 2025, SkyBridge held nine-figure dollar amounts of Bitcoin and Solana on its corporate balance sheet and established around $300 million in crypto portfolio funds for clients, including Avalanche, Polkadot, and others. Although the exact allocation per token wasn’t specified, he confirmed Solana is a major component.
As the saying goes, "where you stand depends on where you sit." He even wrote a book titled Solana Rising, scheduled for release in the second half of this year, targeting traditional finance newcomers learning to allocate crypto assets. The book includes discussions with large-scale Solana investors and players, along with guidance on Solana basics and its role in crypto portfolios.
Scaramucci’s overall stance on Solana can be summarized as "extremely bullish, long-term positioning." Outgoing and talkative, he excels at packaging grand narratives and frequently uses blunt, exaggerated language to express optimistic forecasts. His style is sometimes seen as degenerate or market hype, but precisely because of this, he successfully grabs attention and generates buzz.
Scaramucci combines Wall Street credibility with crypto enthusiasm, capable of articulating Solana’s value proposition in terms mainstream investors understand. He discusses how tokenization reduces financial costs and how Solana solves trust overhead, translating technical advantages into investment logic. Overall, he is one of the few individuals wielding influence in both traditional finance and crypto circles. With this cross-sector impact and unreserved passion for Solana, Scaramucci is increasingly viewed as one of Solana ecosystem’s key spokespersons.
Michael Edward Novogratz
Michael Edward Novogratz is a former Goldman Sachs macro trader, partner at Fortress Investment Group, and founder & CEO of Galaxy Digital. He is considered one of Wall Street’s earliest and most influential crypto adopters. His career spans traditional hedge funds and digital asset investing, known for bold bets on emerging markets and high-volatility assets.
Since 2013, Novogratz has actively invested in core assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, serving as a bridge between crypto and institutional capital across multiple cycles—including playing a significant off-market role in the recent wave of corporate Ethereum DAT adoption. As a macro investor, Novogratz views Solana similarly to Raoul Pal, focusing on broader trends like "macro liquidity" and "institutional adoption." He believes the next phase of crypto growth centers on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and Solana’s architecture—high TPS, low latency, stable fees—meets institutions’ stringent demands for speed and cost efficiency.
Novogratz possesses deep Wall Street connections and extensive media exposure. Galaxy Digital is one of the few crypto financial firms publicly listed in both the U.S. and Canada, amplifying the signaling power of his statements. He frequently promotes crypto concepts in clear, straightforward language on traditional media outlets like CNBC and Bloomberg. His style blends old-school Wall Street gravitas with crypto pioneer boldness, combining personal investment views with Galaxy’s market data to deliver persuasive, strategically guided commentary. In promoting Solana, Novogratz’s strength lies in selling Solana to traditional finance using institutional language—an advantage complementary to Scaramucci’s capital network and Samani’s native crypto evangelism.
Novo’s Luna tattoo before Luna collapsed; BTC tattooed on the other arm
However, whether Novo will seriously advocate for Solana depends on whether the incentives justify it. Novo has already benefited significantly from Solana through various channels. In September 2023, FTX Estate appointed Galaxy Digital to manage the sale, hedging, and staking of FTX’s $3.4 billion in crypto assets at bankruptcy filing, a large portion of which was SOL (FTX acquired approximately 60 million SOL tokens between August 2020 and May 2021). The SOL sales were split into multiple auctions. In March 2024, the first auction sold 25–30 million locked Solana tokens at $64 each—60% below market price. Galaxy Trading set up a special purpose fund to acquire these tokens, raising about $620 million. The second auction sold 1.8 million SOL tokens at prices ranging from $95 to $110, with discounts between 15% and 26%. Galaxy participated in both auctions, effectively acting as both referee and player, sparking community debate.
Investors paid Galaxy a 1% management fee, with returns generated via staking—generating millions in profit from a single deal. But that pales in comparison: Galaxy Digital’s Q1 2024 earnings report revealed a $104.1 million investment in its Crypto Vol fund, including Solana acquired from FTX assets. This suggests Galaxy may have invested tens of millions of dollars directly, and if priced at $64, the position has more than tripled in value since. According to Arkm data, Galaxy Digital’s main wallet currently holds $3.3 million worth of SOL, while chain analysis shows total holdings of 151,196 SOL valued at $25 million. Combined with millions of dollars’ worth of SOL transferred to centralized exchanges whose destinations remain unclear, plus other holding addresses, the actual total likely far exceeds these figures.
Beyond direct holdings, Galaxy was among the first institutions involved in Solana ETFs. As early as April, Galaxy partnered with CIGlobalAsset to launch the CI Galaxy Solana ETF (SOLX) on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In June, they teamed up with Invesco to file an application with the SEC for a U.S.-listed ETF. On August 14, the SEC acknowledged receipt of Invesco Galaxy’s spot Solana ETF application.
Although Galaxy Digital still earns most of its revenue from OTC trading of ETH and BTC, and Novo currently speaks more publicly about Ethereum and BTC, Galaxy’s Solana holdings are astonishing, and their recent moves have been frequent. Given both motive and influence, if Novo were willing to passionately promote Solana like Tom Lee does for Ethereum, his impact on Wall Street could rival anyone on this list.
Kyle Samani
Mike Dudas, co-founder of The Block, cast his vote for Kyle Samani. Kyle Samani is co-founder and managing partner of next-generation crypto venture firm Multicoin Capital. As a millennial entrepreneur (formerly an engineer), Samani quickly rose to prominence in crypto investing due to his profound insights into blockchain technology trends.
In terms of closeness to Solana, Samani is undoubtedly the biggest bull among the candidates. His firm Multicoin Capital began investing in Solana during its seed round in 2018 and added $20 million in Series A funding in 2019. At its peak in 2021, Kyle Samani disclosed on X that they held a "10-figure dollar amount" (at least $1 billion) of SOL across multiple funds—possibly representing 8–12% of Solana’s circulating supply. While others doubted Solana’s feasibility, Samani made early bets that delivered extraordinary returns. This successful investment catapulted Samani to fame and helped Multicoin grow into a top-tier crypto fund. Though not from traditional Wall Street, Samani has built influence in the new financial world through investment performance.
Solana founder Toly discussing Solana development with Samani, source: Lightspeed
As an early Solana investor, Samani has almost become a de facto spokesperson for the project. Multicoin hasn’t just backed Solana—they’ve also invested in a series of Solana ecosystem projects, including Jito, Drift, Solscan, Dialect, Helium, and more. In a June 2025 interview with Coinage, he said: "People used to think Ethereum was untouchable, but Solana is now on an inevitable path to disrupt it." He criticized Ethereum’s team for "missing opportunities, failing to scale, causing fees to skyrocket and user experience to deteriorate," forcing users elsewhere—and he believes Solana seized that opportunity to become the biggest beneficiary.
In numerous conferences in recent years, Samani has painted a grand vision for Solana. He believes Solana can host an internet-scale capital market (ICM), enabling on-chain trading of stocks, bills, and other real assets. He stated: "If global assets gradually move on-chain, crypto market cap could grow from $3 trillion to $50 trillion in the next decade," and Solana has the potential to play a pivotal role in this transformation. Thus, unfazed by short-term volatility, he remains heavily overweight on SOL, giving Multicoin’s investment approach a distinctly "degen" perception.
Samani is rational yet passionate, relying on data and facts while showing unabashed optimism toward projects he believes in—similar in spirit to Tom Lee. However, Samani primarily operates within crypto investment circles and developer communities, sharing views through blogs, podcasts, and industry summits. Lacking Wall Street background, limited traditional media exposure, and no crossover celebrity status, Samani’s influence in mainstream or traditional finance remains limited. Nevertheless, his passion and commitment make him one of Solana’s most important cheerleaders and thought leaders.
Chamath Palihapitiya
Jon Charbonneau, co-founder of DBR Crypto, proposed a controversial figure: Chamath Palihapitiya, claiming "once you see it you can't unsee it," and suggesting that if Palihapitiya endorsed Solana, its price could easily surpass $1,000.
Chamath Palihapitiya is a well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalist and entrepreneur. After rising to wealth as an executive at Facebook, he founded Social Capital, gaining fame through savvy investments such as early Bitcoin bets and launching multiple SPACs. Dubbed the "SPAC King," he frequently dominated financial headlines. In both Wall Street and tech circles, Chamath is known for independent thinking and challenging conventions, regularly sharing market insights on his popular podcast *All-In*, influencing countless listeners. His financial network spans Silicon Valley and Wall Street, and his bold, innovative investment style has earned him a loyal following.
Yet Palihapitiya is not widely beloved by the crypto community. One reason for the controversy stems from Episode 50 of *All-In* in 2021, where he and co-host David Sacks jokingly discussed buying Solana tokens at a discount and considering cashing out—a clip that went viral and led some to accuse them of dumping on retail investors as VCs. In response, Chamath clarified this year that he did not dump Solana at high prices, calling accusations that he "dumped Solana on retail" baseless: "If I had, those buyers would be rich now" (implying Solana later surged).
All In Podcast Episode 50 – Discussing investment philosophy with David Sacks
The notion that Palihapitiya "sets up schemes to harvest韭菜" isn’t entirely unfounded. Since 2020, he has managed dozens of SPACs, including Virgin Galactic, Opendoor Technologies, Clover Health, and SoFi Technologies. Yet most investors in his SPAC ventures have struggled to profit—analysis shows that $100 invested across all his SPACs would now be down over 70%. After receiving overwhelmingly negative votes on X, he famously retorted in the comments: "No crying in the casino!!" Some community members speculate that with the rise of "crypto-stock companies," Palihapitiya may attempt to leverage his Wall Street connections to take a crypto-linked company public via SPAC, though this remains unproven.
On August 19, 2025, Chamath Palihapitiya finally unveiled plans to launch a SPAC named "AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM," aiming to raise $250 million. The investment focus extends beyond blockchain DeFi to include energy production, AI, and defense. The prospectus notes that DeFi will revolutionize financial products including international payments, smart contracts, and supply chain transparency, suggesting any crypto investments may lean toward real-world integrated use cases.
Palihapitiya’s investment philosophy has always been long-term and fundamentals-driven. In 2021, he revealed that Bitcoin constitutes a significant portion of his net worth, valuing its macro-hedging properties. Similarly, his view on layer-1 blockchains emphasizes network effects and utility. For Chamath to fully endorse Solana, it must prove it can overcome Ethereum’s moats in decentralization and security—a decision he may still be weighing.
With over a million social media followers and podcast listeners, *All-In* keeps Palihapitiya constantly in the spotlight. He excels at explaining complex financial topics in simple terms, blending humor with sharp insight, attracting a large base of young investors. His appeal lies in balancing boldness with rationality—willing to make bold predictions (like Bitcoin reaching $200k) yet candid when conditions turn unfavorable (e.g., "crypto is dead in America").
This duality gives his words both influence and controversy. He primarily shares views via podcast and X, rarely endorsing specific projects outright, instead commenting from an industry-wide perspective. While Palihapitiya’s fame in finance is unquestioned, when it comes to being a "Solana spokesperson," both his show and personal accounts have increasingly shifted away from crypto—now focusing more on AI. Therefore, not just for Solana but broadly, he is unlikely to become a vocal advocate for any single crypto asset besides BTC. Compared to being a front-facing evangelist, he prefers operating as a behind-the-scenes capital mover.
Kevin O'Leary
Kevin O'Leary is a Canadian businessman and investment celebrity, best known as a judge on the entrepreneurial reality show *Shark Tank*. He founded an educational software company, sold it successfully, and then leveraged TV fame to build broad influence, earning the nickname "Mr. Wonderful." As a television personality, O'Leary exerts influence through mainstream financial media (like CNBC), personal social platforms, and participation in industry events. Straightforward and pragmatic, he openly discusses risks and opportunities, admitting past investment mistakes and losses, which only makes him more cautious. This "blunt + experience-based rationality" style gives him credibility among retail investors. In crypto, O'Leary plays the role of a "rational bull"—supportive of innovation but avoiding blind speculation, prioritizing long-term value and regulatory compliance. This measured image lends his words credibility among traditional finance professionals.
O'Leary was initially skeptical of cryptocurrencies but has recently become an advocate, allocating about 11% of his personal portfolio to digital assets. In a July 2024 interview with CoinDesk, he mentioned holding multiple cryptos for diversification and noted, "Solana looks pretty strong right now." His overall view on Solana is cautiously optimistic, with emphasis on compliance. He repeatedly stresses that clear regulation is essential to attract mainstream capital. In his view, Bitcoin and Ethereum are "settled"—widely accepted by institutions—while newer chains like Solana can share in digital asset growth if they prove their value within a regulated framework.
This isn’t his first time bullish on Solana. His connection dates back to collaboration with SBF. In 2021, he became a paid spokesperson for FTX, earning around $15 million from equity, tokens in his FTX wallet, and tax compensation. He also personally invested about a million dollars in FTX equity. That period marked a golden "honeymoon phase" between him, the FTX ecosystem, and Solana.
Just one month before FTX collapsed in 2022, O'Leary attended a public Reddit r/CryptoCurrency AMA session. There, he told the community he believed Solana’s processing speed far surpassed Ethereum’s, opening possibilities for institutional adoption. After meeting the Solana team, he called them one of the smartest groups he’d encountered in his decades-long software career. He sees crypto as "productivity software," akin to investing in Microsoft or Google, judging each project by the strength of its technical team.
In hindsight, during the FTX collapse hearings, O'Leary was accused of "misleading investors" but refused to disparage SBF to save himself (despite losing millions personally). He stated more evidence was needed and pointed to the conflict between SBF and CZ over equity as the final trigger for the liquidity crisis. At the end of the hearing, he affirmed his belief in crypto’s future: "FTX’s failure won’t stop venture capital from chasing the next unicorn. If there’s a silver lining in this mess, it’s that the crypto industry will finally get the long-awaited regulation."
Afterward, despite Solana’s price crash, the team rebuilt and brought Solana back into the spotlight—suggesting O'Leary’s investment judgment was remarkably accurate. Yet his strategy focuses on risk diversification—holding multiple promising projects rather than betting on a single token. He openly admits his success comes from "winners covering losers," applying the same wide-net approach in crypto to increase odds. His support for Solana is framed as part of a diversified portfolio, not as dedicated evangelism.
But as the saying goes, "where you sit shapes what you say." With shifting policy winds and Solana’s progress, will O'Leary double down on Solana in his portfolio and thus spark a "cognitive storm" connecting Solana to traditional finance?
Joe McCann
Former JPMorgan trader Vivek Raman believes the ideal candidate is Joe McCann—and many agree.
Joe McCann is founder, CEO, and CIO of crypto hedge fund Asymmetric, backed by renowned institutions like Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Dixon, Circle, and founders of Solana and Multicoin. With over 24 years of experience in Wall Street and Silicon Valley, McCann previously served as Senior Director in Microsoft’s Cloud and AI division (focused on M&A and startups), led crypto systems trading at Passport Capital, founded NodeSource (a Node.js company), and advised multiple blockchain firms (including Zebec in Solana’s ecosystem). Active at global blockchain summits, he frequently promotes emerging technologies to mainstream audiences.
McCann is arguably the most committed Solana bull among the candidates. He openly calls himself a "die-hard fan" of Solana, stating he bought as much SOL as possible "in the $8–11 range" during the 2021–2022 market downturn. Like Kyle Samani, he believes Ethereum is suffering an "identity crisis," with its supercomputer role being overtaken by Solana—so his fund holds "zero ETH." McCann emphasizes Solana’s technical and cultural advantages, believing its high-throughput, low-cost architecture, early integration into mainstream culture, and growing regulatory alignment collectively justify strong optimism.
Joe McCann discussing traditional IPO issues and blockchain value discovery with Dragonfly co-founder Haseeb on Pumpfun ICO
To deepen his Solana bet, McCann has driven several real-world initiatives. In mid-2025, he proposed founding Accelerate, a Solana digital asset treasury company, planning to raise $1.5 billion via SPAC and serve as co-founder and CEO. However, the SPAC deal was terminated in August 2025. Previously, Asymmetric suffered severe performance losses due to heavy Solana exposure, losing nearly 80% in the first half of 2025. McCann offered LPs the option to exit or roll capital into a specific illiquid investment (i.e., the Solana treasury).
Despite setbacks, he continues expanding into the Solana ecosystem—early investments in BONK yielded substantial returns, and he backed infrastructure projects like Syndica, Light Protocol, and Ranger. Overall, McCann is one of the few individuals capable of influencing both traditional finance and crypto circles. With Wall Street credentials and professional analytical rigor, combined with bold advocacy for Solana, he stands as one of the ecosystem’s key representatives.
Who is Most Likely to Become Solana’s Leading Advocate?
In summary, in practical terms, Anthony Scaramucci is the most likely candidate to become Solana’s Tom Lee. He holds a substantial "SOL bag," consistently voices strong bullish sentiment, and possesses both Wall Street connections and media visibility. While Joe McCann’s passion and commitment to Solana are equally intense, his name recognition in Wall Street and among the general public still lags behind Scaramucci’s. Other candidates lack in holdings,热度, or public image to varying degrees: Novogratz holds significant Solana assets and Galaxy Digital is close to launching a Solana ETF, but platform neutrality may limit his advocacy, and he remains focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum; Kyle Samani is extremely bullish but lacks traditional financial background, remaining primarily a figure in new-age investing. Palihapitiya and O'Leary have influence but lack sustained action lines in championing Solana.
Looking ahead, who will ultimately carry the banner for Solana? It may not be just one person. Just as behind Tom Lee stands a cohort of Ethereum believers collectively pushing the entire ecosystem forward, Solana too will need multi-dimensional advocates. And the community force behind Solana’s comeback from rock bottom may be stronger than imagined.
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