Ben Nadareski is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Solstice Labs, a decentralized finance (DeFi) company focused on the Solana ecosystem. His career spans traditional finance, enterprise blockchain development, and digital asset trading, with senior roles at firms including Galaxy Digital and SIX Digital Exchange.

Education

Nadareski attended Union College, where he earned a degree in Physics. During his time at the institution between 2013 and 2016, he also worked as a published nuclear physics researcher, focusing on high-energy particle physics. He has stated that he applies the "scientific rigour" from his physics background to his work in the cryptocurrency industry. ^{[1] [2]}

Career

Nadareski began his career in traditional finance, working on the Interest Rate and FX Derivatives trading desk at Société Générale from 2015 to 2016. He transitioned into the blockchain industry around 2017, taking a role as the Asia Lead for Corporate Strategy and Sales at the enterprise blockchain firm R3, where he worked to introduce decentralized technology to central banks and financial institutions across the region. Following this, he served as the Head of Global Business Development at DrumG Technologies, a Consensys-backed startup, from 2018 to 2020, where he focused on developing on-chain Over-the-Counter (OTC) data networks. ^{[1] [2]}

Between 2020 and 2021, Nadareski was the Director of Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Strategy at SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), the digital asset arm of Switzerland's primary stock exchange, where he was also a member of the investment board. He then joined Galaxy Digital as Vice President of Global Trading from 2021 to 2022. During his tenure at Galaxy Digital, he led and oversaw the first Bitcoin-settled derivative trade with Goldman Sachs as the counterparty. ^{[3] [1]}

In 2024, Nadareski became an Investment Director at Deus X Capital, a $1 billion digital asset investment and operating firm. In September 2024, Deus X Capital announced the launch of Solstice Labs, a new DeFi-focused enterprise, with Nadareski appointed as co-founder and CEO. The company was established to build institutional-grade DeFi products and protocols, with an initial focus on the Solana blockchain. Nadareski stated that the mission was to "introduce institutional-grade yield-opportunities and infrastructure into DeFi" for a broader range of investors. ^{[4] [5]}

Under Nadareski's leadership, Solstice Labs developed the Solstice Finance protocol. In April 2025, the company announced its plan to launch a yield-bearing synthetic stablecoin, USX, and an associated on-chain protocol called YieldVault, with a commitment of over $100 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) from Deus X Capital. ^[6] In September 2025, Nadareski announced strategic collaborations with Chainlink for oracle infrastructure, Ceffu for off-exchange settlement with Binance, and Copper for custody solutions. ^[7]

Solstice Finance officially launched its USX stablecoin and YieldVault program on the Solana mainnet on September 30, 2025, debuting with over $160 million in TVL. The YieldVault was based on a delta-neutral trading strategy that had been operated privately for three years prior to its public, permissionless launch. Within a day, USX trading volume surpassed $14 million. Approximately one week after the launch, Nadareski reported that the protocol's TVL had exceeded $200 million and that USX had become the fifth-largest stablecoin on Solana. ^{[8] [9]}

Academic and Lecturing Experience

From 2017 to 2022, Nadareski served as a visiting guest lecturer at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His lectures covered topics related to digital assets, cryptocurrency, DeFi, and capital markets. ^{[1] [2]}

Published Works

Nadareski is a contributor to the cryptocurrency news outlet CoinDesk. On July 15, 2025, he authored an opinion article titled "The GENIUS Act Killed Yield-Bearing Stablecoins. That Might Save DeFi," which discussed the potential impact of proposed legislation on the stablecoin market and the broader DeFi ecosystem. ^[10]

Public Appearances

Nadareski has spoken at industry events related to the Solana ecosystem. On May 23, 2025, he gave a "Lightning Talk" representing Solstice Labs at the Solana Accelerate conference in New York City, an event series hosted by the Solana Foundation. ^[11]

Interviews

How DeFi Builds Trust in Finance #01

In a TEDxForbesPark presentation released on October 2, 2025, Ben Nadareski discussed the evolution of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and its relationship to financial trust. The talk focused on how DeFi technologies are contributing to a shift from anonymous transactions toward systems emphasizing transparency and verifiable accountability.

Speaking in his capacity as Co-Founder and CEO of Solstice Labs AG, Nadareski outlined the changing role of privacy in decentralized systems. He described how DeFi has progressed from early stages that prioritized anonymity to a structure in which transparency and traceability serve as the primary mechanisms for building trust among participants.

Drawing from his professional experience in the financial and blockchain sectors, including roles at R3, ConsenSys, SIX Group, and Galaxy Digital, Nadareski presented DeFi as an evolution of existing financial models, in which algorithmic verification replaces reliance on centralized intermediaries.

The talk examined the contrast between traditional physical currencies, which circulate widely despite limited traceability, and digital assets, which continue to face skepticism due to their perceived lack of oversight. According to Nadareski, technological tools such as zero-knowledge proofs, biometric verification, and on-chain reputation systems are enabling new forms of privacy-preserving transparency. These mechanisms allow individuals and institutions to confirm the legitimacy of transactions without disclosing sensitive data.

Nadareski described this development as part of a broader transformation in global finance, where decentralized infrastructures can enhance transactional security, reduce counterparty risk, and support more accessible financial participation. In his view, the gradual move away from full anonymity represents an adaptive stage in DeFi’s growth, aligning cryptographic innovation with institutional and regulatory expectations for transparency. ^[14]

Can Crypto Be Trusted? #02

In an interview published by The Defiant – DeFi, Web3 & NFT Insights on October 3, 2025, Ben Nadareski, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Solstice Labs, discussed the development of decentralized finance (DeFi) within the Solana ecosystem and the broader issue of institutional trust in digital assets. The conversation examined Solana’s technical characteristics, such as transaction speed, low operational costs, and composability, and how these factors influence its adoption within financial applications.

Nadareski explained that Solstice Labs is engaged in creating financial instruments that combine DeFi mechanisms with structures familiar to institutional participants. Among these initiatives is the USX token, described as a fully collateralized, yield-generating stablecoin aimed at maintaining transparency and operational scalability. The company’s approach, according to Nadareski, seeks to align decentralized systems with standards expected by traditional financial entities.

The discussion addressed Solana’s past technical interruptions and its earlier reputation as a speculative or non-serious blockchain network. Nadareski stated that the network’s infrastructure and stability have since improved, supporting an environment that accommodates a variety of financial applications. He highlighted the importance of composability and ongoing developer participation as factors contributing to the network’s ecosystem development.

Regulatory dynamics formed another part of the conversation. Nadareski emphasized that clear and consistent rules, centered on transparency, proof of reserves, and collateral verification, are essential for establishing trust. He contrasted this approach with restrictive models that, in his view, may hinder innovation or participation in decentralized systems.

Toward the end of the interview, Nadareski described the potential role of yield-bearing stablecoins in expanding access to financial tools, especially in economies with limited traditional banking infrastructure. He noted that future developments could involve the application of artificial intelligence and quantum computing to improve operational efficiency and risk management across decentralized networks. ^[15]