Lily Liu is an entrepreneur and investor with a background in technology, finance, and blockchain. She is the president of the Solana Foundation, where she is involved in initiatives that support the growth and security of the Solana network. ^[1]

Education

Liu attended Stanford University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with concentrations in Economics, International Relations, and Pre-Medical studies. ^[7]

Career

Liu began her career in finance as a summer analyst at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong in 2004, where she worked with the technology, media, and telecommunications group for the Asia Pacific region. The following year, she joined McKinsey & Company as a senior associate, a role she held until 2009. At McKinsey, she focused on performance transformation projects across various industries, including risk management for financial institutions, operational enhancements in the energy and transportation sectors, and post-merger integration planning for a pharmaceutical company.

From 2009 to 2011, Liu worked on the operations team at KKR Capstone, where she implemented initiatives to improve the performance of portfolio companies in sectors such as European retail and U.S. healthcare. Her work included supply chain optimization and the development of strategies for electronic health records.

In 2011, Liu transitioned to a corporate leadership role, serving as the Chief Financial Officer of Chinaco Healthcare Corporation until 2014. In this capacity, she managed financial operations, mergers and acquisitions, and procurement for the development of a large-scale private hospital in China. In 2015, she entered the cryptocurrency industry by co-founding Earn.com, a startup where she also served as CFO. After Coinbase acquired Earn.com, she continued with the company until 2018. Since April 2018, Liu has been an investor through her firm, Volar Capital, focusing on cryptocurrency, technology, and advisory work.

In 2020, she co-founded Aiden Health and Operation Masks, two initiatives related to healthcare and pandemic response, which were active through 2021. Starting in 2021, Liu assumed several concurrent positions, including president of the Solana Foundation, co-founder of Anagram Ltd, and a contributor to Osmosis Labs. She also served as a board member at Airtm until 2023 and joined the board of Ledger in September 2024. ^[8]

Interviews

Ship or Die

During a fireside chat at Accelerate 2025 in May, David Rutter of R3 and Liu discussed the convergence of public and private blockchains. Reflecting on their extensive experience in the blockchain industry, Rutter expressed excitement about bridging the gap between decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional finance (TradFi). He highlighted that the timing was right due to evolving regulatory environments and the maturity of the DeFi space, particularly noting Solana's capabilities. Rutter pointed out that stakeholders from the TradFi sector expressed enthusiasm about collaborating with public blockchain ecosystems, as it allows better access to financial markets for a broader audience. He also discussed the importance of addressing regulatory issues while innovating in the space to attract institutional engagement. Overall, Rutter emphasized that the focus should be on enhancing liquidity and accessibility in financial markets through the integration of blockchain technologies. ^[4]

Big Finance

On the AIFC Special podcast in May 2025, Liu discussed the role of Solana in the blockchain space during an event in Kazakhstan. She explained that Solana, a high-performance blockchain launched in 2018, aims to serve as a decentralized financial market infrastructure, providing rapid transaction capabilities. Liu highlighted the unique proof-of-history mechanism that enables parallel transaction processing, contrasting it with the sequential processing seen in other blockchains, such as Ethereum. She discussed the evolving landscape of traditional finance, where established firms such as BlackRock and Fidelity began exploring tokenization for broader asset distribution and increased liquidity. Liu emphasized the importance of regulatory clarity for blockchain applications and highlighted the challenges posed by memecoins in the cryptocurrency space. Throughout the conversation, she stresses the importance of both talent and capital formation in stimulating economies, particularly in regions like Kazakhstan, which could leverage its assets and skills in the evolving blockchain market. ^[3]

Solana’s Future

In a May 2025 interview with Binance, Liu expressed her enthusiasm for the Solana ecosystem and its potential to build a financial internet. Reflecting on her background in traditional finance and her journey into the crypto space, she highlighted the importance of community ownership and the role of decentralized finance (DeFi) in creating a new on-chain economy accessible to billions. Liu noted that the growth of the developer community within Solana has been remarkable, suggesting that a strong infrastructure is crucial for facilitating global payments and financial transactions. She emphasized the utility of stablecoins as a foundational element of this infrastructure. She discussed the phenomenon of memecoins, recognizing both their speculative nature and their ability to drive community engagement and funding for validators. Liu concluded by expressing optimism for the future of open finance and the ongoing digitization of money. ^[2]

Rise of Solana

On eToro’s Conversations with Leaders podcast in January 2025, Sam North hosted Liu and Yoni Asia, co-founder and CEO of eToro, to discuss the rise of Solana and its architectural innovations. They explained that Solana, designed between 2017 and 2018, aimed to create a highly scalable blockchain that could facilitate a diverse transactional economy, rather than just trading and speculation. Liu highlighted the importance of Solana's unique "Proof of History" mechanism, which allows for parallel processing of transactions, thereby significantly increasing throughput and efficiency. They also discussed the broader implications of recent positive shifts in U.S. and European regulatory attitudes toward cryptocurrency, which could spur innovation and adoption. The conversation further explored the phenomenon of memecoins, their speculative nature, and the idea that community tokens could potentially benefit from clearer regulations. Overall, the discussion reflected an optimistic outlook on Solana's role in the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. ^[5]

Presentations

Internet Capital Markets

At TOKEN2049 Dubai in May 2025, Liu discussed the evolution of Solana, which had transitioned from a DeFi platform to one supporting NFTs, gaming, and more. She highlighted the limitations of current capital markets, noting widespread anxiety among individuals despite favorable economic indicators, and pointed to a growing disconnect between labor and capital values. Liu emphasized that the crypto sector aims to create universal access to capital markets, proposing a shift from universal basic income to universal basic opportunity through community empowerment. She outlined the challenges for private companies in accessing public markets and underscored the potential of blockchain to democratize investment opportunities. Liu concluded that Solana aims to become a primary platform for capital markets, integrating various asset classes to foster global financial inclusivity and unify liquidity across the market. ^[6]