Backed and
ready to roll.

Ben Nadareski is the CEO and Founder of Solstice, where he’s redefining how yield is generated in DeFi. Backed by Deus X Capital, Solstice pioneers permissionless, institutional-grade strategies on Solana, making sophisticated trading approaches and sustainable yields accessible to everyone.

Previously, Ben led the first crypto-derivative trades with global banks as Vice President of Global Trading at Galaxy Digital. He advanced strategic investments in digital assets as Director of M&A at SIX Digital Exchange, helped expand blockchain adoption across Asia with R3 by introducing decentralized tech to central banks and financial institutions, and developed onchain OTC data networks while leading global business development at DrumG, a Consensys-backed startup.

Ben has served as a guest lecturer at the Wharton School of Business on topics including crypto, DeFi and capital markets. Prior to his 2013 leap into web3, Ben worked on the Interest Rate and FX Derivatives trading desk at Société Générale. He comes from a scientific background as a published nuclear physics researcher with a degree in Physics, and still today, applies that same scientific rigour to his work in crypto.

Tim Grant is Chief Executive Officer of Deus X Capital, a family office-backed global investment and operating company. He is Chairman of AlphaLab40, a crypto market maker and portfolio company of Deus X, as well as Chairman of ApexE3, an institutional multi-asset big data analytics and AI platform.

Prior to launching Deus X in October 2023, Tim served as Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for Galaxy, a diversified financial services and investment management company in the digital asset, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology sectors.

Prior to joining Galaxy, Tim held chief executive titles and founded several companies across the financial technology space. Previous roles have included Chief Executive Officer of SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), the Switzerland-based regulated digital asset exchange of SIX Group; Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DrumG Technologies, a builder and operator of enterprise distributed ledger- and blockchain-based applications and networks; and, Chief Executive Officer of R3 Lab and Research Center.

Before that, Tim was a Managing Director at UBS O’Connor, a $6.5bn multi-strategy hedge fund, and Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank. Tim earned a MA in Materials Science and Metallurgy from the University of Cambridge and a MSc in Financial Engineering from the Birkbeck College at the University of London.

David is the Chief Operating Officer of Solstice, leading cross-functional operations supporting clients bringing institutional-grade financial infrastructure into the onchain economy. David brings over 15 years of global experience across public and private sectors, with deep domain expertise in cybersecurity, digital finance, and frontier technologies.

Prior to Solstice, he served as COO of Saltwater Games, a portfolio company of his own venture fund, Fairlight Ventures, which backs deeptech software-focused companies across cybersecurity, spacetech, blockchain, and AI.

He holds graduate and post-graduate degrees in Economics, Political Science and Computer Science from the University of Wollongong and Indiana, and extended education through the Private Equity/Venture Capital program at Columbia Business School in New York.

Chris is the Chief Product Officer at Solstice, where he leads product strategy and delivery across the entire Solstice ecosystem — driving user-centric experiences and powering the next billion in retail and institutional TVL into the onchain economy.

With nearly 20 years of experience at the intersection of technology, design, and business, Chris brings a unique blend of commercial creativity and technical depth to the frontier of DeFi.

Before Solstice, Chris founded and exited multiple ventures across Web3 gaming, digital marketplaces, and DeFi infrastructure. He holds a Bachelor of Design and an MBA from UWA and UCLA Anderson.

Ryan Day is the Chief Marketing Officer at Solstice, leading brand, growth, and go-to-market strategy across Solstice’s settlement layer and yield infrastructure.

At Solstice, he oversees global marketing strategy, positioning, content, and distribution, aligning product, narrative, and execution as the company scales its settlement layer and yield ecosystem.

Ryan brings a global perspective, having operated across North America, Europe, and APAC, and is known for his ability to balance institutional credibility with native fluency in crypto-native and retail audiences.

Will Au is the Chief Technology Officer at Solstice, leading technology strategy, product architecture, and engineering across the protocol. He oversees the teams building USX, YieldVault, and the infrastructure connecting institutional capital to onchain markets.

Before Solstice, Will was Head of Engineering at First Digital, the team behind FDUSD. He led the engineering organisation across stablecoin infrastructure, cross-chain liquidity, DeFi integrations, and AI-enabled financial products, scaling operations across international teams.

A software engineer, founder, and investor with more than 25 years of experience across North America and Asia, Will began as a developer in the early internet era and co-founded Iron Coat, an enterprise software company serving Fortune 500 companies and government institutions. He has built and led engineering organisations and advised startups and investors across fintech, enterprise software, and digital assets.