“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you hear the name Apollo Global Management, you probably don’t think of blockchain, tokenization, or crypto at all. You think of private equity deals, real estate, insurance, credit — the traditional empire-building bricks of one of the most formidable alternative asset managers on the planet. Marc Rowen, their CEO, is leading the charge of TradFi and Web3.
Apollo has spent decades mastering the art of finding value where others miss it. From distressed debt to leveraged buyouts, they’ve built a $600+ billion fortress by seizing on inefficiencies, unlocking hidden value, and executing with ruthless precision.
And now, Apollo has quietly placed a few chips on the crypto table.
But here’s what matters for readers looking to own the economy and not just participate in it: Apollo has only gone big on two crypto projects — and one of them stands out as the real asymmetric bet.
Apollo didn’t get here by chasing hype. Their roots go back to the 1990s, scooping up distressed assets from fallen giants like Executive Life. They became known for squeezing returns out of messy, unloved corners of the market. Over time, they expanded into insurance (think Athene), credit, real estate, and private equity — always with a focus on scalable, cash-generating businesses.
In other words, Apollo is a machine for compounding wealth — and they’re very selective about new arenas.
Which makes their crypto moves fascinating.
The Two Crypto Bets
So far, Apollo has made two major moves in crypto:
Sui Network — a high-performance Layer 1 chain built by Mysten Labs, with serious throughput and scalability. Apollo participated in its massive $300M Series B round.
Plume Network — a platform focused on tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) like carbon credits, private debt, and financial instruments, making them tradeable on-chain. Apollo didn’t just dabble here; they put down a seven-figure investment and effectively signaled Plume as their flagship crypto exposure.
(While Apollo has worked with J.P. Morgan’s Onyx division on blockchain initiatives, notably under Project Guardian, they haven’t taken a direct stake in Onyxcoin/XCN.)
Here’s the key insight: Sui is a bet on infrastructure, but Plume is a bet on transformation.
Sui competes in a crowded Layer 1 field alongside Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche — and while it’s technically impressive, it’s still fighting for differentiation.
Plume, on the other hand, speaks directly to Apollo’s deepest expertise:
- Securitization
- Institutional capital flows
- Private markets
- And the alchemy of turning illiquid assets into scalable products.
Plume is effectively Apollo’s on-chain sandbox for doing what they’ve always done best — but with global reach, 24/7 markets, and blockchain rails.
And here’s what I believe: Plume isn’t just a portfolio bet for Apollo. It’s their potential crown jewel in the digital economy.
Most retail investors get distracted by headlines:
- “Bitcoin to $100K!”
- “Ethereum ETF coming!”
- “New memecoin surges 500%!”
- “AI Agents are game changers!”
But the smart money — the Apollo-level money — is positioning in infrastructure that reshapes how markets work.
If you’re reading this, you’re early to that realization.
Apollo didn’t need to go big on crypto. They could have stayed on the sidelines, watching the DeFi waves crash against the TradFi shore.
Instead, they picked two projects — and I believe only one, Plume, aligns perfectly with their DNA and offers the kind of asymmetric upside that makes sense for a global asset manager.
Sui might succeed, riding their hydrofoil to The Solana Yacht Party. But Plume is where the real magic is.
NY based Apollo bet 7 figures on a business located outside of the United States. (Today, Plume has an office in the Flat Iron District.)
For a conservative giant like Apollo to reach beyond the shores of innovation here in the US, that is something to contemplate.
It’s a signal if there ever was one.
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Apollo’s Crypto Bet: Why Plume May Be the Crown Jewel was originally published in The Capital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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