Solana, one of the fastest-growing smart contract platforms in the crypto space, has been attracting a lot of attention lately as a potential rival to Ethereum, the dominant network for decentralized applications (dapps) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, Solana’s founder, Anatoly Yakovenko, has recently urged his community to refrain from attacking Ethereum and instead focus on the positive aspects of both blockchains.
Solana is a blockchain that claims to offer high scalability, low fees, and fast transaction speeds, thanks to its innovative consensus mechanism that combines proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-history (PoH). PoH is a way of encoding the passage of time into the blockchain, creating a verifiable and chronological record of events. Solana can process up to 50,000 transactions per second (TPS), compared to Ethereum’s current capacity of around 15 TPS.
Solana has also been gaining traction among developers and users, especially in the fields of dapps, NFTs, and decentralized finance (DeFi). According to DappRadar, Solana hosts over 300 dapps, with a total value locked (TVL) of over $11 billion. Some of the most popular dapps on Solana include Audius, a decentralized music streaming platform, Star Atlas, a sci-fi metaverse game, and Raydium, an automated market maker (AMM) and liquidity provider.
Solana’s native token, SOL, has also been on a meteoric rise, reaching an all-time high of $214.96 on September 9, 2023, according to CoinGecko. SOL is currently the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a value of over $60 billion.
Solana’s Founder Advocates for Collaboration, Not Competition
Despite Solana’s impressive growth and performance, its founder, Anatoly Yakovenko, has expressed his respect and admiration for Ethereum, the blockchain that pioneered smart contracts and dapps. In a recent interview with [Decrypt], Yakovenko said that Solana and Ethereum are “almost complementary” in many ways, and that he does not see Solana as an “Ethereum killer”.
Yakovenko also said that he tracks Solana’s success against Ethereum in terms of developer adoption, as Ethereum is the market leader in that aspect. However, he also acknowledged that there are use cases that Ethereum cannot run efficiently, such as high-frequency trading or gaming, that Solana can handle better. He said that this is where he sees developers choosing Solana over Ethereum.
Yakovenko’s stance was echoed by Rune Christensen, the founder of MakerDAO, one of the largest and oldest DeFi protocols on Ethereum. Christensen announced on [Twitter] that MakerDAO is considering using a fork of Solana’s technology for its next development phase, dubbed NewChain. He said that Solana’s codebase, ecosystem, and adaptability are the main reasons for this decision, while also praising other blockchain technologies like Cosmos and Ethereum.
Christensen and Yakovenko both urged their respective communities to avoid tribalism and hostility, and instead embrace the diversity and synergy of the crypto space. They said that all chains are increasingly interconnected and that users should not care about which blockchain they are using, but rather about the quality and utility of the applications they are accessing.
Solana’s Future Prospects
Solana’s founder and supporters have a positive and optimistic outlook for the future of the blockchain, as well as the crypto industry as a whole. Yakovenko said that he expects Solana to reach 100 million active users in the next few years, and that he is looking forward to seeing the “killer app” that will bring them to the platform. He also said that he is excited about the potential of NFTs, as they represent a new form of digital ownership and expression.
Solana is also working on improving its security and resilience, after suffering a network outage on September 14, 2023, due to a surge in transaction volume caused by a botched IDO (initial DEX offering) on [Grape Protocol], a Solana-based dapp. The incident exposed some of the vulnerabilities and challenges that Solana faces as it scales up its operations and user base. Yakovenko said that the team is learning from the experience and implementing measures to prevent similar issues in the future.
Solana is undoubtedly one of the most promising and innovative blockchains in the crypto space, and its founder’s attitude towards Ethereum and other platforms shows a mature and collaborative approach to the development of the industry. Solana and Ethereum may have different strengths and weaknesses, but they also have a lot to offer and learn from each other, as well as from the users and developers who are driving the adoption and innovation of the crypto world.
