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Inside Solana: Near-Death Brushes and a Need for Speed (with Solana)
@ a16z crypto
06/13/25
Takeaways
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
I had a Eureka moment over two coffees and a beer, which led to my rediscovery of verifiable delay functions, a key concept for building scalable blockchain solutions.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
I realized that if you have a source of time in a network, you can build a more efficient system that utilizes the entire bandwidth allocated to it, unlike traditional protocols that suffer from inefficiencies.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
The unique insight we had was that solving the problem of poor channel utilization in networks is sufficient for achieving scalability in crypto, without needing to resort to more complex solutions like sharding.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
I learned that if you sell the implementation of a solution rather than the problem it solves, you won't convince users that you've addressed their needs effectively.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
The most significant challenge we faced was not just building the network but also acquiring users, which proved to be incredibly difficult.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
I didn't see Ethereum as a competitor; my focus was on trading and execution, which I believed were the key areas where we could innovate and create value.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
Our vision for Solana has remained remarkably consistent, which is surprising given the amount of uncertainty and luck involved in the startup journey.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
I had to make tough decisions during a crisis, including shrinking the team and raising funds, which ultimately extended our runway and allowed us to launch successfully despite market challenges.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
After a global market crash, the best time to attract early supporters for a token is when they believe in the product despite negative conditions.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
A monotonically increasing price curve is one of the best tools for community building, ensuring that every user who buys is in profit.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
During the FTX crisis, many believed Solana was dead, but the teams building on Solana were resilient and managed to keep their funds safe, allowing for continued development.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
The early struggles of Solana, including a small team and limited runway, ultimately helped in building a strong community and onboarding developers during tough times.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
Having a co-founder is crucial; it provides relational support and helps structure thoughts during challenging moments, especially in a remote work environment.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
Keeping a small team during downturns can eliminate politics and unhappiness, as everyone feels they are making an impact and can contribute to fixing problems.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
The key to maintaining morale during tough times is ensuring that team members feel they are making a difference and that their work is impactful.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
Solana's willingness to iterate quickly and make significant changes to the protocol while it's operational sets it apart from other blockchain projects.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
Software development is never complete; it must evolve with hardware advancements to remain relevant and effective.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
The goal of hackathons is to surface investable projects that can generate revenue for the ecosystem, ensuring the network's survival.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
Standards developed from hackathons should unblock products and address common concerns across different industries, enhancing overall utility. The number one priority is solving problems for the end user of the blockchain, followed by developers, validators, and internal engineers.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
Developer pain is less important than user pain; if we decisively fix user issues like high fees and slow confirmations, developers will endure their own pain to help users.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
Building on Solana was initially challenging, but developers willing to tackle those difficulties were able to create innovative solutions that attracted users.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
We attracted developers who were looking for new capacity and were willing to endure the challenges of building on Solana, which ultimately led to successful projects.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
The launch of Binance Smart Chain led to many low-effort projects that crowded the market, but those unable to overcome the friction of building on Solana were filtered out, allowing for more capable developers to thrive.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
The platform's design reduced developer optionality, making it harder to code but ultimately lowering business risk, which contributed to the success of memecoins on Solana.
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Anatoly Yakovenko
06/13/25
@ a16z crypto
My hope is that service fees in finance decrease significantly, as the goal should be to build systems that ultimately reduce user fees, rather than wasting time and resources.