Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, stated that blockchain protocols need to constantly “change and improve” in order to survive in the long term.
In a post on social media platform X on January 17, 2024, Yakovenko emphasized that the longevity of a blockchain network depends heavily on its ability to constantly innovate.
Yakovenko presents the future development of Solana based on AI.
He argued that for blockchain to avoid becoming obsolete, it must constantly adapt and change to meet the ever-changing needs of developers and users.
"To survive, you must always be useful. Therefore, the main goal of changing a protocol is to solve problems for developers or users. However, that doesn't mean you have to solve every problem; in fact, rejecting most problems is necessary," he Chia .
Yakovenko also envisions a future where Solana doesn't depend on any single individual or core engineering group to drive its development. He argues that protocol upgrades should stem from the diverse contributions of a truly decentralized community.
Notably, Yakovenko stated that artificial intelligence will play a crucial Vai in sustaining the rapid growth of the Solana network by supporting governance and programming in the future.
“LLM can create a SIMD specification that is robust enough to self-verify its completeness and clarity, and can even self-deploy. The only thing left is to achieve consensus and test it on the testnet,” he emphasized .
This approach will enable the network to self-optimize at speeds that humans alone cannot achieve.
Yakovenko's comments also serve as a direct rebuttal to the strategy recently presented by Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum.
Buterin introduced the concept of the "walkaway test." This marked a milestone in the Ethereum network's self-operating and independent development, no longer dependent on its founding developers.
According to this vision, Ethereum will be "framed," aiming for its value to come from the longevity of the protocol rather than new features in the future.
Buterin acknowledged that Ethereum still needs innovation in the short term, but the goal is to "lock in" the protocol once it has overcome the necessary technical challenges.
Several challenges, such as achieving complete quantum invulnerability , sufficient scalability, and a robust storage architecture, still need to be met.
Indeed, this difference in ideology has created two distinct paths for the cryptocurrency market.
Following Buterin's roadmap, Ethereum will become a reliable payment system, prioritizing security and immutability to build user trust.
Conversely, Yakovenko's strategy transformed Solana into a robust, fast-growing technology platform , prioritizing speed and flexible innovation to capture market share in a fiercely competitive environment.
