Solana Co-Founder Anatoly Yakovenko Envisions Hundreds of Companies Building on Solana Infrastructure

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, outlined a strategic vision for the blockchain's ecosystem on July 13, 2025, via his personal X account. His statement emphasized community loyalty, organic growth, and Solana's pivotal role as foundational infrastructure, directly addressing the competitive landscape and the trend of imitative projects.

BONK, a prominent meme coin launched in December 2022 on Solana, quickly became a significant community-driven asset with over 400,000 holders and numerous integrations. Its rapid ascent highlighted the potential for projects within the Solana ecosystem, yet its market performance has been marked by considerable volatility. Yakovenko's personal mention of his "1b bonk" underscores his connection to the asset and its community.

Yakovenko expressed skepticism towards projects that market themselves solely as the "next Bonk," stating, > "remember those guys whose only play was 'we are the next bonk, sell your bonk for x?' me neither." He articulated a future where Solana's success would lead to "hundreds of companies that just use it for infra," focusing on utility and foundational development. These companies, he added, should aim to "sell all their revenues for whatever they see as zero risk runway for the company, and that would be awesome."

The Solana co-founder strongly encouraged builders within the ecosystem to prioritize their own development and innovation, rather than being swayed by competitor actions. > "You guys don't need to sweat what any competitors are doing. You guys can and will succeed just by being yourselves and building awesome products and being loyal to the greater ecosystem which will give you loyalty and faster growth in return," he advised. This aligns with his broader advocacy for decentralization and self-sustaining projects.

Yakovenko's remarks reinforce Solana's strategic direction towards becoming a scalable and reliable blockchain infrastructure, a theme he has consistently emphasized in recent discussions regarding network performance and competitive positioning. His past criticisms of altcoin projects holding Bitcoin in treasuries, advocating instead for low-risk assets to secure operational runway, resonate with his desire for companies to achieve "zero risk runway." Ongoing initiatives like Solana Mobile further underscore the ecosystem's commitment to expanding its utility and user base.