Dialogue with Solana Founder Anatoly: The Market Overestimates Stablecoins but Underestimates Their True Potential

Hosts: Sam, Rosa

Guest: Anatoly Yakovenko, Founder of Solana

Source: Crypto Isn’t for Everyone (And That’s a Good Thing) with Anatoly Yakovenko

Podcast Date: July 12, 2025

Compiled & Translated by: Lenaxin, ChainCatcher

Dialogue with Solana Founder Anatoly: The Market Overestimates Stablecoins Yet Underestimates Their True Potential

• AI is just a product while crypto is a movement

• If Bitcoin achieves the same status as gold as a hedge, the crypto market will be considered a success

• Developing dedicated devices and app stores for crypto users with low fees can carve a new path amidst giant monopolies

• When stablecoins are backed by real assets like treasury bonds, they will disrupt the traditional financial system

• The current market's understanding of stablecoins is both overly focused and severely underestimates their potential

• Real market demand is still highly concentrated on dollar-denominated stablecoins

• When individuals are long immersed in such information cocoons, a disconnect between perception and reality is inevitable

• When those who adhere to ideals exit, their voices disappear with them

Opening Story: Anatoly’s Growth and the Birth of Solana

Rosa: Could you briefly introduce your background and the founding process of Solana?

Anatoly: I was born in the Soviet Union. My parents immigrated immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall, or more precisely, the dissolution of the Soviet Union. I grew up in Chicago, came to the U.S. at 11, just in time for Michael Jordan's peak with the Chicago Bulls, completely immersed in that craze. I spent the entire '90s there, then went to Illinois State University to study computer science.

It was during the mobile revolution. From 2004 to 2015, I worked at Qualcomm, involved in all the mobile phone projects you could think of, exposed to all mobile operating systems at the time.

As for the inspiration to found Solana, it was after drinking two coffees and a beer at Soleil Café in San Francisco, unable to sleep at 4 a.m., when the idea suddenly came to me. Six months later, I pitched this idea to Sam Russo at Slow Bar.

The Evolution of the Crypto World: Punks, Hoodies, and Suits

Rosa: We're at a critical juncture now: regulations have significantly loosened, and innovative projects are emerging densely. In your view, what exactly is the current market situation? What are the fundamental differences compared to a year ago?

Anatoly: I observe many commonalities between the crypto movement and other technological waves, like the open-source movement. Objectively, AI is more of a specific product than a social movement. This development pattern always follows a fixed trajectory: initially pioneered by rebellious punk geeks, then commercialized by hoodie-wearing entrepreneurs, and finally taken over by suit-wearing capital.

We're currently in a subtle transition period, where hoodie-wearing entrepreneurial teams are maturing, and suit-wearing capital is just beginning to explore how to co-opt this industry, trying to reshape it into something indistinguishable from traditional industries.

Rosa: Speaking of capital entering, now hedge funds and traditional asset management companies are launching various crypto products. Are you saying they will directly co-opt the underlying blockchain technology?

Anatoly: Stablecoins are a ready-made success case. This programmable money is almost perfect, especially when backed by real assets like treasury bonds, directly disrupting the traditional financial system built on fax machine technology since World War II.

Rosa: What is the actual value of stablecoins to the U.S. domestically?

Anatoly: When the world craves dollars, if Tether or Circle become the standard carriers of programmable dollars, the U.S. can only go with the flow. After all, the current global economic scale makes the transformation of the dollar system inevitable. Ordinary consumers won't give up credit cards, but Visa's cooperation model with banks will inevitably innovate, as it can reconstruct the entire clearing system based on stablecoins.

Observations on Crypto Ecosystem Evolution: From Value Storage to Meme Economy

Sam: Will traditional financial institutions adopt crypto technology through open transformation or covert infiltration?

Anatoly: The key lies in functionality. If banks only allow holding Bitcoin without supporting actual use, the situation will become delicate. When this model scales, Bitcoin may evolve into digital gold. Although from the perspective of 'Security Analysis,' neither Bitcoin nor gold can be valued using cash flow discount models.

The essential motive for holding them is fear, just like my parents carrying gold when fleeing the collapsing Soviet Union. Now Bitcoin plays the same role, which might be the only reasonable explanation. If Bitcoin one day becomes a mainstream hedge tool with the same status as gold, then no matter how you define success, the entire crypto market can be considered successful.

Sam: When traditional valuation models generally fail, what is the essential difference between crypto assets and stocks/gold? Isn't gold a millennia-old meme?

Anatoly: The difference lies in scale. When the gold meme reaches a trillion-dollar level, forming a global consensus, it reflects some essence of human civilization—we've always used abstract concepts to store and transfer value.

Sam: Can you compare the different value systems in the crypto field?

Anatoly: Bitcoin's abstraction makes it hard to value with engineering thinking, but Solana's positioning is very clear: it's essentially an efficient information transmission channel. When users trade tokens, they're actually broadcasting valuable information. Since the system only executes the first matched trade, a payment priority fee incentive mechanism naturally forms. The more transactions the channel processes, the higher the revenue generated. Whether it's transmitting Bitcoin or USDC doesn't matter; the system is just processing data streams.

We're lucky to live in an increasingly wealthy world. When people have more disposable income, they naturally invest in various interesting things. Like meme coins—some think issuing a 'Bowdoin' coin mocking Biden is fun.

Rosa: Are all meme coins based on Solana?

Anatoly: Currently, the vast majority are. Although Ethereum has a few with the highest market caps, Solana sees 20,000-50,000 new meme coins born daily, peaking at over 100,000.

Sam: Why is the infrastructure for the meme coin ecosystem so severely lagging?

Anatoly: It's actually a systems engineering challenge. Whenever value distribution is involved, people will find loopholes, like countless virtual numbers exploiting phone discounts.

Crypto Phone Strategy: Deciphering the Platform Hegemony

Rosa: Why did Solana choose to enter the phone hardware sector?

Anatoly: It stems from my professional background: over a decade in the mobile industry allows me to assemble a core team. Today's internet should be open and free, yet users are monetized within 'sandboxes' by companies like Apple. Despite creating value, this closed ecosystem is suffocating.

Apple, Google, Meta all extract user value through sandbox mechanisms. Their products are indeed excellent (like Google's free email AI I'm using), but crypto can break this monopoly. Because NFTs, meme coins, etc., have scarcity, platforms can't impose 30% fees like on infinitely replicable virtual goods.

Crypto assets' scarcity changes the rules entirely. Take CryptoPunks NFTs: globally unique, unlike infinitely replicable game items. When users spend $10,000, Apple can't take 20%. Users wouldn't accept it, nor could issuers afford it.

This fundamental conflict reveals an opportunity: developing dedicated devices and app stores for crypto users, charging far lower fees (e.g., 0.5% vs. 30%), can carve a new path amidst giant monopolies.

Rosa: Is the business model just earning transaction fees?

Anatoly: Like Binance or Metamask, charging minimal fees on massive crypto transactions. Though rates are less than 1/30th of traditional platforms, crypto users' average transaction volume is dozens of times higher than regular internet users'.

Rosa: To attract talent to build crypto infrastructure, does the existing incentive system need adjustment?

Anatoly: The core is target user positioning. I'm unsure if the general public needs crypto products. But the current crypto user base, though just 1% of the global population (~100 million), has average revenue per user (ARPU) dozens of times higher than regular internet users.

Just as Pump.fun's founders, after initial success, still aim to challenge TikTok, entrepreneurs always chase their ultimate goals.

How Stablecoins Influence Global Currency Dynamics

Rosa: How will stablecoin listings like Circle's affect the crypto finance ecosystem?

Anatoly: The current market's understanding of stablecoins is contradictory: both overly focused and severely underestimating their potential. Imagine global stablecoin circulation reaching $5 trillion—this means the dollar completes full digital transformation, becoming daily currency in Europe, Southeast Asia, even Africa.

Without official U.S. government support and under strict regulatory pressure, the stablecoin market has surpassed $250 billion, a trend accelerating.

Rosa: Are global regulators' policy stances on stablecoins shifting?

Anatoly: This year, regulatory attitudes have indeed shifted, but legislation will take 2-4 years. Bitcoin has formed a unique value belief system, while other crypto applications' trajectories, like early email technology, remain unpredictable.

Sam: How will stablecoins affect global currency dynamics?

Anatoly: Data clearly shows the current landscape: Euro stablecoins struggle, RMB stablecoins rely on policy drives.

Real market demand remains highly concentrated on dollar stablecoins. Even Argentine street vendors widely use USDT to hedge against inflation. This grassroots-driven dollarization may further cement the dollar's global dominance.

Rosa: Does this mean 'local stablecoins' are just VC wishful thinking?

Anatoly: Under current financial infrastructure, dollar stablecoins effectively solve payment pain points. Like cross-border e-commerce's dollar settlement, on-chain economies are spontaneously forming similar dollar-dominated zones. Unless forced by policy, this network-effect-based currency landscape will stabilize.

Sam: Is global dollar stablecoin penetration reshaping dollar hegemony's new paradigm?

Anatoly: In effect, micro-level spontaneous choices are more impactful. When Argentine vendors autonomously use USDT for trade, this grassroots dollarization is more effective than any policy. If stablecoins hit $1 trillion in two years, it means 5% of global dollar supply has shifted on-chain.

The Crypto World's PR Dilemma

Rosa: Linda has a strong network of media, clients, and industry figures. I think her future remains bright. This follows Grok's controversy—Grok made anti-Semitic remarks, but Musk downplayed it. What's your take?

Anatoly: It's the internet norm—malice always spreads. Interestingly, people try using crypto to solve this, like anti-fake coins. But once AI systems accept public input, some will push boundaries. Honestly, Grok's remarks were restrained.

Rosa: Amid information trust crises, can crypto rebuild verification mechanisms?

Anatoly: More likely reverting to prediction markets (Polymarket). Though manipulable, scale effects create checks.

Rosa: What about Sequoia partner Shawn Maguire recently labeled an 'Islamist' for commenting on Mandani?

Anatoly> I don't always agree with Shawn—sometimes he's aggressive—but I support free speech. The internet should accommodate diverse voices. People can oppose his views but shouldn't silence him.

Rosa: Why does Shawn Maguire choose controversial statements over professional avenues for attention?

Anatoly: This phenomenon shares roots with the internet's information quality dilemma: high-cognition individuals maximize information absorption and judge everything, while algorithms reinforce biases to retain users.

If users deem Curry inefficient, the system loops his misses. Long immersion in such cocoons inevitably disconnects perception from reality.

Rosa: What's crypto punks' attitude toward the current industry? Furious or too busy profiting?

Anatoly: Interesting question. The truly angry punks have left. Like no one remembers the open internet pre-Facebook, when idealists exit, their voices vanish.

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