TLDR
- Solana used to be the joke of DeFi.
- It has become a top-notch ecosystem riding meme tokens to enhance the network.
- Anatoly Yakovensko is thankful for meme season, as it has helped him make Solana better and stronger than ever.
Dear readers of Dypto Crypto. I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going full Deadpool here, and I’m breaking the fourth wall. I think this is the article that deserves it, and by the end, you’ll probably understand why.
When you think of blockchain technology, terms like “efficiency,” “innovation,” and “financial freedom” often come to mind. But meme coins aren’t what anyone, at least not I, imagined would play a key role in strengthening networks.
Apparently, I was wrong.
The Backstory
Solana’s co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko sees memecoins differently than I do.
I got into DeFi back in the early winter of 2021. For those of you who were around, you remember what happened.
For those of you who weren’t, let’s just say my bag shrank down to next to nothing within a couple of weeks. Between the beginning of the bear market, listening to bad influencers, and thinking bad projects would make me rich, I’m surprised that I had anything left.
Granted, it was practically change in my pocket, but that’s more than some more experienced investors walked away with…
So, pretty early on, I learned to hate meme tokens (I still do). I didn’t like Solana, either (I still don’t). It was a joke at the time. The entire network would randomly go down for six to eight hours. Unless you were interested in NFTs, it really wasn’t worth the trouble.
I stopped paying attention to that ecosystem for a couple of years. But as the Director of Content here, a freelance copywriter in my downtime, and despite all the garbage that’s come my way, still a crypto nerd at heart, reading crypto news has become a part of my daily life.
I saw the shills for Solana meme tokens on every major outlet. I rolled my eyes. Even as the token pumped, I paid no mind. I heard whispers in the street (Discords) that Solana would make people rich. Once again, I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Solana? Make people rich? There were zero chances in hell that would ever happen.
And then the day came when I woke up, and the token had broken all-time highs. It was sitting at over $250, and the network was thriving…almost exclusively from “meme season”.
I sat back in my chair. Stunned. Shocked. Appalled. How did this happen? And then I saw this article on The Block. Go check it out if you want a full, journalistic view. This here…this is strictly from my view, which is incredibly biased, yet worth telling.
And even if it wasn’t, I’m the Director of Content. I run this newsroom, and you aren’t my real dad. I do what I want.
Memes Are a Blessing to Solana
To Anatoly Yakovenko, meme tokens helped make his network great.
To him, they’re more than just internet jokes turned tradable assets. They’re stress tests that push Solana to new heights of engineering greatness.
At the Emergence conference in Prague, Yakovenko credited meme coins for helping Solana tackle multidimensional problems and innovate at breakneck speed.
But how exactly does this work? And why should crypto beginners care about what may seem like niche internet culture? Let’s break it down.
What Are Memecoins, and Why Are They Important?
Before we dig into the technical stuff, let’s get clear on what meme coins are.
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies often derived from internet memes or trends, like Dogecoin or Shiba Inu. While they might not always have an intrinsic purpose (and by might, I mean they don’t), their popularity often brings sudden bursts of traffic and transactions to blockchain platforms.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
When a network like Solana suddenly sees millions of transactions due to a “pump” — a rapid rise in interest for a meme coin — it faces unprecedented challenges. These bursts of activity test the network’s scalability and durability in real-world, high-stress conditions.
Does that mean Solana considers meme coins the future of crypto? Not exactly. But they play a massive role in fine-tuning blockchain performance.
Turning Outages Into Innovations
Solana’s roadmap hasn’t always been smooth. The network became infamous for its reliability issues in 2022, frequently going down under heavy traffic loads.
The network had just one outage this past year, compared to several failures in its early days. That’s a huge improvement, and Yakovenko credits the platform’s ability to “ship fast and iterate” for turning a weakness into a strength.
Blockchain technology relies on complex, interconnected systems that can create a cascade of problems. Imagine a single crack spreading across a glass window. On Solana, an issue in memory bandwidth, for instance, could affect transaction throughput, then network performance — and so on.
But rather than hide from these challenges, Solana confronts them head-on, solving problems as they emerge. It’s this type of iterative problem-solving that has allowed innovations like localized free markets to thrive.
Solana Did the Impossible, and They Have My Respect
Memecoins might have started as lighthearted experiments, but their impact on platforms like Solana proves that even the most unexpected trends can drive substantial innovation.
For new crypto users, there’s a valuable lesson here. Blockchain technology constantly evolves, fueled by unexpected stress tests and challenges that force networks to grow stronger or risk fading away.
Solana’s case demonstrates that adaptability and resilience are key for the entire industry.
So, have I changed my mind about Solana? Nope. Still not going to use it. But, Anatoly, you have my respect, ser, for accomplishing everything that everyone said you wouldn’t.
*Tips hat*
And for all the crypto bros who threw money at SOL when it was a hair over $10, congratulations. Enjoy the new Lambo. You deserve it.
