Solana Fires Shots at Ethereum
In a recent social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Anatoly Yakovenko, the co-founder of Solana, criticized Ethereum, referring to it as a “spectacle of bourgeois upheaval” rather than a true revolution in the digital world.
Yakovenko argued that Ethereum, while captivating the “petite bourgeoisie” with its “digital carnival,” continues to perpetuate forms of oppression. He believes that the essence of oppression remains unchanged, with the masses still under the boot of power, albeit in a different form. According to Yakovenko:
In the grand theatre of economic transformation, Ethereum presents itself not as a harbinger of genuine revolution, but merely as a novel spectacle of bourgeois upheaval. As the petite bourgeoisie revel in this digital carnival, the visage of oppression subtly transforms, yet its essence remains inviolate, forever pressing upon the countenance of the toiling masses with a boot, albeit of a different style, yet no less ruthless and unrelenting.
Yakovenko envisions a stateless digital dominion, where communication and transactions flow freely among the proletariat, liberated from the control of capitalist intermediaries and state surveillance. In this vision, the cost of state creation should be inconsequential, akin to the air we breathe. Only then, Yakovenko argues, can a truly decentralized and stateless digital realm emerge, dispelling the shadows of “bourgeois digital tyranny” that he believes Ethereum represents.
Blockchain Rivals Clash
This isn’t the first time Yakovenko has criticized Ethereum. In July 2023, he accused Ethereum community members of spreading false rumors about Solana Labs. Among these rumors was the claim that Solana Labs had reached its maximum transactions per second (tps) capacity. Yakovenko dismissed this notion and reaffirmed Solana Labs’ capabilities:
It’s disappointing that members in and out of the Ethereum community spread many false rumors about Solana Labs. One of them is that Solana Labs has run out of tps. This is comical but one that has required me to address it for some team members who now know that we have hundreds of millions of tps and plenty more of compute units. I love competition, and I love collaboration even more. Let’s stick to facts and see how things play out in a few years 
The ongoing criticism from Solana’s co-founder highlights the intense competition and divergent philosophies among blockchain protocols. While Ethereum has established itself as a leading smart contract platform, Solana aims to provide a scalable, high-performance alternative. This clash of ideas underscores the broader debate surrounding the future of blockchain technology and its potential to reshape economic and social structures.
