【朗報】Solana CEO, Anatoly Yakovenko, Reflects on the Fallout from FTX’s Collapse

Concerns for the Solana Ecosystem

The collapse of FTX in 2022 had a significant impact on the Solana ecosystem. In an interview at the Solana Breakpoint conference, Solana co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko expressed his concerns for the startups building on the Solana protocol. The native token of Solana, SOL, also saw a significant drop in value following the bankruptcy of FTX.

Collateral Damage Assessment

Yakovenko and the Solana team reached out to hundreds of teams building on Solana to assess the damage caused by the collapse. It was found that around 20% of Solana-based projects had received investments from FTX or Alameda Research, and only 5% of ecosystem startups had funds on the defunct exchange. The loss of funds and the evaporation of runways for these startups was particularly devastating.

Rebuilding Amidst Adversity

Despite the setbacks, many founders showed resilience and determination to rebuild their companies. One example is Armani Ferrante, who lost approximately $14.5 million held on FTX out of the $20 million raised for his Solana-based company, Coral. Yakovenko empathized with the founders who had placed their trust in FTX as the custodian of their funds.

Silver Lining for Solana

As the one-year anniversary of FTX's collapse approaches, Yakovenko sees a silver lining for the Solana ecosystem. Several investors have reached out, stating that the influence of FTX had been an impediment to supporting the new generation of smart contract layer-1 platforms. Yakovenko also mentioned the positive impact of Ethereum venture capital investor Chris Burniske in promoting the value proposition of Solana.

Outlook for Solana

Despite the challenges and the drop in SOL token value, Yakovenko remains optimistic about the future of the Solana ecosystem. The majority of teams have survived the fallout from FTX's collapse, and there is renewed interest and support for Solana from investors and industry figures. The Solana community is determined to move forward and continue building on the protocol's strengths.