Anatoly Yakovenko, the founder of Solana, sparked a wave of criticism on Twitter from the crypto community, leading to a heated debate about the role of communities.
And although the conversation did not touch on Web3, one comment from the CEO of Solana sparked a long chain of criticism.
Executives at Base and Solana differ on communities
The debate began when Yakovenko responded to a post by Nikita Bir, Head of Products at X, regarding the possibility of renewing X (Twitter).
According to Anatoly Yakovenko, one of the founders of Solana, communities are useless, a stance that sparked quick and candid criticism from both developers and users alike.
While some interpreted his comment as a reference to the features of App X communities, others saw it as a broader rejection of community-driven growth in the crypto space.
Jesse Polak, the creator of the Base blockchain and a leading figure at Coinbase, challenged this perception by expressing the importance of communities.
Polak then confirmed that memecoin projects, specifically, rely on communities. According to the CEO of Base, while these communities are important, they also need facilitation to unify them.
Other users affirmed Polak's view, pointing out the irony in Yakovenko's statement given the current path Solana has taken in the memecoin market.
"Why do people hate the lonely ones who oppose the price of Solana?" asked one user.
The comment refers to memecoin traders and gamblers who have dominated Solana's on-chain activity in recent months.
They added, "It's crazy to bite the hand that built you."
In fact, data on Dune shows an active and speculative trading environment for Solana memecoins, characterized by short-term momentum fluctuations.
Memecoins show the strength of community on Solana
Similarly, storage metrics show that 62.4% of SMTA token holders (Solana Meme Token Analysis) are eligible for the title of Diamond Hands, meaning they have held their tokens for a long time without selling them.
The remaining 37.6% are considered transient or short-term investments. This is a strong indicator of investor conviction, especially regarding relatively new or speculative assets on the Solana network.
This indicates that a large majority of SMTA holders believe in the long-term value of the project and are not easily swayed by price fluctuations or short-term market volatility.
Key metrics show resilience despite the recurring downturns in the narrative around Solana and memecoins. This supports the idea that meme communities and their trading behaviors play a significant role in the Solana ecosystem.
This directly contrasts with Anatoly Yakovenko's claim that communities are useless.
The discussion highlights a broader issue in the crypto space: while technology and scalability are important, community engagement often drives adoption.
As blockchains compete for users, developers like Polak see communities as the foundational infrastructure, not just marketing gimmicks.