Solana's Unique Path: Beyond Layer 2

A Fresh Perspective on Blockchain Scalability

Solana Labs' co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko recently illuminated the blockchain ecosystem's ambition of evolving a synchronized global atomic state machine. Layer 2 solutions, often a focal point in blockchain scalability discussions, find little relevance in Solana's roadmap. Yakovenko highlights an unwavering commitment to scaling Layer 1, with potential future hardware upgrades spearheading this endeavor.

Solana and Ethereum: A Playful Comparison

In a lighthearted exchange, Yakovenko responded to Offchain Labs Co-Founder Steven Goldfeder's praise of Ethereum. "Solana is Ethereum," Yakovenko quipped, positioning Solana, sometimes labeled as the 'Ethereum-killer,' on par with Ethereum itself. This remark followed Goldfeder's listing of prominent L2 projects on Ethereum, aimed at underlining Ethereum's dominance.

Expanding the Atomic Global State Machine

Yakovenko, in his recent discourse, reemphasizes Solana's core objective: to expand the atomic global state machine. He dismisses L2 solutions as ineffective for this purpose. "They are external execution environments that cannot ensure atomic composition with the rest of the Layer 1 state," Yakovenko explains. He acknowledges the innovation in technologies like side chains and zero-knowledge proof vanadium but asserts they fall short in augmenting the atomic global state machine.

MartyParty's Vision of Solana as Bitcoin's L2

Blockchain educator MartyParty shared and expanded upon Yakovenko's views. He suggests Solana could serve as a Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin. Envisioning Solana as Bitcoin's L2 could fulfill the Lightning Network's long-standing promise of providing 'spendable Bitcoin for close to free and near instant.'

The Irrelevance of Layer 2 on Solana

Yakovenko clarifies that while building Layer 2 solutions on Solana is feasible, it remains an irrelevant pursuit within the ecosystem. His focus remains steadfast: "Solana is focused on continuing to scale Layer 1 directly, enhancing the single virtual machine instance on that Layer 1, hopefully, with just hardware upgrades in the future.