2024 Was Solana's Best Year Yet. Can It Sustain the Momentum in 2025? - Ep. 755

2024 has been a transformative year for Solana. With a surge in developer activity, bold innovations in DePIN, and its ambitions to become a “decentralized Nasdaq,” the ecosystem is making waves. But are these changes enough to differentiate it from competitors like Ethereum and L2 solutions such as Base? In this episode, Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation, and Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius, join Unchained to discuss how Solana is carving out its niche. They debate whether Base is a serious contender, why they’re not concerned about the 2025 token unlocks, and how Solana’s unique approach to MEV could shape its future. Plus, they tackle the ecosystem’s broader challenges and why they believe Solana’s vision will endure. Show highlights: Why Mert feels paranoid but also vindicated Why Lily started working on Solana after being known as a hardcore bitcoiner How Mert’s background in Coinbase led him to found Helius and become the voice of Solana online Whether Solana can become a place where unique innovations are built, rather than copying Ethereum Whether Solana can achieve its vision of a “decentralized Nasdaq” Why the ecosystem has attracted so many developers in 2024 Why Lily believes that Base is no competitor to Solana What network extensions actually mean, according to Mert How Mert responds to the criticisms around Solana’s MEV Why Mert and Lily are not worried about the token unlocks of 2025 How the Solana mobile phone will compete with the giants Why DePIN showcases the real value of blockchain technology Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Kelp DAO Robinhood & Arbitrum Polkadot Guests: Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Links Unchained: Pudgy Penguins See NFT Floor Price Drop Almost 50% After PENGU Launch - Pump.fun Becomes First Solana DApp to Top $100M in Monthly Revenue How Solana Beat Out Ethereum to Nab New Crypto Developers in 2024 Are Solana's 'Network Extensions' Just Like Ethereum's Layer 2s But by a Different Name? What Are DePINs in Crypto? A Beginner’s Guide Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:34 Mert’s mix of paranoia and vindication about Solana 07:08 Why Lily shifted from Bitcoin to working on Solana 09:43 Mert’s journey from Coinbase to becoming Solana’s online advocate 14:47 Can Solana foster unique innovations rather than mimic Ethereum? 19:47 Solana’s vision of a “decentralized Nasdaq” vs. center of memecoin mania 27:54 What’s driving Solana’s surge in developer activity 30:26 Why Lily sees Base as no real competitor 33:04 The meaning and implications of network extensions 37:07 Mert’s take on criticisms of Solana’s MEV approach 42:11 Why they aren’t worried about the 2025 token unlocks 44:26 Competing with tech giants through the Solana mobile phone 50:48 How DePIN highlights blockchain’s true potential Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices