# OUT NOW: Solana's Founding Story | Anatoly Yakovenko NEW ECONOMIES · 2025-11-10 Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder and CEO of Solana, tells the story of how his eureka moment—a calculation showing Solana could achieve 1,000 to 10,000 times more throughput than Ethereum or Bitcoin—led to a manic four days and eventually to a blockchain that processes in a single month as many transactions as Ethereum does in its lifetime. He details the brutal fundraising process, requiring 1,000 meetings to secure the first major check, and the near-catastrophic moment during Solana's biggest conference (1,600 developers, sold out) when FTX collapsed on the flight back, threatening the entire ecosystem. The episode explores Anatoly's vision for decentralized finance beyond speculation and the challenges of building a truly open on-chain financial system. ## Questions this episode answers ### How does Solana's transaction throughput compare to Ethereum's? Anatoly Yakovenko explains that after a eureka moment, he calculated Solana could achieve 1,000 to 10,000 times more throughput than Ethereum or Bitcoin at the time. He adds that currently, in a single month, Solana processes as many transactions as Ethereum has in its entire lifetime. This immense capacity is central to Solana's potential to change finance. [0:09](https://neweconomies.podhood.com/df5fc813-c3f0-4f3d-aabc-23aa08d77040?t=9000) ### How did the FTX collapse impact Solana? Anatoly Yakovenko recalls that Solana was hosting its largest-ever conference, with 1,600 developers and sold-out tickets, when the FTX exchange collapsed. He describes it as one of the worst 'oh shit' moments in the industry, as they learned of the collapse on the flight back, and it was a massive event that could have taken down the entire Solana ecosystem. [0:41](https://neweconomies.podhood.com/df5fc813-c3f0-4f3d-aabc-23aa08d77040?t=41000) ### How difficult was it for Solana to raise its initial funding? According to Anatoly Yakovenko, securing initial funding was extremely arduous. He says it took him roughly 1,000 meetings to land the first major check. The process was complicated because, in the crypto space at that time, there was no standardized safe (simple agreement for future equity) to streamline early-stage investments, making fundraising exceptionally slow and difficult. [0:27](https://neweconomies.podhood.com/df5fc813-c3f0-4f3d-aabc-23aa08d77040?t=27000) ## Key moments - **[0:00] Intro** - **[0:09] The Vision** - [0:09] "In a single month Solana does as many transactions as Ethereum does in its lifetime." - **[0:27] Raising Capital** - **[0:41] FTX Collapse** - [0:41] During Solana's biggest conference with 1,600 developers, FTX collapsed on the flight back. - **[0:57] How It Began** ## Speakers - **Anatoly Yakovenko** (guest) ## Topics Fintech & Crypto, Venture Capital ## Mentioned FTX (company), Solana (company), Bitcoin (product), Ethereum (product) ## Transcript ### Intro **Host** [0:00] Solana. One of the biggest crypto success stories. You had this crazy idea, basically, to potentially change the future of finance. People must have thought you were absolutely crazy. **Anatoly Yakovenko** [0:09] Yeah. I was manic for like 4 days after that Eureka moment popped into my head. I did my calculation and it was 1,000 to 10,000 times more throughput than Ethereum or Bitcoin at the time. And to give folks a perspective, in a single month Solana does as many transactions as Ethereum does in its lifetime. ### The Vision **Host** [0:26] I mean, that's crazy. ### Raising Capital **Anatoly Yakovenko** [0:27] But yeah, there's a bunch of challenges. Getting a lead on that first major check-in is probably the biggest hurdle. I mean, it was terrible. It basically took me 1,000 meetings. And because it's crypto, there was no standard of safe that you can give people quickly. We had probably one of the worst "oh shit" moments in the industry. During our biggest conference we ever had, 1,600 developers show up for this conference, we sold out of tickets, and on the flight back, FTX collapsed. This is like a massive collapse that could take down the whole ecosystem. ### How It Began **Host** [0:57] This must have been like a heart attack stage, no? So how did it all begin? --- This library is powered by PodHood (https://podhood.com), the podcast website platform.