Solana Claims to Be More Decentralized than Ethereum, Says Founder

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, has sparked a lively discussion regarding decentralization by suggesting that Solana may surpass Ethereum—and even Bitcoin—in terms of decentralization. He asserts that Solana's architecture allows for greater accessibility for users to run nodes, enhancing its decentralized nature.

Key Takeaways

Controversial Claim: Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko argues that Solana is more decentralized than Ethereum and possibly Bitcoin.
Infrastructure Accessibility: Yakovenko emphasizes that individuals can run Solana nodes on ordinary laptops, as opposed to requiring expensive hardware.
Decentralization Definition: He believes that a well-constructed proof-of-stake network can achieve decentralization, regardless of how tokens are distributed.
Previous Statements: In past comments, Yakovenko has reiterated Solana's commitment to decentralization, highlighting the importance of participation through permissionless full nodes.

Solana More Decentralized Than Ethereum, Founder Says

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Anatoly Yakovenko, one of the founders of Solana, has ignited another intense discussion about the concept of decentralization within the blockchain community via social media. In his recent post, he claimed that Solana has outpaced Ethereum regarding its decentralization level. He went further, suggesting that Solana might even have exceeded Bitcoin in this aspect.

Yakovenko confidently stated, "Solana is closer to Satoshi's levels of decentralization than Ethereum. Maybe even past Satoshi at this point." This bold assertion has attracted considerable attention and sparked various reactions across social media platforms.

Historically, Solana has faced scrutiny due to periods of downtime stemming from technical issues. Despite this, Yakovenko pointed to the network's high hardware requirements as a barrier that could limit the number of participants. He emphasized that anyone can operate a Solana node using just a laptop, highlighting the network's accessibility.

He was likely referring to the capability to run "Light Clients" or non-voting nodes, which permit users to verify the state of the blockchain without the need for industrial-level server equipment. In a statement made in late 2025, Yakovenko expressed his view that decentralization should not solely depend on the distribution model of tokens.

"My hot take is that any correctly constructed proof-of-stake network is sufficiently decentralized regardless of stake distribution or ownership or value," Yakovenko explained back in December 2025.

In a previous discussion last August, he reaffirmed his stance that Solana has, and always will be, decentralized. "A permissionlessly run full node is all anyone needs to participate in any part of the stack. There is no way for the rest of the network to steal the user's funds, unlike a security council multisig. That’s the difference," he emphasized in his remarks.

This ongoing debate highlights the complexities of decentralization in the rapidly evolving blockchain landscape, where different networks showcase varying degrees of accessibility and security.