Solana Co-Founder Rejects SOL in US Crypto Reserve Plan

Solana (SOL) co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has raised concerns about SOL being included in the proposed US Crypto Strategic Reserve. In a post on X on Thursday, Yakovenko stated his position, saying that in his “order of preference,” there would be “no reserve.”

His statement follows an announcement by US President Donald Trump on Sunday regarding the creation of a US Crypto Strategic Reserve. The reserve would include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP (Ripple), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) as part of a broader initiative to strengthen the country’s position in the digital asset sector.

Yakovenko Calls for Clear Reserve Criteria

Expanding on his views, Yakovenko suggested that if a reserve were necessary, it should be based on clear, objective criteria. He said:

“If a reserve must exist, it should follow clear, measurable criteria. It could even be designed so that only Bitcoin qualifies at this moment, but the requirements must be transparent and logically justified.”

He also questioned the role of governments in managing decentralized assets, stating:

“If you want decentralization to fail, you’d put the government in charge of it.”

His comments suggest skepticism about government involvement in crypto reserves and whether such a system can remain decentralized.

My reserve order of preference

1. No reserve, because if you want decentralization to fail you’d put the government in charge of it.

2. Or states run their own reserve as a hedge against the fed making a mistake

3. Or if there has to be a reserve, it’s based on objectively… https://t.co/LfYXCIeRnG

— toly 🇺🇸 (@aeyakovenko) March 6, 2025

Solana Faces Price Decline and Market Pressures

Solana’s price has seen a sharp decline this week, dropping nearly 20% and stabilizing around $142.80 at the time of writing on Friday. Apart from discussions on the US Crypto Strategic Reserve, concerns surrounding the recent unlock of $430 million worth of SOL by the now-defunct FTX exchange and its parent company, Alameda Research, have contributed to the selling pressure.

https://twitter.com/arkham/status/1896668521830219903

On Tuesday, a portion of these unlocked SOL tokens, valued at $3.38 million, was deposited on Binance. The move increased market uncertainty, as large sell-offs often lead to further declines in price.

Solana Maintains High Trading Activity Despite Market Challenges

Despite recent price fluctuations, Solana is one of the most actively traded blockchains. VanEck analysts stated that SOL’s price rose 191% in 2024 while on-chain revenue grew 700%. The blockchain handled big trade volume due to low transaction fees that currently sit on average at $0.05 while the Ethereum transaction fee averaged at $1.27.

Meme coin trading has played a key role in Solana’s revenue growth, accounting for approximately 80% of transaction fees. Pump.fun, a platform for launching meme coins on Solana, has generated over $577 million in fees within the past year.

However, market activity has been affected by concerns over insider trading and automated bots acquiring tokens before retail investors. One example is the LIBRA coin controversy, which led to accusations of manipulation and investor losses.

A decline in meme coin trading earlier this year also impacted Solana’s ecosystem. In February, stablecoin transfers on the network dropped by 80% compared to January. Decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volumes decreased by 55%, while overall transaction fees and Miner Extractable Value (MEV) activity declined by 63%.

Future Outlook for Solana

Nevertheless, Solana can continue to compete with Ethereum in overall trading volume. Multiple protocol upgrades to improve the performance and network efficiency of the blockchain have also been planned. These developments will be seen by market participants and will contribute to the evolution of Solana’s presence in the wider cryptocurrency network.