Solana Founder Sparks Bitcoin Value Debate

Solana's Anatoly Yakovenko has sparked a debate in the cryptocurrency community by asserting that Bitcoin (BTC) has no intrinsic value and its primary use case is as insurance against the collapse of a superpower. In a recent thread on the social media platform X, Yakovenko, the creator of the Solana (SOL) blockchain, shared his perspective on the world's first cryptocurrency.

Yakovenko believes that the likelihood of a superpower collapsing is around 1% per year, and he is willing to spend 1% of his wealth on an asset that might not lose value in such an environment. He argues that Bitcoin is not an investment but a cost, and there is no guarantee it will work as intended. Yakovenko maintains that Bitcoin's value is not directly tied to its technology, but rather to its potential role as insurance against the collapse of a superpower.

Popular figures in the digital asset space often advocate for Bitcoin as a hedge against currency debasement. Yakovenko acknowledges this thesis but does not believe that investors should allocate their entire portfolio to Bitcoin. He suggests that the optimal amount of BTC to own is less than 100% of one's portfolio, as it is not a direct hedge against currency debasement but rather a means of protecting against the collapse of a superpower.

While Yakovenko dismisses Bitcoin's intrinsic value, he champions layer-1 blockchains like Solana, which are designed to generate revenue with every transaction. When asked about the value of coins that require gas to process transactions, Yakovenko replied, "The share of all future capturable fees."

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $86,236, up over 2% in the past day. Yakovenko's comments have sparked a lively discussion among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, with some agreeing with his perspective and others defending Bitcoin's intrinsic value and its role as a store of value and a hedge against inflation.