How Justin Bons Reconsidered His Thesis About Solana
Nov 7, 2023
auto_awesome
Justin Bons, early critic of Solana, discusses his change of heart and now seeing it positively. They talk about improving Solana, challenging assumptions in crypto investing, evaluating Ethereum's Layer Two solutions, changing the code and Bitcoin governance, perfect information in the crypto market, and the intersection of science, philosophy, and programming in blockchain.
Solana has addressed initial concerns and become a favorable blockchain for scalability.
Off-chain governance can lead to a disconnect between core contributors and network users.
Layer-two solutions may not effectively address Ethereum's scaling challenges.
Deep dives
Initial Concerns with Solana
Initially, the researcher had concerns about Solana's extreme approach to scalability, feeling that it made the network too centralized and risky. The high node requirements and past network downtime were red flags. The lack of fee markets and non-deterministic block production were also problematic. These factors led to public critiques of Solana.
Change of Heart
After observing Solana's progress and improvements, the researcher's position on Solana gradually changed. The network has addressed many of the initial concerns, as it has not experienced downtime for several months. The introduction of fee markets has also helped regulate transactions. The researcher now views Solana as a favorable blockchain for scalability, admiring its multiple client implementations, stakeholder-based governance, and self-funding mechanisms.
Researcher's Philosophy and Approach
The researcher takes a long-term value investing approach to cryptocurrency, focusing on blockchain utility and considering various parameters such as capacity, governance, consensus algorithms, and security trade-offs. They believe in decentralized governance and the alignment of human incentives through blockchain technology. The researcher emphasizes the importance of evaluating cryptocurrencies from a holistic perspective, combining disciplines like computer science, economics, and political philosophy. Their goal is to have an empowering and usable technology that prioritizes decentralization and scalability.
Off-chain governance and its flaws
The podcast explores the concept of off-chain governance and its potential flaws in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The speaker criticizes off-chain governance for lacking transparency, accountability, and checks and balances. They compare it to old-school politics without the necessary safeguards. The speaker argues that off-chain governance can lead to a disconnect between the interests of core contributors and the users of the network. They suggest that off-chain governance poses a systemic flaw in Bitcoin and Ethereum's governance structure.
The challenges of scaling and layer-two solutions
The podcast discusses the challenges of scaling in Ethereum and the potential limitations of layer-two solutions. The speaker raises concerns about Ethereum's current scaling approach and its reliance on layer-two solutions. They express skepticism about the user experience and scalability of layer-two solutions, suggesting that they may not provide a sufficient solution for Ethereum's scaling needs. The speaker also criticizes the limited impact of layer-two solutions, stating that they only benefit a small percentage of the network and do not address the overall scalability issue. They argue that Ethereum's dominance may be at risk if these scaling challenges are not effectively addressed.
In the early days of Solana, Justin Bons (Cyber Capital) was one of the network's biggest public critics. However, in the last several months, Justin has had a change of heart. In this episode, Justin opens up about both his disillusionment with the Ethereum L2 roadmap and why no longer sees Solana in a negative light. He also discusses the importance of approaching crypto through an interdisciplinary lens and how his philosophy background has encouraged him to stay open-minded, even if it means rethinking old beliefs.
DISCLAIMER
The content herein is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, options, futures, or other derivatives related to securities in any jurisdiction, nor should not be relied upon as advice to buy, sell or hold any of the foregoing. This content is intended to be general in nature and is not specific to you, the user or anyone else. You should not make any decision, financial, investment, trading or otherwise, based on any of the information presented without undertaking independent due diligence and consultation with a professional advisor. Solana Foundation Foundation and its agents, advisors, council members, officers and employees (the “Foundation Parties”) make no representation or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the information herein and expressly disclaims any and all liability that may be based on such information or any errors or omissions therein. The Foundation Parties shall have no liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to any person arising from or related to the content or any use of the information contained herein by you or any of your representatives. All opinions expressed herein are the speakers’ own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of any entities.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
