We catch up with Austin, Head of Strategy at Solana Foundation and former Head of Communications at Solana Labs. In particular, we focus on how Solana continues to differentiate itself from a fast-growing array of challenger blockchain ecosystems with token extensions. We also chat about Solana's emphasis on grassroots growth over top-down business development approaches and how Solana positions itself across a variety of strategic sub sectors within the emergent crypto economy. A great overview from the perspective of one of Solana's most prominent voices.

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Time Stamps

0:00 - Business Development strategy

5:18 - Token Extensions program

7:55 - Why build app chains anymore?

10:06 - Native L1 private transactions

14:03 - Unlocking on-chain payments

17:05 - Why Coinbase ignores Solana

19:05 - DePIN achieving PMF

24:53 - The rise of Solana-based games

30:50 - Unlocking the abundance of NFTs through compression

33:01 - Mobile strategy

38:06 - L1 governance

40:42 - Maintaining fast updates alongside decentralization

44:12 - Surviving state-level attacks

49:57 - Human coordination is the final boss?

55:59 - What is Austin excited about?

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Podcast Resources

Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz

Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum

Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod

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Episode Resources

Follow Austin : https://Twitter.com/AustinFedera

Follow Validated : https://Twitter.com/ValidatedPod

Token Extensions and Solana’s Long-Term Strategy | Austin Federa