Solana Co-Founder Advocates for No Crypto Reserves in Pursuit of True Decentralization

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder and CEO of Solana (SOL), said he would prefer no crypto reserves, particularly questioning the concept of a US government-controlled strategic reserve.

State-Led Reserves as an Alternative

Yakovenko outlined his order of preference for a reserve in an X post on March 6, stating that his first choice would be no reserve at all. He argued that putting the government in charge of a reserve would ultimately lead to the failure of decentralization.

As a secondary option, he suggested that individual states could manage their own reserves, allowing them to hedge against potential mistakes made by the Federal Reserve.

Lastly, if a reserve had to exist, Yakovenko emphasized that it should be based on objectively measurable criteria. Solana co-founder stated that he did not have strong opinions on what these criteria should be, even if they currently only allowed Bitcoin (BTC) to qualify, as long as they were transparent and logically justified. He was confident that the Solana ecosystem would rise to meet any defined targets.

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

Yakovenko directly responded to claims that Ripple (XRP) had lobbied for Solana’s inclusion in a proposed national reserve to bolster XRP’s legitimacy. He denied Solana’s involvement, saying, “What’s a Solana representative? At this point, it’s honestly like saying a Bitcoin representative. No one asked me, and I didn’t pitch it.”

Trump’s Crypto Reserve Plan Sparks Debate

Yakovenko’s statements follow US President Donald Trump’s proposal on March 2 to announce a list of digital assets to be included in a crypto strategic reserve. Trump said that the Working Group on Digital Assets had been instructed to include XRP, Solana, Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) in a strategic reserve.

Following Trump’s announcement, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant rally. XRP surged by 34%, SOL increased by 27%, and ADA soared more than 80%. Bitcoin also rebounded, rising over 10% to $94,343. Ether, which had seen some of the steepest declines earlier in the year, gained 19%.

⚡️ February 2025 Crypto Recap: Trump’s Crypto Reserve, Investor Exodus,  Macro Pressures, and Whale Sell-offs

From Bitcoin's wild swings to Ethereum and Solana's latest trends – dive into our breakdown of the crypto market in February 2025👇https://t.co/gmCkSFwUgd

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) March 6, 2025

The inclusion of these digital assets had also sparked controversy within the crypto community, with many raising concerns about government overreach and the preservation of decentralization.

Lee Bratcher, President of the Texas Blockchain Council, told Cryptonews that while he isn’t a Bitcoin maximalist, he believes that the US reserve should only contain BTC.

Steven Lubka, head of Bitcoin investments for institutions at Swan Bitcoin, added that the strategic reserve should be centered around global, neutral, strategic assets that benefit the US. “Bitcoin is the only digital asset which fits this description,” Lubka said.