Anatoly Yakovenko’s Concerns
Anatoly Yakovenko, the CEO and co-founder of Solana Labs, has voiced strong disagreement regarding altcoin initiatives holding Bitcoin in their treasury. In a recent social media statement, he expressed his disbelief, saying:
This is so dumb… Why would anyone want a team to buy and hold bitcoin for them when they can do it themselves? Why pay for all those coconuts?
Yakovenko suggested that instead of accumulating Bitcoin, cryptocurrency projects should retain only enough funds to sustain operations for a maximum of three years, specifically in low-risk assets such as U.S. Treasury bills.
The Proposal from Charles Hoskinson
This debate emerged following a proposal from Charles Hoskinson, who co-founded Cardano, to convert $100 million of ADA into Bitcoin and stablecoins. Hoskinson believes this strategy would not negatively affect Cardano, suggesting that the annual yield generated could be reinvested to acquire more ADA, thereby replenishing the project’s financial reserves. He highlighted the potential for such continuous reinvestment to establish a stable financial foundation for Cardano’s ecosystem.
Market Reactions and Insights
Interestingly, some market analysts have expressed surprise at Cardano’s shift towards Bitcoin. Jeff Park, leading alpha strategies at Bitwise Invest, remarked on social media platform X:
Subpar altcoins ditching their own assets to build a BTC treasury was not on my 2025 bingo card.
In previous comments, Hoskinson has argued that Bitcoin should no longer be regarded as the only viable sound money blockchain. He stated:
We will not allow the maxi and the Bitcoin ecosystem to take it from us.
This further highlights the competitive nature of cryptocurrency projects today.
