Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko told attendees at TechCrunch Disrupt that he now relies heavily on artificial intelligence coding tools to handle software development tasks, often monitoring the AI assistant Claude during meetings while the tool works through programming challenges. The remarks came as the Solana cryptocurrency protocol reported $2.85 billion in annual revenue and launched its first exchange-traded fund, though the platform faces mounting criticism over coins that critics say enable political bribery.
What to Know:
- Solana Labs CEO said he watches AI coding assistant Claude work during meetings, calling it a "force multiplier" for experienced developers
- Solana announced $2.85 billion in annual revenue and launched an ETF that attracted nearly $70 million on its first day
- The platform faces criticism over Trumpcoin, which directed an estimated $350 million to the president, raising bribery concerns
AI Coding Tools Reshape Development Work
Yakovenko, who has developed software for more than 15 years, described his growing reliance on agentic coding technology during his appearance at the tech conference. He said his expertise allows him to monitor the AI's work and detect when the system veers off course.
"AI has been a great force multiplier for somebody who's an expert," Yakovenko said. "Now I can just watch Claude churning through its thing and I can almost smell when it's going off the rails."
The Solana co-founder acknowledged his divided attention has become noticeable to colleagues.
"If people are in a meeting with me and I'm not paying attention, it's because I'm watching Claude," he said.
Agentic coding refers to AI systems that can autonomously write, debug and modify code with minimal human intervention. These tools have gained traction among software engineers who use them to accelerate development timelines and handle routine programming tasks.
Financial Success Amid Controversy
The cryptocurrency protocol announced its annual revenue figure earlier this month, with crypto trading platforms driving much of the growth. Bitwise, a crypto asset manager, launched Solana's first ETF the day before Yakovenko's conference appearance. The fund recorded nearly $70 million in inflows during its initial trading day.
Yakovenko credited the performance to increased acceptance from traditional finance professionals.
"If you are a back-office finance person, you actually get crypto much, much faster," he said. "Finance people deal with settlement risk all the time. They deal with banking risk all the time."
The comments addressed why conventional finance workers understand blockchain technology more readily than other groups. Settlement risk refers to the possibility that one party in a transaction fails to deliver as agreed, while banking risk encompasses various threats to financial institutions including credit defaults and liquidity problems.
An exchange-traded fund packages assets like stocks or cryptocurrencies into shares that trade on conventional exchanges, allowing investors to gain exposure without directly purchasing the underlying asset. The Solana ETF marks a milestone for the cryptocurrency, which has struggled alongside many digital assets in recent years.
Yet Solana faces significant scrutiny over its role in what critics characterize as political corruption.
Trumpcoin, hosted on the Solana protocol, has directed an estimated $350 million to the president. Critics view this as a form of bribery, particularly after Trump issued high-profile pardons for Tron founder Justin Sun and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
Yakovenko pushed back on suggestions he bears responsibility for how the platform is used.
He compared Solana to email, arguing both serve as neutral infrastructure. "I could send you an email with a link to Trumpcoin or Fartcoin, and both of those are protocols, both the email and the underlying protocol that creates that market," he said.
Closing Thoughts
Yakovenko's comments highlighted the intersection of emerging technology and cryptocurrency development, even as Solana grapples with questions about its role in controversial financial transactions. The platform's open protocol structure means its creators exercise little control over the coins and applications built atop it.