The Day Stablecoins Become the 'World's Backend'—Solana Co-Founder on the Next 5 Years
Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko shares his long-term vision of a 'single massive ledger (a single computer)' for every market in the world. Blockchain as a high-speed execution layer, the explosion of stablecoins brought about by regulatory shifts in the U.S., and the renewal of cryptographic foundations in preparation for the quantum computing era—his remarks clearly illustrate the convergence point of finance, the internet, and cryptography. This article summarizes his key points along with the latest facts.
1. Stablecoins and U.S. Treasuries—The possibility that 'the internet will become the largest holder'
1-1. Money attracted by regulatory clarity
The GENIUS Act (Stablecoin Regulation Act) passed and signed by the U.S. Congress establishes 1:1 reserves, monthly disclosures, and supervisory authority, creating an institutional framework for issuers. This could further accelerate the adoption of dollar-denominated stablecoins.
1-2. Inflow of real capital: Tether's U.S. Treasury exposure
The largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, is estimated to have reached approximately $127 billion in U.S. Treasury exposure, with some estimates placing it as the 18th largest holder globally. This is a nation-state level scale, making Anatoly Yakovenko's view that 'the internet will become the largest holder of U.S. Treasuries' a realistic prospect.
2. Solana's design philosophy—Aiming to be the 'world's execution layer'
2-1. A low-latency 'execution engine'
Anatoly Yakovenko presents a division of roles: 'Ethereum is the world's settlement layer, and Solana is the world's execution layer.' The core of this idea is the minimization of latency. By realizing a globally synchronized massive state machine, the speed of asset movement is increased to its physical limits. While the paths differ, various documents confirm that Yakovenko is a key player leading Solana.
2-2. Seeds of real demand: Expansion of tokenized MMFs
BlackRock's tokenized Money Market Fund (BUIDL) expanded to Solana in March 2025. The case of a real-demand product worth approximately $1.7 billion being deployed across multiple chains demonstrates the reality of 'public chains as execution layers' entering the backend of financial settlement.
3. RWA and the creator economy—'Clarity' is key
3-1. Breaking correlations with RWAs (real estate, insurance, bonds) to gain a 'free lunch' in finance
Anatoly Yakovenko emphasizes the need to incorporate non-correlated assets into DeFi. Bringing RWAs such as bonds, insurance, and commodities on-chain is a prerequisite for recreating the 'free lunch' of portfolio diversification and hedging. As the expansion of BUIDL mentioned above shows, these efforts are steadily progressing from real-world assets.
3-2. Creators x Tokens: The culmination of institutional design
For NFTs and 'creator coins,' the determination of rights attribution and securities status has been a barrier. If framework development like the GENIUS Act progresses, the path to full-scale models such as revenue sharing and equity linkage will widen.
4. Preparing for the quantum computing and AI era—Transitioning to Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)
Anatoly Yakovenko anticipates the 'possibility of a quantum breakthrough within five years' and urges major chains, including Bitcoin, to transition to quantum resistance. Apple has already introduced 'PQ3' in iMessage, and Google has pivoted to post-quantum key exchange (ML-KEM) for TLS. PQC support by massive consumer foundations drives the update of cryptography across the entire Web and provides a tailwind for blockchain-side transition decisions.
5. Redrawing the competitive map—Convergence of legacy payments and L1/L2
Anatoly Yakovenko points out that 'Visa/Mastercard are essentially tech companies,' and if stablecoin-backed settlement that bypasses bank loops becomes widespread, cost structures will become even thinner. While competition between L1/L2 will continue, success or failure will depend on whether they can refine an execution layer that is 'fast, cheap, and reliable.'
Conclusion
Mr. Yakovenko's remarks outline a triple turning point: ①dollar-pegged stablecoins permeate the world's backend through regulatory clarity, ②capital markets become internet-native through tokenization and RWA, and ③cryptographic infrastructure undergoes a major upgrade for quantum readiness. The 'single massive ledger' he describes will likely become a reality of financial infrastructure, rather than just a metaphor, once the trinity of technology, regulation, and demand advances in unison.
