L1/L2 Culture Wars
As L1/L2 ecosystems mature, the battle to acquire developers, builders, and talent is becoming even more aggressive. What may have worked in the past may not be effective now. It turns out that two ecosystems currently have the strongest foothold in the developer community: EVM and SVM. While EVM evolves over time, it has been predominantly represented by Base, and SVM by Solana.
When founders join Alliance, they usually have a clear idea of which L1s or L2s they want to build on. This choice effectively reflects the current market demand for those chains and how well the L1s/L2s are doing in recruiting high-quality builders. The projects that emerge from Alliance are a reflection of where builders choose to align themselves.
It's very hard to convince builders to develop on new chains unless there is a significant technical advantage that gives them a 10x improvement over competitors on other chains. In such cases, they might accept the platform risk because the potential payout could be 100x. However, this incentive is diminishing over time as established chains like Base, Solana, and others continue to improve throughput, reduce costs, and increase speed—all while acquiring talent and developers at a high rate.
For new chains, it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with leading chains in both acquiring mindshare and executing on products that make it easier for builders to develop. Examples include Base's Smart Accounts combined with access to 110 million Coinbase users, or Solana's Integrated first approach, all-time highs in monthly active wallets, and innovations like Firedancer.
I've also noticed stark cultural differences between the Solana and Base communities. The Base community feels more open to everyone, less speculative, more creator-focused, and is about onboarding everyone on-chain. In contrast, Solana seems more focused on attracting engineering-first builders and developing products across a wide spectrum.
We're starting to witness the first signs of a culture war between Solana and Base, where founders are leaving one chain for another because they don't align with the values of their previous chain. I've seen this happen with both Base and Solana. I'm not sure if this is just the beginning or if it will grow bigger, but to me, one of the enduring strengths of chains is the culture they've built over the years.
Not saying this is a winner-takes-all market by any means, but so far, a few chains are winning developer mindshare. As new chains prepare to launch, it will become increasingly harder to compete with the momentum.
As L1/L2 ecosystems mature, the battle to acquire developers, builders, and talent is becoming even more aggressive. What may have worked in the past may not be effective now. It turns out that two ecosystems currently have the strongest foothold in the developer community: EVM and SVM. While EVM evolves over time, it has been predominantly represented by Base, and SVM by Solana.
When founders join Alliance, they usually have a clear idea of which L1s or L2s they want to build on. This choice effectively reflects the current market demand for those chains and how well the L1s/L2s are doing in recruiting high-quality builders. The projects that emerge from Alliance are a reflection of where builders choose to align themselves.
It's very hard to convince builders to develop on new chains unless there is a significant technical advantage that gives them a 10x improvement over competitors on other chains. In such cases, they might accept the platform risk because the potential payout could be 100x. However, this incentive is diminishing over time as established chains like Base, Solana, and others continue to improve throughput, reduce costs, and increase speed—all while acquiring talent and developers at a high rate.
For new chains, it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with leading chains in both acquiring mindshare and executing on products that make it easier for builders to develop. Examples include Base's Smart Accounts combined with access to 110 million Coinbase users, or Solana's Integrated first approach, all-time highs in monthly active wallets, and innovations like Firedancer.
I've also noticed stark cultural differences between the Solana and Base communities. The Base community feels more open to everyone, less speculative, more creator-focused, and is about onboarding everyone on-chain. In contrast, Solana seems more focused on attracting engineering-first builders and developing products across a wide spectrum.
We're starting to witness the first signs of a culture war between Solana and Base, where founders are leaving one chain for another because they don't align with the values of their previous chain. I've seen this happen with both Base and Solana. I'm not sure if this is just the beginning or if it will grow bigger, but to me, one of the enduring strengths of chains is the culture they've built over the years.
Not saying this is a winner-takes-all market by any means, but so far, a few chains are winning developer mindshare. As new chains prepare to launch, it will become increasingly harder to compete with the momentum.
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