I have always found the story of Anatoly Yakovenko and how he built Solana fascinating, starting from a simple idea: creating a blockchain fast enough to compete with Visa. This guy came from Qualcomm; he wasn't someone who spoke empty words.

During the 2021 boom, everyone was shouting 'Ethereum Killer,' Solana was everywhere, it seemed unstoppable. But we know how it ended. When FTX collapsed, Solana's main backer turned out to be a scam. Literally overnight, the narrative completely changed. The price hit rock bottom, down 97%. People said it was over, that Solana was dead.

This is where the story gets interesting. While everyone was fleeing and critics were celebrating, Anatoly Yakovenko and the team did something rare: they kept working. They endured the ridicule, fixed the network's technical issues, and focused on what they knew best—technology.

A year later? Solana was not only still alive but was processing more transactions than almost all other blockchains combined. Anatoly Yakovenko saw his creation collapse, but he didn't give up. And now, looking at the price at $85.26 with a -2.48% change in the last 24 hours, you can see that the project has found its stability and continues to evolve.

It's one of those rare examples where persistence and focus on technology beat the narrative and panic. I don't know about you, but I find this kind of story fascinating in crypto.