Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko hit at the core of Coinbase's Base expansion strategy this weekend, dismissing the Ethereum Layer-2 network's new bridge as 'alignment nonsense.'
In a sharp rebuke of Base leader Jesse Pollak, Yakovenko argued that cross-chain bridges are rarely neutral infrastructure. He said they act as vectors for value capture, determining where fees settle and which ecosystem benefits from it.
Solana encourages migration
Yakovenko claims that Base applications must migrate their data processing to Solana so that transaction fees and economic activity benefit Solana validators.
“Migrate base apps to Solana so that they operate on Solana, and transactions are linearized by Solana-staked block producers. It would be good for Solana developers. Otherwise, it's alignment nonsense,” he said.
The disagreement arose after Pollak announced the integration last week, framing it as a “two-way” tool to unlock shared liquidity.
“We built this as a two-way bridge. The whole point is to free movement both ways because we hear from the Solana team that they want access to Base, and from the Base team that they want access to Solana. We will make that possible,” Pollak emphasized.
However, Yakovenko dismissed this premise, warning that 'alignment' is a marketing term often used to disguise capital flight.
In light of this, he demanded that Base market the bridge honestly as a competitive tactic rather than a collaborative project.
“Ethereum L2s must do alignment dance because all activity on L2 takes away from Ethereum L1, but you can't be honest about it. So it smells like nonsense,” Yakovenko said.
Solana Foundation leaders Vibhu Norby and Akshay BD had previously criticized the bridge, stating that Base completely overlooked Solana's technical and marketing teams.
They also claimed that the exchange-backed network launched the product without a single Solana launch partner.
At the same time, they cited private communications in which Base management allegedly discussed 'flipping' Solana as evidence of hostile intent.
“We would like to invite you to a genuine commercial conversation… just not a performative one with platitudes that don't mean much,” BD stated.
However, Pollak defended the initiative, arguing that his team spent nine months building the connection to satisfy developer demand on both sides.
He attributed the friction to a communication breakdown and insisted that the bridge allows assets to flow freely where opportunities exist.
“If you are a Solana builder, we welcome you with open arms — and have no expectation or desire for you to move entirely to Base! We will give your assets access to the demand built on Base and make that process as simple as possible,” Pollak explained.
However, market observers see a darker pattern.
NFT historian Leonidas noted that Base used similar “alignment propaganda” on Ethereum in 2023, garnering developer mindshare before turning to its own native economy.
“Coinbase/Base's new campaign to appeal to the Solana ecosystem feels similarly dishonest. If the Solana ecosystem buys into the same 'alignment propaganda' that the Ethereum L1 ecosystem did, it deserves the same fate,” Leonidas said.
Solana and Base have become two of the fastest-growing blockchain networks, competing directly for assets, liquidity, and developer activity.
Together, they hold nearly $ 20 billion in locked value. Solana accounts for about $ 12 billion, while Base holds about $ 6 billion, according to DeFiLlama data.
