# How Anatoly Yakovenko built Solana

> Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko shares his path from engineering to crypto, from dabbling in bringing Rust to crypto to building a new kind of blockchain. This conversation, moderated by a16z crypto deal partner Guy Wuollet, also covers the tough, early phases of technical maturation at Solana, ...

- URL: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/videos/how-anatoly-yakovenko-built-solana
- Authors: [Guy Wuollet](https://a16zcrypto.com/team/guy-wuollet), [Anatoly Yakovenko](https://a16zcrypto.com/team/anatoly-yakovenko)
- Published: 2023-06-02
- Updated: 2025-01-29
- Focus areas: company building
- Tags: CSX 2023, founder stories, video
- Format: videos

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Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko shares his path from engineering to crypto, from dabbling in bringing Rust to crypto to building a new kind of blockchain. This conversation, moderated by a16z crypto deal partner Guy Wuollet, also covers the tough, early phases of technical maturation at Solana, growing a passionate audience of users and developers, and the benefits of building during a market slowdown.

[Embedded media](https://www.youtube.com/embed/jnJkQwmZXfA?feature=oembed)

**More from:**

-   [Crypto Startup School ‘23](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjQ9HCQMu_8ywq3VUso7i_-TOx6RKXQeQ)
-   [Crypto Startup School ‘20](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjQ9HCQMu_8wCvA0s9yW2dXg1jkFlPs7Z)
-   Anatoly: [https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko](https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa3BrYmVpdEMtWHJxQjdpRFFDa3IyaHM2amFWd3xBQ3Jtc0trMjdTLWNvOUJfRF9rakJIcjRGczBOMGlHNTctSVZLTWJiaHBnY20yelkxTGZSTEtlV1p6UDMxWENLVDVGRkRRbFZMWWhqem9JOEFZcFVmSm9Oc0VNbl9zTGZuQWRtUVF4YS1uZU5sX1RhSzdxTHFXYw&q=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Faeyakovenko&v=jnJkQwmZXfA)

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Source: [How Anatoly Yakovenko built Solana](https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/videos/how-anatoly-yakovenko-built-solana) — a16z crypto. Full archive: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts