Solana co-founder prefers no US crypto reserve but is open to 'measurable requirements'

Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has expressed skepticism over the idea of a U.S. crypto strategic reserve, saying that his first preference would be to have no crypto reserve at all — warning that government involvement would undermine decentralization.

"My reserve order of preference: 1. No reserve, because if you want decentralization to fail you'd put the government in charge of it," Yakovenko said Thursday on X.

As an alternative, he proposed that individual states could manage their own reserves instead of the federal government, acting as a hedge against potential missteps by the Federal Reserve. "2. Or states run their own reserve as a hedge against the fed making a mistake," he said.

If a national crypto reserve must exist, Yakovenko's third preference is that it be structured around "objectively measurable requirements" — likely meaning clear and rational criteria. He also said that Solana could meet any defined benchmark if such requirements were put in place. "I don't care what they are, they can even be constructed such that only bitcoin satisfies them right now, they just must be objectively measurable and rationally justified," he said. "If there is a target to beat, the solana ecosystem will get it done."

Proposed US crypto strategic reserve

Yakovenko's comments come amid discussions surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed crypto strategic reserve, which includes Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP and Cardano (ADA). While details remain unclear, the idea has sparked debate within the crypto industry, with some supporting it while others rejecting the idea.

Critics have particularly questioned the potential inclusion of XRP and ADA, noting that these assets lack the same level of decentralization and developer activity as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as recently reported by The Block . Others have accused Trump of politicizing the reserve, claiming it may be designed to "pump his own bags." However, some believe the reserve could speed up regulatory clarity and potentially lead to approvals for ETFs tied to XRP and SOL.

More details on the proposed U.S. crypto reserve are expected at the White House's first crypto summit on Friday, with reports suggesting Bitcoin may be treated differently from altcoins in the reserve framework.

"The President definitely thinks that there's a Bitcoin strategic reserve," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick  reportedly said . "Now there will be the question of, how do we handle the other cryptocurrencies? And I think the model is going to be announced on Friday when we do that."