Solana and Base Clash Over New ‘Bidirectional’ Bridge

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko strongly criticized the new bidirectional bridge announced by Coinbase's Base network, labeling the concept of 'alignment' as "alignment bullshit." Yakovenko argued that cross-chain bridges are not neutral infrastructure but rather tools that dictate where transaction fees and economic activity ultimately accrue, demanding that Base applications migrate computation to Solana for fees to benefit Solana validators.

Base lead Jesse Pollak defended the bridge as a necessary two-way tool to unlock shared liquidity for teams on both networks. However, Yakovenko rejected this, warning that 'alignment' is often marketing used to obscure capital flight, and insisted Base should honestly market the bridge as a competitive tactic. Solana Foundation executives echoed this sentiment, alleging Base bypassed Solana teams and launched the product without partners, citing private communications suggesting hostile intent.

Market observers, like NFT historian Leonidas, view Base's approach as similar 'alignment propaganda' used previously on Ethereum to extract mindshare before pivoting to its native economy. Solana and Base are currently two of the fastest-growing blockchain networks, competing directly for assets and developer activity, collectively holding nearly $20 billion in locked value.

(Source：BeInCrypto)