Dogecoin Founder Billy Markus Criticizes Solana as Centralized and Inefficient

Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus, also known as Shibetoshi Nakamoto, recently took to Twitter to share his thoughts on what makes popular cryptocurrencies "useless." Markus argued that high transaction fees on leading blockchain platforms render them "broken garbage." To improve these cryptos, he advised scaling their technology, stating, "Scale the tech or ngmi" — an abbreviation for "nobody's gonna make it."

High transaction fees have long plagued both Bitcoin and Ethereum, with fees on the latter often soaring to extreme levels, especially during periods of congestion. Smaller blockchains have sought to address these issues by implementing Layer 2 solutions for Ethereum, such as Arbitrum One, Polygon Hermez, and Shibarium.

In a recent comment thread, when a user suggested that Solana addresses the issue of high gas fees, Markus retorted that Solana is essentially a "centralized database and does not solve anything." He criticized the blockchain for its frequent downtime in 2021 and 2022, which required the team to restart the ledger multiple times.

Markus' own creation, Dogecoin, is known for its low transaction fees, with massive transactions by whales sometimes costing less than $1. Elon Musk, an outspoken supporter of Dogecoin, has previously emphasized the importance of maintaining low transaction fees for the cryptocurrency to remain the "people’s currency."

The recent milestone of Solana's Nakamoto Coefficient reaching 33 however counters the false statement the Dogecoin founder made, reflecting its commitment to decentralization and security. As Solana continues to expand its ecosystem and attract more users, developers, and investors, we can expect the network to become even more decentralized and resilient, driving blockchain technology forward and contributing to the broader adoption of digital assets and decentralized applications.

With a call to scale technology and address transaction fees, Markus highlights the need for ongoing innovation in the cryptocurrency space. Solana is at the forefront of scalable and decentralized blockchains, providing a solution to the high fees on other platforms, being the epitome of solutions that are both efficient and decentralized.