Web3 Leader Spotlight: Jacob Creech
This week, we caught up with Jacob Creech, Developer Relations Lead at Solana Foundation. As one of Web3's most prolific blockchains with a market cap standing at over $8.9bn (as of 20th August 2023), Jacob offers us a unique insight into Solana's vibrant community and ever-growing ecosystem.
Jacob, what’s the most exciting innovation that is happening in Solana right now?
There are many but for me, the most exciting innovation going on within the Solana ecosystem is Firedancer. Firedancer is a new validator client that will run the Solana network, bringing unprecedented speed to the chain. The new client is bringing down overall hardware costs while improving the latency on an already fast chain. Solana is already the highest throughput chain and Firedancer makes it the obvious choice for consumer applications.
What makes Solana’s ecosystem - dApps, projects & startups - different to other ecosystems?
Solana's dapps are relentlessly user focused by design. Solana has a different design space than what you usually see in blockchain. While apps on other chains are designing around the sluggish speed people are used to in crypto, Solana apps are building for everyone.
There's already been a few breakout apps on Solana that most users didn't notice were built on crypto. Stepn, Drip Haus, and more brought crypto to the general public at the UX and the speed a user expects on the internet. If any app is built in crypto that has a chance of general adoption, it'll be built on Solana.
What makes Solana’s community stand out from other web3 communities?
Solana's community is incredibly strong and a tight-knit group. The group exists without tribalism and is solely focused on one thing: bringing product market fit to Blockchain. The community is focused on UX and building the next big app on Solana.
What can we expect from Solana as a blockchain over the coming 5-10years?
Solana as a blockchain will continue to improve, bringing new innovation with each new release. You'll find that most innovations are only beginning to be thought of on other chains, such as account abstraction and nestable NFTs, while having already existed for years on Solana. This fast iteration of innovation will continue on Solana.
