“We Were Really Warmly Welcomed” - dYdX Foundation CEO Praises Solana’s Builder Culture

At Solana Breakpoint 2024, Charles d’Haussy, CEO of the dYdX Foundation, sat down with SolanaFloor to discuss the protocols’s upcoming enhancements and muse on Solana’s growth.

While dYdX, one of the crypto industry’s oldest decentralized perpetual exchanges, runs its own sovereign appchain, the platform recently integrated Solana-based assets into its platform. 

The move brought greater exposure to a wealth of Solana ecosystem tokens, allowing dYdX traders to express their opinion on assets like $SOL, $JUP, and $WIF.

Drawing on his rich experience in the industry, d’Haussy made fascinating remarks about Solana culture.

Solana Builder Energy

When dYdX governance moved to include more Solana-based assets via a Raydium integration in June, d’Haussy and the dYdX were hesitant to approach the Solana community. 

“When we started to reach out to the Solana ecosystem, I was kind of cautious and trying to be gentle, not knowing exactly how we would be welcome for conversations about possible integration”

From an outside perspective, blockchain tribalism formed a perceived barrier to entry. Chain maximalism is a serious obstacle within the industry, which is further exacerbated by obstinate and outspoken communities on social media.

Fortunately, away from the noise and distractions of social media, the teams actually building these ecosystems are eager to collaborate and push the collectively push the industry forward. d’Haussy remarked that the Solana Foundation was welcoming and receptive to working alongside teams from alternative ecosystems in the pursuit of progress.

“We were really warmly welcomed. I think the Solana ecosystem has showed us, you want to connect to the Solana ecosystem and bring more mindshare to the Solana ecosystem via your own chain? How can we help you?… The Solana Foundation has been extremely welcoming, connecting us to plenty of people. And the builders were also very welcoming.”

“Sometimes Twitter makes you think that this is all tribes and they look at each other from afar. But the reality is the real builders and the people which are in the industry long enough and for the long term, they are very friendly and they want to grow the cake for everyone.”

Additionally, d’Haussy asserted that “Solana is like Ethereum five years ago”, highlighting the energy and hunger shown by developers building innovative products. The CEO drew comparisons between the atmosphere of week’s earlier Token 2049 conference and Solana Breakpoint.

“We are just out of three days of Token 2049, which is much more salesy and marketing and towards trading activities, which is really the audience of DYDX. So, that was perfect, we had a blast over there. Suddenly, you wake up the next morning and you're going to Solana Breakpoint.”

“It's a bit of a shock for me because suddenly we are surrounded by devs. So, there is this kind of change of seasons overnight between the projects and the business development atmosphere of Token 2049 and here the business, the atmosphere of building here at Solana.”

Blockchain tribalism is a regrettable obstacle, but easily overcome. As evidenced by dYdX and the Solana, teams from different chains can always find ways to work together in a way that benefits both parties and further advances the space.

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