Ethereum Researcher Max Resnick Moves to Solana, Referencing Differences with Ethereum’s Development Plan

Notable blockchain researcher Max Resnick has moved from Ethereum infrastructure company ConsenSys to Anza, a research and development firm focused on Solana.

In a post on X dated December 9, Resnick shared that it was his first day at Anza and conveyed his excitement about his new position.

“I’m taking my talents to Solana,” he stated, mentioning his growing concerns regarding Ethereum’s scaling strategy as a factor in his decision.

Resnick Continues to Critique L2 Solutions

Resnick, who formerly held the position of head of research at ConsenSys subsidiary Special Mechanisms Group, has been outspoken in his criticism of Ethereum’s dependence on layer-2 solutions for scaling.

He instead promotes a more base-layer-focused strategy similar to Solana’s framework.

During his first 100 days at Anza, Resnick intends to concentrate on creating a technical specification that addresses Solana’s fee markets and consensus mechanisms.

He believes these aspects present the most significant opportunities for him to make a substantial contribution.

Anza, recognized for developing Solana’s Agave client, aims to improve the network’s resilience and uptime—crucial factors for its long-term sustainability.

The Ethereum community has shown mixed reactions to Resnick’s exit. Ryan Berckmans, an Ethereum supporter, noted that Resnick’s critiques of Ethereum’s roadmap made his transition expected.

Berckmans pointed out the irony of Resnick now working to enhance Solana’s client diversity and research capabilities, which he often cited as strengths of Ethereum.

“Critics like Max have frequently claimed that Ethereum needs to become more like Solana,” Berckmans remarked in a Dec. 9 post on X.

Great to see that Max has left Eth‘s extended core dev community.
Ethereum is for everybody, and Eth has many earnest critics, but Max wasn’t one of them.
Max has joined Solana. He writes:
> In my first 100 days, I plan on writing a spec for as much of the Solana protocol as I… https://t.co/rRyTKTw0mp

— Ryan Berckmans ryanb.eth (@ryanberckmans) December 9, 2024

Nonetheless, industry leaders view Resnick’s transition as a positive development for the blockchain industry.

Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko highlighted the potential for “cross-pollination” of ideas between the two ecosystems, suggesting that Resnick’s knowledge could foster innovation throughout.

Notably, Resnick will retain a connection to Ethereum in an advisory capacity as a research fellow at ConsenSys.

He emphasized that the Special Mechanisms Group, along with recent additions to the team, will continue to advance Ethereum’s development and contribute to wider blockchain research efforts.

Institutional Investments in Solana DApps Reach $173M in Q3

As reported, institutional investment in Solana-based blockchain applications saw a resurgence in the third quarter of 2024, with Solana’s decentralized applications (DApps) garnering $173 million across 29 funding rounds.

This represents a 54% increase from the previous quarter, indicating renewed interest in the Solana ecosystem despite a 37% drop in the number of funding rounds, according to a recent Messari report.

The report indicates that this influx of capital marks the highest investment level in Solana projects since Q2 2022.

The third quarter also experienced a significant rise in Solana’s fee-related metrics.

Average daily fee payers reached 1.9 million, reflecting a remarkable 109% increase quarter-over-quarter, while new fee payers surged 430% to 1.3 million.

However, the network’s daily transaction volume, excluding voting-related activities, fell by 12% to 62 million transactions.

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