Solana Foundation's Liu: Focus on finance, not gaming 'misadventures'

Core Viewpoint - The Solana Foundation President Lily Liu emphasizes that blockchains should refocus on their original purpose of finance, rejecting narratives that position the technology as a generalized replacement for the modern internet [1]. Group 1: Blockchain's Purpose - Liu asserts that financialization and open capital markets are the core value propositions of blockchain technology [1]. - She criticizes past attempts to apply blockchains to gaming and broad "web3" narratives, labeling them as intellectually lazy and overly reliant on marketing [2]. - Liu argues that meaningful adoption of blockchain requires the creation of entirely new financial markets rather than merely placing existing applications on a blockchain [2]. Group 2: Market Context - The comments come at a time when cryptocurrency prices are declining, with major tokens like bitcoin and ether experiencing significant drops due to macroeconomic uncertainty and reduced speculative demand [3]. - Despite the downturn in prices, institutional interest in blockchain technology remains strong, with traditional financial firms exploring tokenization and on-chain settlement [3]. Group 3: Industry Trends - Liu's remarks align with a broader trend in the industry where leaders are refining their visions for blockchain utility, as seen with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's focus on layer-1 scaling [4]. - This shift indicates a move towards enhancing usability and coherence within fragmented ecosystems, rather than expanding into layer-2 solutions [4]. - Overall, the industry is recalibrating its focus on the fundamental purposes of blockchain technology amidst falling prices [5].