EPISODE · Apr 3, 2026 · 18 MIN
Why Solana keeps getting faster — and what's next (ft. Jito Labs CEO Lucas Bruder)
from a16z crypto show · host Andreessen Horowitz
What if opening a trading account was as easy as downloading an app? Lucas Bruder, CEO of Jito — a Solana-based liquid staking protocol — breaks down why he thinks all of finance is moving onchain, and what his small team is doing to make that happen. During the 2022-2023 bear market, Jito was getting pitched constantly to jump ship to other chains. Lucas explains why they turned everything down, doubled down on Solana, and chewed a lot of glass. We also cover how Jito acts like a Cloudflare for Solana, why cheap transactions create surprising problems, what convinced Lucas that the Solana engineers were in it for the right reasons, and his vision for a financial system anyone can access with just a phone. Follow Jito: https://www.jito.network/ Follow Lucas: https://x.com/buffalu__ Highlights 0:00 — Intro 0:49 — What is Jito and why does it exist 1:11 — Why Solana transactions are less than a penny 2:00 — What attracted Lucas to Solana from Ethereum 2:39 — How Jito is like Cloudflare for blockchains 5:02 — The $1,500 Ethereum transaction fee problem 7:21 — The vision: all of finance onchain 7:46 — Onchain vs. opening a Robinhood account 8:37 — Lucas's journey from robotics to crypto 9:55 — Solana's rate of improvement and Anatoly's Law 10:44 — The pitch for people new to crypto 15:00 — Staying lean at 21 people 15:17 — Nicotine as a productivity hack 15:58 — Sleep, alcohol, and the Oura ring 16:40 — Smallest hill you'll die on: littering and shopping carts Follow a16z crypto for more... X: https://x.com/a16zcrypto LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/a16zcrypto/posts/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@a16zcrypto Substack: https://a16zcrypto.substack.com/subscribe/ As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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What this episode covers
Lucas Bruder, CEO of Jito, joins us to talk about why he believes the future of finance is moving onchain — and how his team is helping make that possible on Solana. He explains what Jito does, why Solana’s speed and low transaction costs create both opportunity and complexity, and how Jito has become critical infrastructure for the network. Lucas also reflects on doubling down on Solana during the bear market, the company’s lean approach to building, and his broader vision for a more accessible financial system.
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Why Solana keeps getting faster — and what's next (ft. Jito Labs CEO Lucas Bruder)
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