- Nikita Bier joins Solana as an advisor, boosting its push into consumer applications.
- Bier cites regulation, app store openness, and Phantom wallet adoption for his decision.
- His role aligns with Solana’s Seeker phone launch, aiming for mobile crypto expansion.
Prominent consumer app developer Nikita Bier has announced his new role as an advisor to Solana. The appointment comes as Solana shows strong market performance, with the SOL token showing gains of 2.9% over the past 24 hours and 14.6% over the past week.
Sharing the announcement on his X post, Bier explained that recent developments have created favorable conditions for consumer product builders in the crypto space. His appointment is a strategic addition to Solana’s efforts, expanding presence in consumer applications. Notably, Bier is known for creating apps like Gas and tbh (which was acquired by Facebook).
Further, Bier pointed to three key factors that influenced his decision to join Solana. First, he noted the improved regulatory environment under the new administration, which has become “far more conducive to experimentation.” Second, he highlighted increased openness from app stores toward crypto applications, with “multiple coin launchpads being released.” Finally, he referenced the widespread adoption of Phantom wallets driven by meme coin popularity, which has placed Solana “on millions of phones.”
“While the jury is not out yet, Solana has the fundamental building blocks for something to break out on mobile and certainly many apps are making headway,” Bier stated. He revealed that discussions about getting involved with Solana co-founders Raj Gokal and Anatoly Yakovenko had been ongoing for several years. However, he mentioned that the ecosystem has only recently “matured to a point where Solana apps can now top the charts.”
Related: BNB Chain Overtakes Solana as Memecoin Trading Volume Soars
The timing of Bier’s involvement coincides with Solana’s preparation to launch its Seeker mobile device, which aims to provide a crypto-native smartphone experience. This hardware initiative, combined with Bier’s expertise in consumer applications, positions Solana to potentially capture market share in the mobile crypto application segment.
Bier also expressed his perspective on cryptocurrency, noting that despite his “mixed opinions on crypto over the years,” recent months have brought meaningful changes that make the space more attractive for builders. He acknowledged crypto’s recent volatility but encouraged looking past the cyclical noise to recognize the “innate value in creating capital markets for things that are otherwise too difficult to build marketplaces around.”
