Gavin Wood on Ethereum, Solana & Polkadot: Can They Really Cooperate? The Real Fix Isn't Tech — It's Philosophy

The Blockchains Are Fighting—But Why?

Let’s be honest: watching Ethereum, Solana, and Polkadot duke it out like rival football teams is exhausting. We’ve turned cross-chain compatibility into a zero-sum game—winner takes all, no room for cooperation. But as Polkadot’s founder Gavin Wood just reminded us in a recent interview, this isn’t inevitable.

It’s not that they can’t work together—it’s that we’ve built the system to prevent it. We treat each chain like a sovereign nation with its own currency, laws, and borders. That’s great for autonomy—but terrible for interoperability.

The Real Problem Isn’t Code

Here’s where most analysts miss the point: technical solutions like bridges or parachains are band-aids on a systemic wound.

Wood pointed to something far more radical: what if we separate network from token?

Imagine this—your token (say, \(ETH or \)SOL) stays loyal to its home chain—the network doesn’t need to own it. But now it can move freely across chains via floating exchange rates, just like foreign currencies in forex markets.

No central hub. No trust in intermediaries. Just open rails—and smart contracts that respect every token’s original identity.

This isn’t just theory; it’s how real economies function globally. Why should blockchains be any different?

Why It Feels Impossible (And Why It Still Works)

Of course, there are hurdles—political resistance from ecosystems used to dominance; economic incentives favoring isolation; developer loyalty tied to branding.

But here’s the kicker: none of these are technical barriers. They’re cultural ones.

We’ve made blockchain competition personal—like choosing sides in a sports rivalry instead of building common protocols like TCP/IP did for the internet.

The beauty of decoupling network from token? It preserves sovereignty and enables fluidity. Each ecosystem keeps its rules, governance model, and community—but gains access to global liquidity without sacrificing integrity.

A Vision Worth Building Toward

I’ve spent years analyzing layer-2s and consensus models—not because I love complexity but because I believe we can build better systems than we have now.

crypto interoperability shouldn’t mean surrendering control—it should mean expanding influence through shared infrastructure.

This is where projects like Interlay or Chainlink CCIP start making sense—not as isolated tools but as stepping stones toward an ecosystem where tokens flow freely but remain rooted in their home identities.

So yes—cooperation between Ethereum, Solana & Polkadot is hard right now… but not because technology fails. Because our mindset does.

decouple identity from function—and let chains coexist without conflict, each thriving on its own terms while still connected at scale.