Most people look at a new Layer 1 and immediately judge it on speed.
With Fogo, that’s the easy angle. But speed alone doesn’t make a chain relevant long term. What actually stands out is the decision to build around the Solana Virtual Machine.
Launching a new chain already creates enough friction. New environment, new tooling, new assumptions. If you also introduce a completely new virtual machine, you multiply that friction.
Using Solana VM changes that dynamic.
Developers who have worked within that model already understand how execution behaves, how accounts are structured, and how parallel processing affects design choices. That familiarity reduces onboarding cost. It shortens the gap between “interesting idea” and “actually building.”
This isn’t about copying. It’s about compatibility and efficiency.
Instead of reinventing execution logic, the focus shifts to network-level improvements performance tuning, infrastructure optimization, ecosystem positioning. The execution model stays stable, while the chain itself can differentiate in other ways.
That approach signals practicality.
Builders don’t need to relearn fundamentals. Tooling knowledge transfers. Mental models stay intact. That lowers resistance quietly, which matters more than hype.
In the long run, ecosystems grow where developers feel comfortable deploying and iterating fast. Familiar execution + new chain environment can create that balance.
Not radical. Not flashy. Just structured thinking.
That’s what makes it interesting.
