Blockchain startup BlockDAG is positioning itself as a direct competitor to Solana (SOL), backed by the financial muscle and intense operational discipline of its founder, billionaire Gurhan Kiziloz. Kiziloz, who amassed a $1.7 billion fortune by building and fully owning the gaming company Nexus International, is self-funding the new Layer-1 blockchain project.
The core of BlockDAG's challenge lies in its technical architecture. The network utilizes a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) structure combined with a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. This design is engineered to enable thousands of parallel transactions per second while aiming to address perceived vulnerabilities in Solana's model, namely network outages during high demand and concerns over centralization due to its Proof-of-Stake validator requirements.
"The bet Kiziloz made on blockchain is no longer speculative. BlockDAG exists. It works," the report states, noting the network is already live. A key strategic feature is its compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to migrate applications with minimal friction, leveraging familiar tools from the Ethereum ecosystem.
Kiziloz's involvement is framed as a significant advantage. His $1.7 billion net worth provides BlockDAG with substantial staying power and financial independence, avoiding the dilution and governance constraints typical of venture capital-funded projects. His leadership style, described as demanding and focused on swift execution with minimal tolerance for underperformance, is credited with Nexus International's rapid growth to $1.2 billion in annual revenue.
The project targets a Layer-1 market valued at approximately $120 billion, currently dominated by Solana. BlockDAG's strategy is not to replace Solana entirely but to capture market share by appealing to developers and users who prioritize decentralization, reliability, and Ethereum compatibility.
