Project Origins
What started as peak crypto Twitter banter between Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko (@aeyakovenko) and Metalex developer Lex_Node (@lex_node) about casually forking Solana became a quickly deployed blockchain to prove a point between developers. (@Sarv_shaktiman), a prominent Milady developer, took this as a challenge and decided to go forward with the idea and was able to Fork and Deploy a successful Solana fork in under 22 hours, completing the challenge laid out.
The 24-Hour Sprint That Changed Everything
- Hour 0: Anatoly Yakovenko casually suggests forking his own blockchain on crypto Twitter in reference to Lex_Nodes tweet, mentioning a 48 hour deadline as a challenge.
- Hour 6: $GOR meme token launches on Solana blockchain via Pump.fun. (71Jvq4Epe2FCJ7JFSF7jLXdNk1Wy4Bhqd9iL6bEFELvg)
- Hour 12: A twitter user remembers the 2022 SQLChain meme and pushes for a launch.
- Hour 18: @Sarv_shaktiman started reverse-engineering Solana's architecture and building to launch Testnet v1.
- Hour 22: Testnet v1 Gorbagana validator goes live.
What was built
This wasn't just another token launch, it was an entirely new blockchain
- Full Solana codebase fork with custom genesis block
- Live validator processing transactions
- Native $GOR currency implementation
- Working RPC infrastructure
- Wallet integration solution
The first problem: A wallet to access the network
Once the network had come into existence, there was another problem: How do you access the network. Major Solana wallets (Phantom, SolFlare, etc) are hardcoded to the official Solana network without any way for customization to access custom chains.
Looking for a solution to this problem, the Backpack Wallet with a custom RPC feature came in clutch. The lead developer of the Backpack wallet (@armaniferrante) stepped up and announced Gorbagana testnet access via the Backpack wallet through a small update to the mobile wallet application. While the desktop Backpack wallet extension allowed you to add a custom RPC from the beginning, the ecosystem had its first major breakthrough; A mobile wallet updated for the ability to access the network from any device!
Currently, there are discussions with other major Solana wallet teams to allow for custom network access to allow for switching. Also in development, a Gorbagana specific wallet to access the network, the Trashpack Wallet is currently in development.
Why Gorbagana Matters Beyond The Meme
For Solana: Exposed that decentralization has infrastructure bottlenecks. If wallets can't handle forks, how permissionless is the system really?
For Crypto: Proved community-driven development can move faster than institutional teams. A Telegram group did in 24 hours what takes most projects months, if not years.
For Builders: Demonstrated the power of "hell yes, and...". Instead of explaining why something won't work, it was proven you can just build things.