Avalanche’s business chief says crypto must grow up and solve real problems
John Nahas argues blockchain’s next phase is custom infrastructure for companies, not one-size-fits-all chains chasing hype.
By AI Boost|Edited by Sam Ewen Mar 12, 2026, 2:55 p.m.
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What he’s saying: Nahas told Sam Ewen on CoinDesk’s Gen C that Avalanche is a business tool, not a crypto product. He said companies want tailored blockchain infrastructure that fits compliance, geography and operational needs.
Nahas compared Avalanche’s model to WordPress, arguing businesses should be able to “spin up” a blockchain the way they spin up websites.
He said Avalanche’s strategy has shifted from broad crypto narratives toward “built for business” and embedded finance.
The goal, according to Nahas, is to help companies either make new revenue through digitization or cut costs through more efficient digital rails.
Why it matters: The discussion shows how one major crypto network is trying to distance itself from speculative token mania and pitch itself as enterprise infrastructure.
Nahas said much of crypto has been “technology for technology’s sake,” with too few products solving concrete customer problems.
He argued that businesses do not want to force their operations onto a shared general-purpose chain if they need privacy, specific fee structures or regulatory controls.
That stance reflects a broader industry push to hide the underlying blockchain and sell outcomes instead: faster payments, tokenized assets and new customer experiences.
Closer look: Nahas said Avalanche’s former “subnets” model, now rebranded as Avalanche L1s, is designed to let businesses run sovereign blockchains with their own validators and rules.
He said Avalanche has more than 70 live L1s and is targeting roughly 200 by the end of the year.
He pointed to use cases including tokenized equities, FIFA digital products, deed records in Bergen County, New Jersey, and tokenized asset programs in Japan.
Nahas said Avalanche’s combined L1 activity is processing about 40 million daily transactions, though those transactions are spread across many chains rather than concentrated on one flagship network.
Reading between the lines: Nahas was blunt that crypto’s critics are not entirely wrong. He said too much of the industry has relied on speculation, weak business models and short-term headlines.
He said “the token was the product” for many projects, which in his view is not a durable business model.
Nahas argued the sector still has not produced enough true “killer apps” that only blockchain can enable, though he suggested stablecoins may be emerging as one of them.
He also said enterprise partners are already in crypto, but often do not like what they see when projects focus more on announcements than execution.
What comes next: Nahas said clearer rules could unlock more institutional activity, even if crypto’s more libertarian wing resists regulation.
He said many companies want to build with blockchain now but will not move until they know where the legal line is.
On AI, he said blockchain-based payment rails could become important for agentic systems and micropayments, pointing to Avalanche partner Kite AI as an example.
His broader argument: the winning crypto platforms will be the ones that act less like ideology and more like dependable business infrastructure.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.More For You
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