Tushar Jain: Business development trumps technology for blockchain success, Solana’s scalability upgrades are vital, and market price is a flawed indicator | Unchained

Solana's scalability and strategic edge position it as a leader over Ethereum in trading markets.

Listen on Unchained

Share

Add us on Google by Editorial Team | Powered by Gloria Mar. 3, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Business development and marketing are more critical than technology for blockchain’s short-term success.
• Corporate blockchain initiatives face significant challenges due to competition among financial institutions.
• Solana’s technical roadmap and scalability upgrades are essential for its future success.
• Using market price as an indicator of fundamentals is a flawed approach.
• Solana is organically attracting applications from competitors like Base.
• The potential of a blockchain ecosystem cannot be solely inferred from its price.
• Ethereum’s past messaging has been misguided, but market corrections are underway.
• Ethereum will not achieve the necessary scale and throughput for consistent trading activity.
• Solana has a significant advantage over Ethereum in trading and capital markets use cases.
• Ethereum’s Layer 2 strategy has not delivered value back to Layer 1.
• Solana’s scalability upgrades and decentralization efforts are crucial for its adoption.
• The competitive landscape in blockchain is influenced more by strategic positioning than technical superiority.

Guest intro

Tushar Jain is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm focused on crypto assets, tokens, and blockchain companies. He previously founded ePatientFinder, a healthcare IT startup that raised over $10 million in venture capital before being acquired by Elligo Health Research. Jain holds degrees in Finance and Political Science from New York University and is known for his forward-looking analysis of token economics and blockchain market dynamics.

The importance of business development in blockchain

• The technology behind blockchain may not be the most critical factor in the short term; business development and marketing are more important.

  — Tushar Jain

• Major web 2 giants adopting stablecoins could significantly impact blockchain adoption.

• I’m not actually sure the tech matters in enormous amount on a twelve to eighteen month time horizon here.

  — Tushar Jain

• Solana’s current technology is considered sufficient for the near term.

• I think Solana is probably good enough for the time being.

  — Tushar Jain

• Business development efforts are likely to drive blockchain adoption more than technological advancements.

• Some of it comes down to tech, but my sense is it’s probably actually more of a BD and marketing game.

  — Tushar Jain

• Understanding the competitive landscape of blockchain requires a focus on business strategies.

Challenges faced by corporate blockchain initiatives

• Corporate chains in blockchain are unlikely to succeed due to inherent competition among financial institutions.

• I’m pretty bearish these corporate chains we’ve seen this movie before.

  — Tushar Jain

• Historical precedents show the challenges faced by corporate blockchain initiatives.

• If you think Goldman is going to settle their trades on a chain controlled by JPMorgan, then I don’t think you understand how competitive these organizations are.

  — Tushar Jain

• The competitive dynamics in the financial sector hinder the success of corporate blockchain projects.

• These organizations are very competitive, and that’s a major barrier.

  — Tushar Jain

• Corporate blockchain projects often struggle with trust and cooperation among competitors.
• The success of blockchain initiatives depends on overcoming competitive barriers.

Solana’s technical roadmap and scalability

• Solana’s technical roadmap and scalability upgrades are crucial for its future success.

• I think the number one thing to think about with regards to Solana this year is the technical roadmap.

  — Tushar Jain

• Scalability upgrades like Alpenglow are important for Solana’s performance.

• The scalability upgrades that Alpenglow enables are crucial.

  — Tushar Jain

• Decentralization efforts are improving with more Firedancer adoption.

• The decentralization of the network is improving with more Firedancer adoption.

  — Tushar Jain

• Solana’s future success hinges on its ability to scale and decentralize effectively.
• Investors and developers should focus on Solana’s technological advancements.

The flaws of using market price as an indicator

• Using market price as an indicator of fundamentals is a flawed approach.

• I just think using the market price as an indicator of fundamentals is a bad heuristic.

  — Tushar Jain

• A deeper analysis is necessary to understand the true value of crypto assets.

• You have to really look under the hood to understand where things are and where they’re going.

  — Tushar Jain

• Market dynamics are complex and require nuanced analysis beyond price.
• Investors should avoid relying solely on market price for valuation.
• Understanding the complexities of market dynamics is crucial for informed decision-making.
• A more comprehensive approach is needed to evaluate crypto assets.

Solana’s competitive advantage over Base

• Solana is winning applications away from competitors like Base in an organic way.

• Some of the applications that Solana has recently won away from competitors like Base.

  — Tushar Jain

• Base has invested in attracting new application platforms, but Solana is succeeding organically.

• Base has done a lot to both spend money and attract new application platforms.

  — Tushar Jain

• Solana’s competitive advantage lies in its ability to attract applications naturally.
• The growth of Solana’s ecosystem is driven by organic adoption.
• Solana’s success in attracting applications is crucial for its ecosystem development.
• Understanding the competitive landscape between Solana and Base is important for strategic positioning.

Evaluating blockchain ecosystems beyond price

• The potential of an ecosystem cannot be inferred solely from its price.

• I don’t think you can just look at price and infer the potential of an ecosystem.

  — Tushar Jain

• Solana has many strong factors going for it despite market price fluctuations.

• There’s a lot of strong things still going for Solana right now.

  — Tushar Jain

• Evaluating blockchain ecosystems requires a broader understanding beyond market price.
• Market dynamics and ecosystem development impact blockchain valuations.
• Investors should consider multiple factors when assessing blockchain potential.
• A comprehensive evaluation approach is necessary for informed investment decisions.

Ethereum’s messaging and market corrections

• Ethereum’s messaging has often been misguided, but the market is correcting itself.

• I think we had a lot of the wrong ideas, but the market has corrected those.

  — Tushar Jain

• The evolution of Ethereum’s market perception is influenced by past strategies.
• Market dynamics are shifting to correct previous misconceptions about Ethereum.
• Understanding the factors influencing Ethereum’s messaging is crucial for strategic positioning.
• Ethereum’s past strategies have faced criticism, but corrections are underway.
• The market is adjusting to align with more accurate perceptions of Ethereum.
• Strategic messaging is essential for maintaining market confidence.

Ethereum’s limitations in trading activity

• Ethereum will not achieve the scale and throughput necessary for consistent trading activity.

• What Ethereum doesn’t have is it’s certainly never gonna get to a level of scale and throughput for consistent trading activity.

  — Tushar Jain

• Ethereum’s technical limitations hinder its ability to support trading applications.
• Understanding Ethereum’s capabilities compared to other blockchain platforms is crucial.
• The competitive landscape highlights Ethereum’s limitations in trading use cases.
• Investors should be aware of Ethereum’s technical constraints in the market.
• Strategic positioning requires acknowledging Ethereum’s limitations in trading activity.
• Ethereum’s scalability challenges impact its competitive standing.

Solana’s advantage in trading and capital markets

• Solana has a significant advantage over Ethereum in trading and capital markets use cases.

• I like the internet capital markets positioning for Solana.

  — Tushar Jain

• Solana can win trading and capital markets use cases that Ethereum can’t support.

• Solana can win a bunch of the trading and capital markets kind of issuance use cases.

  — Tushar Jain

• Understanding the competitive landscape between Solana and Ethereum is crucial for strategic positioning.
• Solana’s competitive advantages are evident in specific use cases.
• Investors should consider Solana’s strengths in trading and capital markets.
• Solana’s positioning in capital markets enhances its competitive edge.

Critique of Ethereum’s Layer 2 strategy

• Ethereum’s Layer 2 strategy has not delivered value back to Layer 1.

• L2s don’t deliver value back to the L1 and now we just have incontrovertible proof of that.

  — Tushar Jain

• Observed market behavior critiques the effectiveness of Ethereum’s scaling strategy.
• Understanding Ethereum’s Layer 2 solutions and their impact is crucial for strategic decisions.
• The market provides evidence of the limitations of Ethereum’s Layer 2 strategy.
• Strategic positioning requires acknowledging the shortcomings of Ethereum’s scaling efforts.
• Investors should be aware of the challenges facing Ethereum’s Layer 2 solutions.
• The effectiveness of scaling strategies impacts Ethereum’s competitive standing.