Avalanche executive says future lies in purpose-built blockchains

Ava Labs is entering 2025 with a long-term strategy focused on purpose-built blockchains rather than short-term market trends, according to the company’s chief business officer.

Summary

• John Nahas of Ava Labs emphasized Avalanche’s focus on sovereign, use-case-specific layer-1 blockchains rather than a single network for all activity.
• Toyota, FIFA, and SMBC are building independent Avalanche chains tailored to specific workflows, reflecting demand for separate, secure blockchain environments.
• Avalanche currently supports nearly 80 live layer-1 chains and over 100 on testnet, with projections of around 200 institutional and enterprise chains by next year.

John Nahas, chief business officer at Ava Labs, discussed the company’s approach in an interview with The Street, addressing Avalanche’s expansion across traditional finance, global brands, and enterprise operators.

When asked about factors driving the network’s expansion, Nahas cited Avalanche’s underlying architecture and its focus on building blockchains designed for specific use cases. “If you hyper-focus on the crypto narratives that are on crypto Twitter, or these things that come and go for three or four months, you’re always playing catch-up,” Nahas stated. “Where we’ve been successful is in the medium to long term. Things that are worth doing take time.”

Avalanche regularly ranks among the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, according to industry data.

The company’s thesis centers on sovereign, purpose-built layer-1 blockchains rather than a single chain serving all functions. Nahas described much of the industry as operating on a “first-generation business plan” based on the assumption that all activity will eventually settle on one network.

“We don’t need more block space. We don’t need more blockchains,” Nahas said. “But we do need more blockchains that are purpose-built, because that’s how the real world works.”

The company’s enterprise clients include major corporations building separate blockchain environments. “Banks want their own environment. Asset managers want their own environment. Enterprises want their own environment,” Nahas explained.

Toyota is building four distinct Avalanche chains, each designed for a different workflow, according to Nahas. FIFA and SMBC in Japan are also developing their own independent environments on the platform.

Avalanche supports private permissioned, public permissionless, and hybrid chains that can interoperate. “Effectively, you are giving people solutions rather than giving them a solution in search of a problem,” Nahas said.

The network is approaching 80 Avalanche layer-one blockchains, with over 100 on testnet, Nahas reported. The executive projected that approximately 200 institutional and enterprise chains will be operating across finance, identity, artificial intelligence and government sectors by next year.