Episode Summary:

CoinDesk Podcast Network
Guest: John Nahas, Chief Business Officer, Avalanche
Episode: John Nahas on Why One-Size-Fits-All Blockchains are Failing Global Institutions
Date: March 10, 2026

Main Theme

This episode features John Nahas from Avalanche discussing why customizable, business-focused blockchains are overtaking the “one-size-fits-all” approaches favored by industry stalwarts like Ethereum. Nahas details Avalanche’s evolution, the practical traction of their Layer 1 (L1) blockchain instances, and how the crypto landscape is maturing to meet specific real-world business needs. The conversation touches on industry narratives, regulation, partnerships with global institutions, use-case verticals, and the growing intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Avalanche’s New Focus: Build for Business

Timestamp: 03:09 – 06:05

• Avalanche is doubling down on the message of being “built for business,” focusing on embedded finance.
• Emphasis on technology tailored for business, geography, and compliance needs, rather than forcing businesses to adapt to pre-existing infrastructures.
• Avalanche’s purpose: help businesses make or save money via digitization and blockchain tech.
• Recent successes include partnerships with Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavs, and LSU, uplifting fan engagement platforms by 40% and generating new revenue streams.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 03:22):
    “The technology has to fit the business solution. And I think that’s where we are.”

2. Custom Chains vs. General Purpose L1s

Timestamp: 06:05 – 10:02

• Avalanche boasts 70+ custom L1s live (targeting 200 by year-end), each serving unique industries or compliance requirements.
• Examples:
  • Denari: “The DTCC of blockchain,” issuing public equities as assets tradable across chains.
  • FIFA: Not just NFTs, but also rights (options) to purchase high-demand event tickets.
  • Program at Last: Migrating $2B in tokenized assets onto Avalanche from Corda.
  • Balcony: Tokenizing property deeds in New Jersey.
• Avalanche’s model lets businesses launch tailored chains, unlike others that only offer a monolithic blockchain solution.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 06:26):
    “These are businesses that need their own environments—jurisdictional, compliance-based, rules-based, gas-specific or gas-free.”

3. The Avalanche Vision: Infrastructure and Distribution

Timestamp: 10:02 – 13:57

• Nahas compares Avalanche’s approach to the early days of the Internet and WordPress: anyone can spin up a website, so why not a blockchain?
• Decries the industry’s focus on building technology for its own sake rather than market fit.
• Avalanche L1s (formerly called subnets) are purpose-built blockchains with customizable validation, compliance, and features.
• General-purpose chains are likened to AOL’s early “walled gardens”; the future is “distributed, specialized, interconnected blockchains.”
• Tokenomics for Avalanche are evolving to ensure AVAX remains central to value accrual across the entire ecosystem.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 10:02):
    “But then those assets can flow to those other chains…think of us as a highway and we just keep adding more lanes.”

4. Hiding Blockchain Complexity, Delivering Value

Timestamp: 13:57 – 15:21

• For most enterprise clients, Avalanche doesn’t mention “blockchain” unless needed—just focuses on ROI, cost-savings, or new revenue.
• Contrasts the misplaced focus of some blockchains on hyping the technology as opposed to providing tangible value.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 14:12):
    “You don’t log into Netflix and underneath it doesn’t say powered by AWS…but we do this [in crypto] because incentives have been inverted.”

5. Responding to the “Crypto is Pointless” Narrative

Timestamp: 15:21 – 20:33

• Addressing a NYT article calling crypto “pointless,” Nahas pushes back by pointing to institutional adoption and the real traction in fintech.
• Admits parts of industry have failed—many chains with high market caps but little utility.
• Avalanche’s approach: focus on sustained, professional partnership-building, not “headline chasing.”
• Lack of “killer apps” acknowledged; draws analogy between blockchain ecosystems and cities—most are infrastructure without inhabitants, Avalanche wants both.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 17:23):
    “We deal with a lot of partners that tell us…once the headline came out, they stopped talking and moved on. That’s not how business works.”

6. Institutional Adoption & Real-World Assets (RWAs)

Timestamp: 20:33 – 21:57

• Cites figures like $1.4B in real-world asset value on Avalanche via Franklin Templeton and other global partners.
• Stablecoins seen as one potential “killer app”; mentions the industry’s shift from skepticism to growing acceptance.
  • Quote (Interview, 20:33):
    “To me, 1.4 trillion is not the market cap of Nvidia, but it’s pretty damn good for something that was…built up from message boards 13 years ago.”

7. On Blockchain Maturity and Industry Narratives

Timestamp: 21:57 – 22:59

• The industry is in a “teenage puberty moment”—maturing out of the need to constantly self-advocate on the technology itself.
• There will always be one Bitcoin, but for business and enterprise, diverse platforms and chains are needed to enable broader innovation.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 21:57):
    “It’s not about the chain. It’s about what the chain enables.”

8. What Draws Builders to Avalanche

Timestamp: 22:59 – 26:00

• Avalanche offers strong technical support and ongoing relationship management—supporting teams after launches, not just at the announcement.
• Local teams knowledgeable in specific jurisdiction cultures, regulations, and business needs.
• “People work with people”—strong human relationships are key to Avalanche’s partnerships worldwide.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 23:41):
    “The best tech doesn’t always win. People work with people they want to work with and who they trust.”

9. Blockchains and Artificial Intelligence

Timestamp: 26:00 – 27:24

• Highlights collaboration with Kite AI, an Avalanche L1 specifically for agentic AI and micropayments.
• AI will increasingly use blockchain rails for payments; custom chains will be needed for isolation, scalability, and compliance.
• Avalanche aiming to be the foundation for diverse AI-and-blockchain use.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 26:22):
    “In a world where we know AI is going to utilize blockchain rails for payments, you’re going to need space for that.”

10. Managing Volatility & Regulatory Clarity

Timestamp: 27:24 – 29:58

• Nahas’s approach: unplug, spend time with family, maintain perspective—boom-bust cycles are normal, and real innovation often emerges from downturns.
• Biggest institutional request: regulatory clarity. Any regulation is better than none for businesses to operate with certainty.
• Only Bitcoin is immutable; for everyone else, clarity is essential to foster practical innovation and adoption.
  • Quote (John Nahas, 27:51):
    “The one thing they always say is…we want to do this, we want to do this yesterday…but we can’t start something, even if it’s super conservative, knowing that one day there’s no line and that line can be drawn and we can be on the wrong side of it.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Custom Chains Analogy
  “You could kind of think of us maybe as WordPress…any business, small or large, can spin up a website…Why can’t we do that with blockchains?”
  (John Nahas, 00:00 & 10:02)

• Industry Self-Reflection
  “Businesses that need a token to sell the token to fund the business? That is not a business. And it’s just been purely speculative and we needed to grow up.”
  (John Nahas, 17:23)

• On Regulation
  “At some point—and we’re almost there now—any regulation is better than none, because at least you know where the line is and what you can and can’t do.”
  (John Nahas, 27:51)

Important Timestamps

• Intro and WordPress analogy for blockchains: 00:00 – 01:00
• Built for business philosophy/embedded finance: 03:09 – 06:05
• Detailed real-world L1 use-cases (Denari, FIFA, Program at Last): 06:26 – 08:51
• Avalanche vision compared to Internet/WordPress, distributed infra: 10:02 – 13:57
• Enterprise adoption approach (hiding blockchain): 13:57 – 15:21
• Countering “crypto is pointless” narrative: 15:21 – 20:33
• RWAs and institutional partnerships: 20:33 – 21:57
• Blockchain’s maturity—less focus on tech for tech’s sake: 21:57 – 22:59
• Why founders choose Avalanche & ongoing partner support: 22:59 – 26:00
• AI/blockchain interplay & Kite AI: 26:00 – 27:24
• Personal management of market volatility, importance of regulation: 27:24 – 29:58

Closing Summary

John Nahas outlines how Avalanche’s approach—building tailored, business-specific blockchains, and offering robust, community-oriented support—is gaining real-world traction. The focus shifts away from hype and speculation toward sustainable business partnerships and actual utility. As the blockchain industry matures, Avalanche aims to be the go-to platform for institutions seeking not just technology, but valuable, compliant, and extensible infrastructure—while eagerly anticipating regulatory clarity and the next wave of applications at the intersection of AI and blockchain.