Opinion by: Tim Haldorsson, founder of Lunar Strategy

When US President Donald Trump announced the US strategic crypto reserve on March 2, the immediate focus fell on the price surges of the included coins. Behind the market excitement lies a much bigger story that extends far beyond the named assets themselves. 

The real opportunity lies not in holding Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) — it’s in building on these newly legitimized platforms.

This government endorsement creates fertile ground for an entire ecosystem of projects, unleashing innovation across multiple sectors while creating investment opportunities that could define the next wave of blockchain adoption.

Projects on legitimized platforms are ready for growth

The strategic reserve announcement fundamentally changed the risk profile for projects building on these networks. Developers quietly building on Ethereum, Solana and Cardano now find themselves on government-approved foundations. This validation removes significant uncertainty — a crucial factor for attracting users and capital.

When a nation plans to hold these assets in reserve, it signals a long-term commitment to their viability. For projects building on these networks, this increases confidence that their underlying platform won’t face existential regulatory threats. Infrastructure projects particularly stand to benefit; layer-2 scaling solutions for Ethereum, developer tooling for Solana and interoperability solutions for Cardano can now operate with greater certainty about their foundation’s future.

The early evidence already supports this shift. After the announcement, Cardano’s ecosystem saw renewed attention, with significant whale accumulation and increased trading volume across its decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. Projects such as Minswap and Liqwid Finance experienced growing interest as users gained confidence in the network’s long-term viability. Ethereum and Solana ecosystems are seeing similar effects, with capital flowing to projects that leverage their unique strengths.

Gaining investor attention

Not all projects will benefit equally from this validation. Specific sectors are positioned to capture disproportionate growth as retail and institutional investors recalibrate their approach to these now-endorsed chains.

DeFi applications stand out as immediate beneficiaries. With multiple networks now government-backed, crosschain DeFi protocols that facilitate liquidity between Ethereum, Solana and Cardano are seeing renewed interest. The government’s implicit endorsement of multiple chains reinforces the vision of a multichain future rather than a winner-take-all scenario.

Infrastructure projects that connect these networks will also thrive. Crosschain bridges, already vital for a fragmented blockchain landscape, become even more critical when multiple networks have official backing. Projects building on identity solutions could also see significant interest — these government-approved networks make ideal foundations for digital identity systems requiring trust and stability.

Recent: Does XRP, SOL or ADA belong in a US crypto reserve?

Finally, the blockchain gaming sector, which had already shown strong growth with 7.4 million daily active wallets by the end of 2024, could accelerate as developers flock to these legitimized platforms. Games built on Solana’s speed or Cardano’s security can point to government endorsement as a credibility booster when seeking partners or users.

Assessing project potential through key metrics

For investors looking to capitalize on this ecosystem growth, several key metrics separate promising projects from mere speculation.

Total value locked (TVL) provides a window into genuine usage and trust. Projects showing significant TVL growth after the announcement demonstrate real traction. Developer activity remains another critical indicator: Ethereum remains the most important developer ecosystem, with thousands of active monthly contributors. At the same time, Solana experienced the fastest developer growth in 2024, particularly in emerging markets like India.

User adoption metrics tell an equally important story. Daily active wallets, transaction volumes and community growth reveal whether a project captures actual market share or generates hype. Strong partnerships also signal project strength — those securing collaborations with established institutions gain credibility and distribution channels.

The most promising projects combine these metrics with robust security measures and regulatory compliance — increasingly important factors now that these networks have government attention. Projects anticipating and addressing compliance requirements position themselves to benefit from institutional adoption.

The venture capital shift

Historically, government endorsements have led to increased institutional investment. The strategic reserve announcement could recalibrate how venture capital flows through the crypto ecosystem if this pattern holds. Venture capitalists, who were previously cautious about regulatory uncertainty, now have more precise signals about what networks have an unofficial blessing.

We may see venture firms double down on projects building on Ethereum, Solana and Cardano at the expense of alternative chains. New dedicated funds focusing specifically on government-endorsed networks could emerge, similar to how funds reorient around policy shifts in other sectors.

This shift extends beyond where capital flows and influences what types of projects are funded. Compliance-focused startups, infrastructure plays and enterprise-ready applications will attract more attention than purely speculative projects. VCs will increasingly favor teams that understand how to navigate the intersection of innovation and regulation.

For startups, this creates both opportunity and challenge. Building on these endorsed networks offers a more straightforward path to funding, but expectations around compliance and security will rise accordingly. The days of raising millions on concepts alone are giving way to the demand for solid execution and regulatory awareness.

Interoperability becomes critical

With multiple chains now part of the strategic reserve, interoperability solutions take center stage. Projects enabling seamless movement between Ethereum, Solana and Cardano stand to benefit tremendously from this new multichain reality.

Crosschain bridges like Wormhole, initially connecting Ethereum and Solana, will likely expand to include Cardano as the demand for connectivity between all endorsed networks grows.

Protocols facilitating crosschain governance or identity will similarly find increased relevance as assets and users flow between networks.

The government’s endorsement of multiple chains effectively validates the multichain thesis — that different networks serve different use cases rather than one blockchain dominating all activity. This creates space for infrastructure that connects these specialized systems into a cohesive whole.

The growth timeline

The effects of this government endorsement will unfold over multiple time horizons — the immediate price rallies and attention spikes we’ve already witnessed. The more substantial ecosystem growth will develop over months and years.

Expect new project announcements and funding rounds in the next three to six months, explicitly citing the strategic reserve to validate their approach. Development activity on these networks will accelerate as previously hesitant teams about regulatory risk jump in.

Within a year, we’ll likely see the first major institutional products built on these networks launch with formal regulatory approval. The venture funding deployed now will begin producing tangible applications across DeFi, identity, gaming and enterprise sectors.

By the two-to-three-year mark, if historical patterns from other government-validated technologies hold, these blockchain ecosystems could become mainstream infrastructure, extending far beyond their current use cases. As the internet grew from a government project to a commercial ecosystem, these networks could evolve from reserve assets to fundamental digital infrastructure.

The strategic reserve announcement might begin a new phase of worldwide blockchain adoption for investors, developers and users.

Opinion by: Tim Haldorsson, founder of Lunar Strategy.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Global investment firm VanEck registered an Avalanche exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, hinting at a forthcoming filing for a spot AVAX ETF.

VanEck, on March 10, registered a new cryptocurrency investment product called VanEck Avalanche ETF in Delaware, according to public records on the official Delaware state website.

Similar to other crypto ETF filings by VanEck, the potential new product under filing number 10125689 was registered as a trust corporate service company in Delaware.

The filing comes amid a major market sell-off, with Avalanche (AVAX) dropping 55% year-to-date, while Bitcoin (BTC) is down around 17% in 2025, according to CoinGecko.

Fourth standalone crypto ETF registration by VanEck

With the new filing, Avalanche became the fourth crypto asset to see a standalone ETF registration by VanEck in Delaware, following Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL).

As previously reported, VanEck filed for a spot Solana ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June 2024, becoming one of the first issuers to file for such a product.

VanEck —  among the first spot Bitcoin ETF issuers in the US in 2024 — has emerged as one of the major ETF players in the crypto market, known for being the first ETF provider to file for a futures Bitcoin ETF in 2017.

What other issuers have filed for an Avalanche ETF in the US?

Launched in 2020 by Emin Gün Sirer’s Ava Labs, Avalanche is a multichain smart contract and decentralized app launch platform that was created to rival the speed and scalability of Ethereum.

Avalanche’s native utility token AVAX made it to the top 10 largest crypto assets by market capitalization in 2021. At the time of writing, the token is the 20th largest crypto asset with a market cap of $7 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Related: Bitwise files to list a spot Aptos ETF — the 36th largest cryptocurrency

Some crypto community members highlighted that VanEck was moving forward with a potential Avalanche ETF before registering an XRP (XRP) ETF.

In an X post reposted by VanEck digital asset research head Matthew Sigel, one commenter wrote:

“VanEck have filed an AVAX ETF before an XRP ETF. Come on then, Matthew Sigel, who is your handler telling you not to file an XRP ETF?”

VanEck’s Avalanche ETF registration appears to be the first registration for the product in the US.

Previously, rival crypto ETF provider Grayscale filed with the SEC to convert its multi-coin fund, including AVAX and four other crypto assets, into an ETF in October 2024.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

US Senate Banking Committee is set to vote on a Republican-led stablecoin framework bill on March 13, after it was updated following consultation with committee Democrats.

GOP Senator Bill Hagerty, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said on March 10 that he introduced an update of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which would go to a Banking Committee vote on March 13.

He added that the updated bill saw bipartisan consultation. The bill is co-sponsored by Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Tim Scott, who is also chair of the Banking Committee chair, along with Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand and Angela Alsobrooks.

“The updated version of the GENIUS Act makes significant improvements to a number of important provisions, including consumer protections, authorized stablecoin issuers, risk mitigation, state pathways, insolvency, transparency, and more,” Gillibrand said in a statement.

Hagerty first introduced the bill in early February. It aims to bring issuers of US dollar stablecoins with market caps over $10 billion — currently only Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) — under Federal Reserve regulations. Those under $10 billion could opt into state-level regulation.

Web3 learning app EasyA co-founder Dom Kwok said on X that the latest version of the GENIUS Act, shared by FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, gives “US-issued stablecoins a competitive advantage.”

He added that the bill now holds foreign stablecoin issuers to “extra high standards” in areas such as reserve and liquidity requirements, money laundering checks and sanctions checks.

“Most foreign issuers will find these standards hard to meet,” which gives Circle’s USDC and Ripple Labs’ Ripple USD (RLUSD) “an upper hand,” he said.

Related: Crypto needs policy change more than Bitcoin reserve — Execs

Crypto lawyer and Hogan & Hogan partner Jeremy Hogan came to the same conclusion in a separate X post, saying the bill’s requirements, particularly around reserves and Anti-Money Laundering checks, “all fall neatly for RLSUD and USDC.”

The GENIUS Act still has a way to go before becoming law. The Senate Banking Committee will have to vote to pass the bill and it will then be put to a full Senate floor vote where it could be debated.

If it passes the Senate, it will head to the House. If the House doesn’t change the bill, then it will be sent to President Donald Trump to sign into law or veto.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025