U.S. President Donald Trump recently posted on social media urging investors to buy the stock and Crypto dip. This post comes after the market was rattled by his latest tariff policy and trade war with China. His statement has sparked debate over whether the selloff’s worst is over or this is just the beginning.
President Donald Trump Drops Epic Signal
It is worth noting that the current bearish market outlook began after President Trump announced a universal tariff on all imports.
Unfortunately, the tariff imposition wiped over $4 trillion from the S&P 500’s total value in just a few days. The index dropped 10.7% in three sessions, further instigating fears regarding higher costs, slower trade, and global economic pressure.
Meanwhile, the recent X post revealed that President Donald Trump is encouraging investors to buy the dip. This has stirred several mixed reactions in the financial market.
Some analysts on X see it as a signal that a rebound could be near, pointing to similar moments in 2018 and 2020. These period, remarks from President Donald Trump came just before market recoveries. In those years, markets bounced back within a few weeks or months.
However, others, like Peter Schiff, a well-known critic of Trump’s economic policies, believe the tariffs will only worsen the crisis. He cautioned against US-China trade escalation if current policies are not reversed.
Bitcoin and Altcoins in Spotlight: Is Market Bottom In?
Notably, the crypto market has not been spared, drawing on their correlation with stocks. CoinMarketCap data shows that Bitcoin, which initially increased to $88,000, has since dropped to $77,766.20.
Additionally, Ethereum price is struggling at a two-year low, with the Whale Average Cost Basis suggesting a potential drop to $1,290. Some experts on X believe the token may find support at this level, as $1,290 represents the average cost basis for whales holding more than 100,000 ETH.
However, analysts caution that it is too early to confirm whether the bottom has been reached. The correction may continue, especially if concerns over the tariffs persist without relief.
Crypto Rebound Catalysts to Watch
It is important to add that several factors could help restore momentum in the market.
For instance, a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve is one possible trigger. There is also speculation that Trump may adjust or roll back the tariff policy to ease market concerns.
Additionally, certain cryptocurrencies like XRP are being closely watched for signs of returning investor confidence. Earlier this week, the Teucrium 2X Long Daily XRP ETF achieved an impressive trading volume milestone, outshining Solana at its launch.
Many experts believe additional Spot ETF approvals could positively affect the market, potentially driving up XRP’s price.
In 2025, the ecosystems that thrive aren’t the loudest — they’re the most strategic, the most focused, and the ones building lasting value. Ecosystem health today is increasingly measured by the depth of developer engagement, not the size of token airdrops or surface-level metrics. Marketing has evolved too: AI tools, grassroots community operations, and hybrid content strategies are replacing short-lived, high-gloss campaigns.
As crypto becomes a fixture in national policy and economic frameworks, credibility and trust within ecosystems have emerged as the new currencies of growth.
There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook anymore. To uncover what’s actually working today, we spoke with growth leaders from Sui, Avalanche, Syscoin, Manta Network, and others.
This report helps to shed some light on the ongoing trends in the crypto-related marketing and find out which of them are setting the pace for the next wave of sustainable growth.
TL;DR:
In 2025, the ecosystems thriving aren’t the loudest. They’re the most strategic, most focused and most aligned with long-term value.
Ecosystem health is increasingly tied to the depth of developer engagement, not the size of token airdrops or vanity metrics.
Marketing has evolved. AI tools, grassroots community ops, and hybrid content strategies are replacing high-gloss, short-cycle campaigns.
With crypto entering national policy agendas and economic frameworks, credibility and ecosystem trust are new growth currencies.
There’s no one-size-fits-all. We spoke with growth leaders from Sui, Avalanche, Syscoin, Manta Network and others to uncover what’s actually working.
Back in 2024, crypto felt like it was everywhere and nowhere all at once.
Timelines were flooded with debates, L1 vs. L2, monolithic vs. modular, liquidity this, fragmentation that. Almost everyone had a hot take and every project was scrambling for a flash of attention that barely lasted longer than a tweet.
You could launch a project, nail the narrative, get your retweets and podcast mentions and still wake up the next day with no real momentum.
It wasn’t sustainable and deep down, most teams knew it.
And yet, behind the scenes, something foundational shifted.
For the first time, crypto became a serious topic in policy rooms.
The U.S. government announced a strategic crypto reserve.
The SEC greenlit Bitcoin and Ether ETPs, signaling a long-awaited shift in regulatory posture.
Lawmakers started treating blockchain not as a niche asset class, but as infrastructure and a core component of national strategy.
Suddenly, crypto had a seat at the big table. That was the moment the growth playbook started to change.
Fast-forward to 2025, ecosystems that had been optimizing for virality started asking tougher questions:
What does long-term credibility look like?
How do we show up to policymakers and enterprises, not just degens and influencers?
Can we measure our health beyond just wallet counts and discord headcounts?
To find answers, we spoke with ecosystem leaders across 10 blockchain networks, from early-stage innovators to mature platforms. Despite technical and strategic diversity, they shared one common mindset: They’re building like they plan to be here in five, ten, twenty years.
This is post-hype crypto and the rules have changed.
Key highlights and critical findings
Marketing budgets are all over the place: Some teams are grinding with less than $100K a year while others are spending $10 million and up. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but the gap speaks volumes.
Hybrid teams are the new normal: The smartest teams are optimizing for speed, adaptability, and high-context execution. They’re ruthlessly prioritizing talent that moves the needle, not just fills roles.
Builders are the flywheel: Growth teams are channeling most of their energy into developer outreach such as grants, hackathons, ambassador programs, and local language support are common plays.
Audience alignment: In an oversaturated, narrative-heavy market, cutting through the noise to reach the right set of audience is still one of the biggest hurdles.
Tactics are getting sharper: AI-powered marketing, community-based onboarding, and incentive models like “watch-to-earn” are emerging as key differentiators in creating sticky, engaging experiences.
Research Methodology
To understand what’s driving ecosystem growth in 2025, we went straight to the source in conversations with ten executives across active, forward-thinking blockchain networks including Sui, Avalanche, Manta Network, Syscoin, eCash, and CrossFi Chain.
Our findings are structured across five critical themes:
→ Strategic Priorities
→ Growth Challenges
→ Team Structures
→ Marketing Tactics
→ Budget Allocation
These are the pressure points where ecosystems are being tested, where they’re iterating and where the shift from hype to health is most visible.
The answers weren’t surface-level.
They were honest, revealing, and at times, surprisingly candid.
Section 1: The Evolving Landscape of Crypto Ecosystems
1.1 From Noise to Nuance
Not long ago, crypto felt like a winner-takes-all race.
Ethereum and Bitcoin dominated headlines, while new chains clawed for attention with a flashy feature or a viral announcement.
But that playbook has changed.
Today, the landscape is more fragmented and more alive than ever.
Upstart chains can gain real traction in months. Niche ecosystems are finding staying power by serving focused communities with precision: real dev support, localized outreach, unique tooling, and use cases that resonate with people who actually build.
It’s no longer about being the biggest.
It’s about being the most relevant to the audience that matters.
Source: Market share distribution among top ecosystems.
The momentum has shifted from mass appeal to mission-driven growth.
The ecosystems making progress are the ones listening, serving and playing the long game.
1.2 Key growth metrics and benchmarks
Among surveyed ecosystems, developer adoption has become the north star metric.
While TVL remains a benchmark, leading teams are shifting toward engagement depth over vanity counts. Grants, hackathons, and local campaigns outperform short-term airdrops in both onboarding and retention.
1.3 Critical Challenges Facing Ecosystem Growth
Source: Top Barriers to Ecosystem Adoption Identified by Executives
Based on direct feedback, the top challenges for ecosystems today are:
Difficulty reaching the right audience
Oversaturation of the crypto landscape
Budget constraints and limited runway for experimentation
While blockchain infrastructure is improving,especially with L2 scalability and better dev tooling, the biggest challenges aren’t technical anymore.
They’re strategic.
Most teams aren’t struggling with what to build but with how to position, differentiate, and communicate.
“It’s no longer enough to be technically sound. Ecosystem success depends on whether you can communicate value to developers, users and partners in the clearest, most compelling way possible.” – — Matthew Schmenk, Ecosystem Growth Lead, Avalanche
Section 2: Marketing & Growth Strategies
“Marketing in crypto used to be noise. Now it’s systems thinking – who you reach, how you reach them, and why they stay.”- The Lunar Strategy Team
Ecosystem marketing in 2025 isn’t about dropping a flashy campaign, running a paid KOL loop, and hoping it sticks. Today, marketing is infrastructure.
It’s the connective tissue between ecosystem layers: builders, users, tokenholders, institutions driving onboarding, retention, and legitimacy.
Let’s break it down:
2.1 Choosing the Right Growth Model
Source: Percentage of Ecosystems Using External Agencies vs. In-House Teams
According to our survey:
60% use a hybrid model (in-house + agency)
40% operate with fully internal teams
2.2 Analysing the Pros and Cons
Hybrid models allow for speed and flexibility while maintaining institutional knowledge. Fully in-house teams prioritize cohesion but may lack bandwidth or breadth of expertise.
2.3 Marketing Budget Allocation Across Ecosystems
Annual budgets vary widely:
<$500K: Primarily in-house with lean teams
$500K–$1M: Hybrid setups with agency retained for campaigns
$5M+: Full-stack growth teams covering PR, events, KOLs, paid media, SEO and more
What’s changing in 2025 isn’t just how much teams spend, it’s how precisely they deploy capital:
Early-stage: lean, localized execution
Mid-tier: AI tooling, content ops, ambassador focus
Mature: brand systems, KOL pipelines, segmentation
“In 2024, we spent $2M and didn’t know what moved the needle. In 2025, we’re spending half that – with 3x the return – because we track the full funnel.” — Ecosystem CMO
Section 3: Driving Ecosystem Adoption
As ecosystems compete for market share, one truth is becoming increasingly clear: developers are the new power users.
Ecosystem health is now largely measured by the number and quality of developers actively building, contributing, and shipping.
3.1 Developer Acquisition & Retention
Across the board, developer evangelism and hackathons ranked as the most effective levers for attracting high-quality builders. In 2025, 9 out of 10 ecosystem leaders called them “critical” or “highly effective.”
But incentives alone aren’t enough.
The modern developer is motivated by clear value exchange and personal growth, not just payouts.
Here’s what’s working now:
Hackathons with real-world utility
On-chain recognition (e.g., badges, NFTs)
IRL builder meetups with funded follow-through
In short, developer outreach is all about frictionless onboarding, compelling challenges, and a clear value exchange.
Also, programs that combine monetary reward + mentorship + visibility are far outperforming “spray-and-pray” grants.
Case Highlights:
eCash: Turned its internal engineers into public-facing magnets for talent. Builders engage because they trust the humans behind the chain.
Syscoin: Hosts regionally targeted AMAs → feeds directly into localized hackathons → devs connect directly to mentors.
Sui: “Watch-to-Earn” onboarding that rewards learning with gas fee discounts, NFTs, and access to future funding rounds.
Takeaway: Attracting developers is about storytelling. The ecosystems seeing long-term success are those building not just incentives but infrastructure, identity and upward mobility.
3.2 Community Building & Engagement
While developer acquisition drives infrastructure growth, community engagement fuels longevity. Every successful ecosystem in 2025 has one thing in common: a loyal, activated community with a clear identity.
Source: The Most effective community growth tactics
While growth tactics vary, one truth stands out: the most resilient ecosystems pair online engagement with offline connection.
Top tactics driving community growth:
Strategic partnerships and cross-promotion
Ambassador programs built around values, not vanity
Hybrid content strategies that blend memes, education, and culture
In fact, ecosystems like Sui and Syscoin consistently outperform larger chains on key ecosystem health metrics not because they’re bigger, but because they’re tighter:
Higher TVL per wallet
Greater contributor-to-user ratio
More active builders per community member
Case Study: Syscoin’s grassroots events across APAC led to a 30% increase in wallet retention among new users, with ongoing community-led workshops in 5+ cities.
3.3 The Role of Kaito in Ecosystem Brand Building
In 2025, brand strategy has moved beyond logos and Twitter handles.
The Kaito framework, designed to optimize ecosystem mindshare is fast becoming a differentiator for projects seeking credibility and cohesion.
Source: Kaito mindshare metrics across top ecosystems
Adoption Snapshot:
Only 10% of surveyed ecosystems are currently using a structured Kaito strategy
However, 40% are actively exploring adoption in the next cycle
Projects like Berachain that adopted early Kaito brand structuring reports increased developer trust, faster community onboarding and stronger alignment between technical and community narratives.
Strategic Approaches to Kaito Optimization:
Clear “voice pillars” that reflect ecosystem values
Unified messaging across technical, enterprise, and community verticals
Scalable content kits and assets to empower contributors to amplify the brand
Today, ecosystems aren’t asking “How do we go viral?”
Instead, they’re asking “How do we show up with the right message, in the right format and to the right audience consistently?”
The new growth stack includes:
Influencer alignment by audience layer
PR as a funnel driver, not a vanity boost
Social media as ecosystem UX
AI and segmentation to fine-tune delivery
Let’s break down the mechanics behind the ecosystems getting it right.
4.1 Influencer Marketing Effectiveness
Influencer marketing remains effective, only if you get the tier right.
Source: ROI comparison across influencer tiers
Key Takeaway:
Nano Influencers (1K–10K): ~4.2x ROI
Micro Influencers (10K–50K): ~3.9x ROI
Macro/Mega Influencers: Significantly lower returns due to saturation and high CPM
Nano and Micro influencers (1K–50K followers) outperform all others in ROI due to stronger niche focus, higher engagement, and lower cost-per-activation.
Though, the Top-performing influencer strategies in 2025 blend:
Nano creators for authenticity (Twitter threads, walkthroughs)
Mid-tier educators for onboarding and explanation (YouTube, LinkedIn)
Selective mega partnerships for major announcements or enterprise plays
Best for:
Early-stage projects
Ecosystems entering new regions or subcultures
Campaigns focused on developer credibility over hype
The Lunar Amplification Method
Used by select top-tier ecosystems, the Lunar Amplification Method is a multi-tiered distribution system that combines:
AI-driven influencer matching
Creator content kits (assets, talking points, tone guides)
Performance-based tiers (creators earn more by driving on-chain action)
It’s a system where the creator voice becomes a scalable growth vector backed by data, incentives, and trust.
4.2 Public Relations & Media Coverage
Too many ecosystems view PR as a vanity move.
The most effective teams treat it as distribution infrastructure.
This dual-axis chart illustrates how media coverage intensity correlates with:
Average Developer Sign-ups
Total Value Locked (TVL) Growth
Investing in PR campaigns and consistent media exposure can significantly accelerate ecosystem adoption both in developer participation and capital inflow (TVL).
Key Takeaways:
Developer sign-ups scale from ~50 (Low coverage) to ~400 (Very High coverage).
TVL growth jumps from 5% under low coverage to an impressive 45% with very high media presence.
Higher media coverage directly correlates with a sharp rise in both developer sign-ups and TVL growth.
Example: Manta Network launched its dev-focused ZK SDK and timed the announcement with coordinated earned media + regional hackathons = 3.2x increase in sign-ups over 14 days.
4.3 Social Media Strategy
In 2025, ecosystems aren’t asking “should we be on [platform]?”
They’re asking how do we show up with the right content, for the right moment, on each platform?
This bar chart displays how frequently various social media platforms are mentioned as part of crypto ecosystem growth strategies.
Platform Highlights:
Twitter dominates as the most commonly used platform
Telegram and Discord follow closely, suggesting strong emphasis on community interaction and support hubs.
Lesser-used platforms like Reddit, YouTube and Facebook play a niche role in ecosystem marketing.
However, crypto ecosystems should create platform-specific content:
Twitter: Memes, threads, real-time updates
Telegram/Discord: Community health, AMAs, governance
Ecosystems are moving beyond flat airdrops and short-term incentives, and instead architecting behaviorally intelligent tokenomics that reward commitment, skill and genuine contribution.
The question is no longer “What do we give?” but “What are we reinforcing?”
5.1 Effective Incentive Structures
Incentives were once a shortcut for growth.
Now, they’re shaping everything from user retention to governance alignment to ecosystem stickiness.
Source: This bar chart compares the perceived effectiveness of two major types of incentive mechanisms used in crypto ecosystems.
These often tie directly to network growth metrics such as TVL, active wallets, and user retention.
Off-chain rewards can still be useful for short-term engagement, brand visibility, and community culture.
Projects that tie incentives to measurable contributions and future value (e.g., governance power, access tiers) retain users longer than those offering flat token grants.
Case Examples:
Syscoin offers tiered rewards for contributor milestones
Manta Network combines token drops with future airdrop eligibility tied to participation
5.2 Local Developer Hubs
Ecosystem growth is global by default and regional by design.
Local developer hubs are now a critical piece of post-hype strategy.
Source: Geographic distribution of developer hubs
This chart highlights the regional presence of developer hubs across the globe, indicating where ecosystems are establishing a physical or community-driven footprint to support builders.
Regional presence is shaping ecosystem strength:
Asia-Pacific leads in number of hubs, driven by fast-growing developer ecosystems
North America/Europe hold steady with mature infrastructure and funding access
Latin America, MENA, and Africa show rapid interest but remain early-stage
More consistent retention through community anchoring
Best Practices:
Launch hybrid events (online + local)
Create language-specific docs and support
Offer region-based grant programs tied to local needs
Conclusion
Crypto in 2025 is quieter, deeper, and more intentional.
The ecosystems winning today are building context, culture, and trust, rooted in purpose where meaningful value, thoughtful execution, and trusted communities are taking center stage.
Our deep-dive conversations with builders, marketers and ecosystem leaders across ten blockchain networks uncovered three core principles that are setting the pace for the next wave of sustainable growth:
Developer-First, Always: The thriving ecosystems treat developers with genuine support, visibility, and growth paths. They’ve recognized that every successful builder brings ten more, creating a powerful flywheel effect and it’s the foundation everything else builds upon.
Communities Over Crowds: The most dynamic ecosystems are building tight-knit, purpose-driven communities where members feel ownership and identity. They’re creating spaces where online connections lead to offline relationships and where shared values matter more than token price.
Strategic Over Tactical: Leading teams build comprehensive growth systems where every channel, message, and touchpoint works together. They’re tracking full-funnel metrics and optimizing for lasting engagement, not just initial attention.
We’re past the era of chasing “what’s working.”
The real question is: What’s worth building and who’s staying to build it with you?
So, focus on creating real value for the people who matter most to your ecosystem. Build with intention, authenticity and remember that in a market still finding its footing and the strongest position isn’t being the loudest voice but the most trusted one.
Because ecosystems aren’t websites.
They’re living systems.
About Lunar Strategy’s Ecosystem Launchpad Accelerator
Lunar Strategy’s Ecosystem Launchpad Accelerator combines deep expertise in go-to-market strategy, ecosystem growth, and strategic advisory to help innovative Layer 1 and Layer 2 projects capitalize on the historic crypto market shift.
With 25+ years of combined experience across top ecosystems like Solana, Cardano, Mantle, Polkadot, and ICP, our team brings proven frameworks for:
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has urged the blockchain community to rethink the network’s design approach, pushing for a more minimalist and efficient structure.
In a blog post published on May 3, Buterin argued that Ethereum should adopt a simpler protocol model, similar to Bitcoin’s, to improve efficiency, scalability, and security.
Buterin Touts Bitcoin’s Simplicity
Buterin described Ethereum’s current system as overly complex, warning that its technical depth increases costs, isolates research efforts, and raises the likelihood of serious bugs.
The Ethereum co-founder also emphasized that the current design centralizes too much control among a small group of technically advanced contributors. He argued that this approach undermines the network’s decentralization ethos.
“Even a smart high school student is capable of fully wrapping their head around and understanding the Bitcoin protocol. A programmer is capable of writing a client as a hobby project,” Buterin wrote.
According to Buterin, simplifying the protocol will make Ethereum more resilient, reduce infrastructure costs, and lower the entry barrier for developers.
He also concluded that simplicity should be treated as a core value, much like decentralization. He believes Ethereum must prioritize design choices that promote clarity, robustness, and long-term sustainability.
How Can Ethereum Reduce its Complexity?
To achieve this vision, Buterin highlighted three key areas where Ethereum can reduce complexity.
First, he recommended changes to the consensus layer, particularly by streamlining the finality system and reducing the number of validators. These steps, he said, would lower operational costs and speed up network consensus.
He pointed out that the consensus layer is loosely coupled with Ethereum’s execution system. This separation gives developers more flexibility to implement improvements without breaking core functionality.
“The nice thing about the consensus layer is that it is relatively disconnected from EVM execution, which means that there is a relatively wide latitude to continue to make these types of improvements,” Buterin said.
To do this, Buterin recommends introducing RISC-V, a simpler and more efficient computing architecture, as an alternative execution option. He also envisions a future where developers can write contracts using RISC-V alongside the EVM.
Vitalik Buterin’s Proposal on Simplifying Ethereum’s L1. Source: Buterin
Additionally, he suggested replacing precompiles with a canonical on-chain implementation. He also proposed building a RISC-V-based EVM interpreter to support future upgrades with better maintainability.
Lastly, he called for standardization across protocol components. Instead of using different tools for similar functions, Ethereum could adopt one erasure code, serialization format, and Merkle tree. This unified approach would help reduce redundancy and enhance the network’s clarity.
“There is typically very little or no benefit to using different protocols to do the same thing in different places, but such patterns appear anyway, largely because different parts of protocol roadmapping don’t talk to each other,” Buterin pointed out.
Ripple (XRP) price is under bearish pressure after shedding more than 8% of its value in the past week and recording the biggest seven-day loss among the top-ten largest cryptos by market cap. As the downward pressure intensifies, Ripple will likely lose its competitive edge over the largest altcoin, Ethereum, after the XRP/ETH ratio plunged to its lowest level in a month.
XRP Sheds $520M in Open Interest as Long Liquidations Surge
Data from Coinglass shows that Ripple’s open interest has declined from $4.15 billion to $3.63 billion in just one week, shedding more than $520 million. This drastic decline follows a surge in long liquidations with more than $8M positions by long buyers being forcefully closed in the last 24 hours as the XRP price declined.
Ethereum Open Interest
The declining OI may prevent an explosive Ripple rally as it indicates that futures traders are no longer willing to open new positions, amid the closure of existing ones due to price volatility. Nevertheless, the level of leverage remains notably high, with more than 75% of Binance traders opening long positions, causing the long/short ratio to reach its highest level in a month.
XRP Long/Short Ratio
While the opening of new long positions shows that many traders anticipate the XRP price to recover, an unprecedented downtrend will trigger liquidations that will push the Ripple price lower as those with open positions sell.
XRP/ETH Falls to Monthly Low
XRP price has been underperforming against other top altcoins, especially Ethereum. The XRP/ETH ratio has plunged to its lowest level in one month, and this suggests that while Ripple is shedding gains, Ethereum has successfully defended its support level and will likely continue dominating the altcoin market.
XRP/ETH: 1-day Chart
This ratio now stands at 0.00118, and if the price of XRP continues with the downward trend, and loses the next support at 0.00111, it will trigger the next bearish leg to 0.00102. Meanwhile, the RSI is showing that the bearish momentum is intensifying, indicating that Ripple is facing further correction against ETH.
XRP Price Eyes Drop Below $2 Before Recovery
XRP price will likely drop below $2 first before it can make an upward recovery, according to the analysis shared by trader CrediBULL Crypto. $2 has often been seen as a crucial psychological support for the altcoin, but a drop below it might spark a surge in buying activity by traders accumulating the dip, and this will likely support an upswing.
If Ripple drops to test the support level at $1.79, it may drive the next upward momentum that will aid a break of the critical $2.10 resistance level. Fliupping this level will then pave the way for an XRP breakout to $4.
Ripple Price Chart
To sum up, the price of XRP has been under intense selling pressure due to a surge in long liquidations that have also caused the open interest to drop by over $500 billion in a week. As these bearish headwinds continue, Ripple is losing its edge against Ethereum, with a breakout only possible if it drops to test support below $2 before resuming an upward trend.