The State of Ecosystem Progress in 2025: Analysis Report

In 2025, the ecosystems that thrive aren’t the loudest — they’re probably the most strategic, probably the most targeted, and those constructing lasting worth. Ecosystem well being right this moment is more and more measured by the depth of developer engagement, not the dimensions of token airdrops or surface-level metrics. Advertising has advanced too: AI instruments, grassroots neighborhood operations, and hybrid content material methods are changing short-lived, high-gloss campaigns.

As crypto turns into a fixture in nationwide coverage and financial frameworks, credibility and belief inside ecosystems have emerged as the brand new currencies of progress.

There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook anymore. To uncover what’s really working right this moment, we spoke with progress leaders from Sui, Avalanche, Syscoin, Manta Community, and others. 

This report helps to shed some mild on the continued tendencies within the crypto-related advertising and marketing and discover out which ones are setting the tempo for the following wave of sustainable progress.

TL;DR:

• In 2025, the ecosystems thriving aren’t the loudest. They’re probably the most strategic, most targeted and most aligned with long-term worth.
• Ecosystem well being is more and more tied to the depth of developer engagement, not the dimensions of token airdrops or vainness metrics.
• Advertising has advanced. AI instruments, grassroots neighborhood ops, and hybrid content material methods are changing high-gloss, short-cycle campaigns.
• With crypto coming into nationwide coverage agendas and financial frameworks, credibility and ecosystem belief are new progress currencies.
• There’s no one-size-fits-all. We spoke with progress leaders from Sui, Avalanche, Syscoin, Manta Community and others to uncover what’s really working.

Again in 2024, crypto felt prefer it was in every single place and nowhere .

Timelines have been flooded with debates, L1 vs. L2, monolithic vs. modular, liquidity this, fragmentation that. Nearly everybody had a scorching take and each undertaking was scrambling for a flash of consideration that hardly lasted longer than a tweet.

You may launch a undertaking, nail the narrative, get your retweets and podcast mentions and nonetheless get up the following day with no actual momentum.

It wasn’t sustainable and deep down, most groups knew it.

And but, behind the scenes, one thing foundational shifted.

For the primary time, crypto turned a severe matter in coverage rooms.

• The U.S. authorities introduced a strategic crypto reserve.
• The SEC greenlit Bitcoin and Ether ETPs, signaling a long-awaited shift in regulatory posture.
• Lawmakers began treating blockchain not as a distinct segment asset class, however as infrastructure and a core element of nationwide technique.

Out of the blue, crypto had a seat on the huge desk.
That was the second the expansion playbook began to alter.

Quick-forward to 2025, ecosystems that had been optimizing for virality began asking more durable questions:

• What does long-term credibility appear to be?
• How can we present as much as policymakers and enterprises, not simply degens and influencers?
• Can we measure our well being past simply pockets counts and discord headcounts?

To search out solutions, we spoke with ecosystem leaders throughout 10 blockchain networks, from early-stage innovators to mature platforms. Regardless of technical and strategic range, they shared one widespread mindset: They’re constructing like they plan to be right here in 5, ten, twenty years.

That is post-hype crypto and the foundations have modified.

Key highlights and significant findings

1. Advertising budgets are everywhere: Some groups are grinding with lower than $100K a yr whereas others are spending $10 million and up. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, however the hole speaks volumes. 
2. Hybrid groups are the brand new regular: The neatest groups are optimizing for pace, adaptability, and high-context execution. They’re ruthlessly prioritizing expertise that strikes the needle, not simply fills roles.
3. Builders are the flywheel: Progress groups are channeling most of their power into developer outreach reminiscent of grants, hackathons, ambassador applications, and native language help are widespread performs.
4.  Viewers alignment: In an oversaturated, narrative-heavy market, reducing by the noise to achieve the proper set of viewers remains to be one of many largest hurdles.
5. Techniques are getting sharper:  AI-powered advertising and marketing, community-based onboarding, and incentive fashions like “watch-to-earn” are rising as key differentiators in creating sticky, participating experiences.

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Analysis Methodology

To know what’s driving ecosystem progress in 2025, we went straight to the supply in conversations with ten executives throughout lively, forward-thinking blockchain networks together with Sui, Avalanche, Manta Community, Syscoin, eCash, and CrossFi Chain.

Our findings are structured throughout 5 crucial themes:

→ Strategic Priorities

→ Progress Challenges

→ Group Buildings

→ Advertising Techniques

→ Price range Allocation

These are the stress factors the place ecosystems are being examined, the place they’re iterating and the place the shift from hype to well being is most seen.

The solutions weren’t surface-level. 

They have been trustworthy, revealing, and at instances, surprisingly candid.

Part 1: The Evolving Panorama of Crypto Ecosystems

1.1 From Noise to Nuance

Not way back, crypto felt like a winner-takes-all race.

Ethereum and Bitcoin dominated headlines, whereas new chains clawed for consideration with a flashy function or a viral announcement.

However that playbook has modified.

Right this moment, the panorama is extra fragmented and extra alive than ever.

Upstart chains can acquire actual traction in months. Area of interest ecosystems are discovering endurance by serving targeted communities with precision: actual dev help, localized outreach, distinctive tooling, and use instances that resonate with individuals who really construct.

It’s now not about being the largest. 

It’s about being probably the most related to the viewers that issues.

Supply: Market share distribution amongst prime ecosystems.

The momentum has shifted from mass attraction to mission-driven progress.

The ecosystems making progress are those listening, serving and enjoying the lengthy sport.

1.2 Key progress metrics and benchmarks

Amongst surveyed ecosystems, developer adoption has turn into the north star metric.

Whereas TVL stays a benchmark, main groups are shifting towards engagement depth over vainness counts. Grants, hackathons, and native campaigns outperform short-term airdrops in each onboarding and retention.

1.3 Crucial Challenges Dealing with Ecosystem Progress

Supply: Prime Obstacles to Ecosystem Adoption Recognized by Executives

Primarily based on direct suggestions, the highest challenges for ecosystems right this moment are:

• Problem reaching the proper viewers 
• Oversaturation of the crypto panorama
• Price range constraints and restricted runway for experimentation

Whereas blockchain infrastructure is enhancing,particularly with L2 scalability and higher dev tooling, the largest challenges aren’t technical anymore.

They’re strategic.

Most groups aren’t scuffling with what to construct however with find out how to place, differentiate, and talk.

“It’s now not sufficient to be technically sound. Ecosystem success will depend on whether or not you may talk worth to builders, customers and companions within the clearest, most compelling manner attainable.” – — Matthew Schmenk, Ecosystem Progress Lead, Avalanche

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Part 2: Advertising & Progress Methods

“Advertising in crypto was once noise. Now it’s programs considering – who you attain, the way you attain them, and why they keep.”- The Lunar Technique Group

Ecosystem advertising and marketing in 2025 isn’t about dropping a flashy marketing campaign, working a paid KOL loop, and hoping it sticks. Right this moment, advertising and marketing is infrastructure.

It’s the connective tissue between ecosystem layers: builders, customers, tokenholders, establishments driving onboarding, retention, and legitimacy. 

Let’s break it down:

2.1 Selecting the Proper Progress Mannequin

Supply: Share of Ecosystems Utilizing Exterior Businesses vs. In-Home Groups

In line with our survey:

• 60% use a hybrid mannequin (in-house + company)
• 40% function with totally inside groups

2.2 Analysing the Professionals and Cons

Hybrid fashions permit for pace and suppleness whereas sustaining institutional information. Totally in-house groups prioritize cohesion however might lack bandwidth or breadth of experience.

2.3 Advertising Price range Allocation Throughout Ecosystems

Annual budgets differ broadly:

• <$500K: Primarily in-house with lean groups
• $500K–$1M: Hybrid setups with company retained for campaigns
• $5M+: Full-stack progress groups masking PR, occasions, KOLs, paid media, search engine optimization and extra

What’s altering in 2025 isn’t simply how a lot groups spend, it’s how exactly they deploy capital:

• Early-stage: lean, localized execution
• Mid-tier: AI tooling, content material ops, ambassador focus
• Mature: model programs, 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 – as a result of we monitor the total funnel.” — Ecosystem CMO

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Part 3: Driving Ecosystem Adoption

As ecosystems compete for market share, one fact is changing into more and more clear: builders are the brand new energy customers. 

Ecosystem well being is now largely measured by the quantity and high quality of builders actively constructing, contributing, and transport.

3.1 Developer Acquisition & Retention

Throughout the board, developer evangelism and hackathons ranked as the best levers for attracting high-quality builders. In 2025, 9 out of 10 ecosystem leaders known as them “crucial” or “extremely efficient.”

However incentives alone aren’t sufficient. 

The fashionable developer is motivated by clear worth change and private progress, not simply payouts.

Right 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 brief, developer outreach is all about frictionless onboarding, compelling challenges, and a transparent worth change.

Additionally, applications that mix financial reward + mentorship + visibility are far outperforming “spray-and-pray” grants.

Case Highlights:

• eCash: Turned its inside engineers into public-facing magnets for expertise. Builders have interaction as a result of they belief the people behind the chain.
• Syscoin: Hosts regionally focused AMAs → feeds immediately into localized hackathons → devs join on to mentors.
• Sui: “Watch-to-Earn” onboarding that rewards studying with gasoline price reductions, NFTs, and entry to future funding rounds.

Takeaway: Attracting builders is about storytelling. The ecosystems seeing long-term success are these constructing not simply incentives however infrastructure, identification and upward mobility.

Whereas developer acquisition drives infrastructure progress, neighborhood engagement fuels longevity. Each profitable ecosystem in 2025 has one factor in widespread: a loyal, activated neighborhood with a transparent identification.

Supply: The Best neighborhood progress techniques

Whereas progress techniques differ, one fact stands out: probably the most resilient ecosystems pair on-line engagement with offline connection.

Prime techniques driving neighborhood progress:

• Strategic partnerships and cross-promotion
• Ambassador applications constructed round values, not vainness
• Hybrid content material methods that mix memes, training, and tradition
• Gated experiences (e.g., token-holders-only Discord channels, NFT entry passes for IRL occasions)

However neighborhood dimension alone isn’t successful metric. 

Actually, ecosystems like Sui and Syscoin constantly outperform bigger chains on key ecosystem well being metrics not as a result of they’re greater, however as a result of they’re tighter:

• Increased TVL per pockets
• Larger contributor-to-user ratio
• Extra lively builders per neighborhood member

Case Research: Syscoin’s grassroots occasions throughout APAC led to a 30% improve in pockets retention amongst new customers, with ongoing community-led workshops in 5+ cities.

3.3 The Position of Kaito in Ecosystem Model Constructing

In 2025, model technique has moved past logos and Twitter handles.

The Kaito framework, designed to optimize ecosystem mindshare is quick changing into a differentiator for tasks in search of credibility and cohesion.

Supply: Kaito mindshare metrics throughout prime ecosystems

Adoption Snapshot:

• Solely 10% of surveyed ecosystems are presently utilizing a structured Kaito technique
• Nonetheless, 40% are actively exploring adoption within the subsequent cycle

Initiatives like Berachain that adopted early Kaito model structuring reviews elevated developer belief, sooner neighborhood onboarding and stronger alignment between technical and neighborhood narratives.

Strategic Approaches to Kaito Optimization:

• Clear “voice pillars” that mirror ecosystem values
• Unified messaging throughout technical, enterprise, and neighborhood verticals
• Scalable content material kits and property to empower contributors to amplify the model

Useful resource: The Final Model Playbook for Dominating Kaito Mindshare

Part 4: Advertising Channels & Techniques

Right this moment, ecosystems aren’t asking “How can we go viral?”

As an alternative, they’re asking “How can we present up with the proper message, in the proper format and to the proper viewers constantly?”

The brand new progress stack consists of:

• Influencer alignment by viewers layer
• PR as a funnel driver, not a conceit increase
• Social media as ecosystem UX
• AI and segmentation to fine-tune supply

Let’s break down the mechanics behind the ecosystems getting it proper.

4.1 Influencer Advertising Effectiveness

Influencer advertising and marketing stays efficient, provided that you get the tier proper.

Supply: ROI comparability throughout influencer tiers

Key Takeaway: 

• Nano Influencers (1K–10K): ~4.2x ROI
• Micro Influencers (10K–50K): ~3.9x ROI
• Macro/Mega Influencers: Considerably decrease returns on account of saturation and excessive CPM

Nano and Micro influencers (1K–50K followers) outperform all others in ROI on account of stronger area of interest focus, increased engagement, and decrease cost-per-activation.

Although, the Prime-performing influencer methods in 2025 mix:

• Nano creators for authenticity (Twitter threads, walkthroughs)
• Mid-tier educators for onboarding and rationalization (YouTube, LinkedIn)
• Selective mega partnerships for main bulletins or enterprise performs

Greatest for:

• Early-stage tasks
• Ecosystems coming into new areas or subcultures
• Campaigns targeted on developer credibility over hype

The Lunar Amplification Methodology

Utilized by choose top-tier ecosystems, the Lunar Amplification Methodology is a multi-tiered distribution system that mixes:

• AI-driven influencer matching
• Creator content material kits (property, speaking factors, tone guides)
• Efficiency-based tiers (creators earn extra by driving on-chain motion)

It’s a system the place the creator voice turns into a scalable progress vector backed by information, incentives, and belief.

4.2 Public Relations & Media Protection

Too many ecosystems view PR as a conceit transfer.

 The best groups deal with it as distribution infrastructure.

This dual-axis chart illustrates how media protection depth correlates with:

• Common Developer Signal-ups
• Whole Worth Locked (TVL) Progress

Investing in PR campaigns and constant media publicity can considerably speed up ecosystem adoption each in developer participation and capital influx (TVL).

Key Takeaways:

• Developer sign-ups scale from ~50 (Low protection) to ~400 (Very Excessive protection).
• TVL progress jumps from 5% below low protection to a powerful 45% with very excessive media presence.
• Increased media protection immediately correlates with a pointy rise in each developer sign-ups and TVL progress.

Instance: Manta Community launched its dev-focused ZK SDK and timed the announcement with coordinated earned media + regional hackathons = 3.2x improve in sign-ups over 14 days.

4.3 Social Media Technique

In 2025, ecosystems aren’t asking “ought to we be on [platform]?”

They’re asking how can we present up with the proper content material, for the proper second, on every platform?

This bar chart shows how incessantly varied social media platforms are talked about as a part of crypto ecosystem progress methods.

Platform Highlights:

• Twitter dominates as probably the most generally used platform 
• Telegram and Discord observe intently, suggesting robust emphasis on neighborhood interplay and help hubs.
• Lesser-used platforms like Reddit, YouTube and Fb play a distinct segment position in ecosystem advertising and marketing.

Nonetheless, crypto ecosystems ought to create platform-specific content material:

• Twitter: Memes, threads, real-time updates
• Telegram/Discord: Group well being, AMAs, governance
• LinkedIn: Strategic partnerships, expertise recruitment, ecosystem imaginative and prescient

Part 5: Tokenomics & Incentive Design

Ecosystems are shifting past flat airdrops and short-term incentives, and as an alternative architecting behaviorally clever tokenomics that reward dedication, talent and real contribution.

The query is now not “What can we give?” however “What are we reinforcing?”

5.1 Efficient Incentive Buildings

Incentives have been as soon as a shortcut for progress.

 Now, they’re shaping all the things from consumer retention to governance alignment to ecosystem stickiness.

Supply: This bar chart compares the perceived effectiveness of two main sorts of incentive mechanisms utilized in crypto ecosystems.

• On-chain Incentives (e.g., token rewards, staking bonuses)
• Off-chain Incentives (e.g., swag, occasions, neighborhood grants)

Key Takeaways:

• On-chain incentives clearly outperform off-chain strategies in driving sustained ecosystem engagement.
• These usually tie on to community progress metrics reminiscent of TVL, lively wallets, and consumer retention.
• Off-chain rewards can nonetheless be helpful for short-term engagement, model visibility, and neighborhood tradition.

Initiatives that tie incentives to measurable contributions and future worth (e.g., governance energy, entry tiers) retain customers longer than these providing flat token grants.

Case Examples:

• Syscoin affords tiered rewards for contributor milestones
• Manta Community combines token drops with future airdrop eligibility tied to participation

5.2 Native Developer Hubs

Ecosystem progress is international by default and regional by design.

Native developer hubs at the moment are a crucial piece of post-hype technique.

Supply: Geographic distribution of developer hubs

This chart highlights the regional presence of developer hubs throughout the globe, indicating the place ecosystems are establishing a bodily or community-driven footprint to help builders.

Regional presence is shaping ecosystem energy:

• Asia-Pacific leads in variety of hubs, pushed by fast-growing developer ecosystems
• North America/Europe maintain regular with mature infrastructure and funding entry
• Latin America, MENA, and Africa present speedy curiosity however stay early-stage

Why Native Hubs Work

• Decrease onboarding friction (language, tradition, regulation)
• Increased occasion turnout and contributor conversion
• Extra constant retention by neighborhood anchoring

Greatest Practices:

• Launch hybrid occasions (on-line + native)
• Create language-specific docs and help
• Supply region-based grant applications tied to native wants

Conclusion 

Crypto in 2025 is quieter, deeper, and extra intentional.

The ecosystems profitable right this moment are constructing context, tradition, and belief, rooted in goal the place significant worth, considerate execution, and trusted communities are taking heart stage.

Our deep-dive conversations with builders, entrepreneurs and ecosystem leaders throughout ten blockchain networks uncovered three core rules which can be setting the tempo for the following wave of sustainable progress:

1. Developer-First, All the time: The thriving ecosystems deal with builders with real help, visibility, and progress paths. They’ve acknowledged that each profitable builder brings ten extra, creating a strong flywheel impact and it’s the muse all the things else builds upon.
2. Communities Over Crowds: Probably the most dynamic ecosystems are constructing tight-knit, purpose-driven communities the place members really feel possession and identification. They’re creating areas the place on-line connections result in offline relationships and the place shared values matter greater than token value.
3. Strategic Over Tactical: Main groups construct complete progress programs the place each channel, message, and touchpoint works collectively. They’re monitoring full-funnel metrics and optimizing for lasting engagement, not simply preliminary consideration.

We’re previous the period of chasing “what’s working.”

The true query is: What’s price constructing and who’s staying to construct it with you?

So, give attention to creating actual worth for the individuals who matter most to your ecosystem. Construct with intention, authenticity and keep in mind that in a market nonetheless discovering its footing and the strongest place isn’t being the loudest voice however probably the most trusted one.

As a result of ecosystems aren’t web sites.

They’re dwelling programs.

About Lunar Technique’s Ecosystem Launchpad Accelerator

Lunar Technique’s Ecosystem Launchpad Accelerator combines deep experience in go-to-market technique, ecosystem progress, and strategic advisory to assist progressive Layer 1 and Layer 2 tasks capitalize on the historic crypto market shift.

With 25+ years of mixed expertise throughout prime ecosystems like Solana, Cardano, Mantle, Polkadot, and ICP, our staff brings confirmed frameworks for:

• Strategic developer acquisition & retention
• Localized builder communities & developer hubs
• Full-funnel progress campaigns (on-chain & off-chain)
• IRL activations that forge significant relationships
• Entry to 1,000+ crypto-native KOLs & companions
• Media publicity that drives credibility and visibility
• Tailor-made roadmaps targeted on sustainable TVL progress

Apply for the Ecosystem Launchpad Accelerator

This can be a uncommon window to redefine what profitable ecosystem progress appears like. 

Let’s construct one thing actual, collectively.