The emergence of institutionally supported altcoin infrastructure: the strategic significance for retail investors in the post-Ethereum era

Ethereum’s upgrades in 2024-2025, including Dencun and Pectra, have consolidated its dominance, and will account for 50% of the stablecoin market by the second quarter of 2025 (USDT/USDC transaction volume reached USD102 billion), with institutional pledges of USD3 billion. Tokenized assets soared to $412 billion driven by US regulation clarification and inflows of $10 billion ETFs. Altcoins such as Chainlink and Solana have gained popularity with cross-chain interoperability and DeFi infrastructure, while retail investors’ strategies emphasize practical diversified investments and liquid staking derivatives.