Crypto is a highly technical industry led by individuals who solve complex mathematical, cryptographic, software engineering, and logical problems. However, as the industry prepares for a wave of optimism and favorable regulations in 2025, projects that rely solely on their technical expertise will be at a disadvantage.
I understand why technical crypto teams may be skeptical of marketing. Within this industry, there are many self-proclaimed “web3” or “crypto” marketers who often promote marketing strategies that lack a solid foundation or comprehensive strategy. Instead, they typically associate themselves closely with specific crypto projects or employ tactics such as paying key opinion leaders, managing influencers, engaging in provocative online behavior, or staying up to date with the latest crypto memes. (To be fair, there is a place for these tactics.)
However, these “crypto marketers” are onto something. They recognize that crypto is not a typical industry and requires an understanding of unique dynamics not found in traditional markets.
At Blokhaus, we have been supporting various crypto clients since 2021, ranging from layer-1 to layer-2 solutions, DeFi protocols, and web3 gaming and social apps. We have witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by these projects and the lack of marketing infrastructure, talent, and support hindering their potential. Navigating this complex landscape effectively is a skill possessed by only a few individuals and teams.
Crypto projects aiming to stand out in the upcoming year, which is bound to be filled with noise, should be prepared to enhance their marketing efforts and avoid relying on shallow tactics. When hiring marketing roles or agency teams to support your project, consider the following key skills:
1. The ability to navigate decentralized ecosystems effectively and serve as a key point of integration:
Crypto ecosystems function fundamentally differently from other industries. Projects often have decentralized global teams, distinct organizations driving governance, technology, and business development, and active communities that actively participate in the ecosystem’s evolution. Marketers who transition from traditional, centralized organizations need to undergo a major mindset shift. Rather than imposing and executing a top-down strategy, marketing in a decentralized setting requires the ability to listen, observe, synthesize, and reflect ideas that already exist within the community. In practice, look for marketing professionals who can maintain strong relationships and open lines of communication with various community organizations, ecosystem projects, and stakeholders. Your marketing team should become a crucial function for integration and alignment, capable of identifying connections that translate into insights for technical teams who may be too focused on decentralized silos to see the big picture.
2. The ability to deeply understand the technology while helping to crystallize the project’s story:
The lack of mainstream adoption in crypto is not surprising considering that there is little for the average consumer to do beyond speculating on the potential success of various projects. The crypto industry is still in the process of developing an entirely new infrastructure, involving multiple layers of plumbing. Marketers in the crypto industry need to possess a crucial skill: a deep and nuanced understanding of the technology. They should be able to devise tactics for a wide range of audiences, from experienced developers to those who are curious about crypto. Simultaneously, they should assist technical teams in crystallizing a comprehensive vision and story. I encourage crypto teams to view marketing as an essential function that complements the engineering process, rather than a collection of nice-to-have gimmicks. Marketing is not solely about generating clicks and impressions. It is about building a product that satisfies market demands, necessitating a continuous feedback loop between developers and marketers.
3. The ability to keep pace with the industry while avoiding a reactive mindset:
The crypto industry is volatile and fast-moving, resulting in many teams constantly reacting to changing circumstances. However, there is a difference between being adaptable enough to react and lacking a clear strategy. It is also difficult to escape the pressure of focusing solely on token price increases, which often leads to an overreliance on key opinion leaders or influencers to promote tokens. These tactics should not serve as substitutes for a robust marketing strategy that focuses on problem-solving and driving meaningful audience engagement and activity. Effective marketing requires a shift away from token-centric narratives and towards building sustainable ecosystems that users genuinely care about. Crypto teams should avoid fixating on short-term token price increases to the extent that they neglect to develop a solid long-term strategy. Just as these projects have long technical roadmaps, acknowledging the time and effort required to achieve their engineering vision, the same level of thinking should be applied to marketing efforts.
Indeed, even the best technology requires effective marketing. For crypto to achieve mainstream adoption, marketing must be seen as more than just a means to boost token prices or an afterthought. It needs to be an integral part of the process, driving innovation, user adoption, and long-term growth. The technical teams that succeed in breaking through the noise in 2025 and beyond will be those that invest in marketing as a strategic function, rather than treating it as a peripheral activity. While it may be challenging to find talent and teams that are comfortable engaging in technical debates about rollup frameworks while also creating visually appealing creative assets, such individuals and teams do exist.
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Carolyn Rogers.author-card__name
Carolyn Rogers is the head of marketing at Blokhaus, a creative and marketing agency specializing in crypto, fintech, and emerging tech. With over 9 years of experience at IBM in various roles involving enterprise technologies such as cloud, AI, blockchain, and automation, she now leads marketing strategy for clients at Blokhaus, overseeing global campaigns, integrated activations, and content initiatives..author-card__bio
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