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Crypto is a highly technical and engineering-focused category created by people solving really difficult math, cryptography, software engineering and logic problems. But while the industry braces for a wave of optimism and friendly regulation in 2025, projects that rely on technical achievements will do themselves a disservice.
I don’t blame technical crypto teams for being skeptical about marketing. In this category, you’ll often encounter many self-branded “web3” or “crypto” marketers who promote a type of marketing that isn’t based on fundamentals or a comprehensive strategy. Instead, they often signal a close relationship with certain crypto projects or genres, such as paying key opinion leaders (KOLs), managing influencers, knowing how to post crap on X, or keeping their finger on the pulse of the crypto meme-du. daily. (To be fair, these all have their place.)
Crypto marketing is different and comes with unique challenges
But these “crypto marketers” are onto something too. They recognize the fact that crypto is not a typical industry and requires an understanding of a unique set of dynamics not found in traditional markets.
Since 2021, we at Blokhaus have supported various crypto clients, DeFi protocols, and web3 gaming and social applications from layer 1 to layer 2. We have seen firsthand the challenges these projects face and the lack of marketing infrastructure, talent and support that prevent them from reaching their potential. This is a complex environment in which very few individuals and teams can navigate effectively.
Crypto projects that want to stand out in the tumultuous year ahead must be ready to step up their marketing efforts and not settle for superficial tactics. Here are some key skills you should look for when hiring marketing roles or agency teams to support your project:
1. Ability to effectively navigate and be the key to integration in decentralized ecosystems
Crypto ecosystems work fundamentally differently than other industries. Projects often feature decentralized global teams, different organizations driving governance, technology and business development, and vibrant communities that are not just consumers but also active participants in the evolution of the ecosystem.
Marketers need a major mindset shift as they come to crypto from traditional, centralized organizations. Marketing in a decentralized environment requires the ability to listen, observe, synthesize, and project ideas back into the world that is already there to begin with, rather than dictating and executing a top-down strategy.
In practice, this means you should look for marketing talent who can build strong relationships and lines of communication with multiple community organizations, ecosystem projects, and stakeholders. Your marketing team must become a core function for integration and alignment, and be able to see connections that turn into insights for technical teams who may be too busy creating decentralized silos to see the big picture.
2. Ability to deeply understand the technology while helping you clarify the story
It is no secret why cryptocurrency has not yet gained mainstream acceptance; There is little the average consumer can do other than speculate about the potential success of various projects. The crypto category is still working on plumbing (layers, layers, and layers of plumbing) a whole new infrastructure.
Crypto marketers need to be adept at one very important thing: They need to understand the technology with enough depth and nuance to develop tactics for a broad audience, from experienced developers to crypto-savvy consumers. And they need to be able to do this while helping technical teams clarify the big picture vision and story.
I encourage crypto teams to view marketing not as a set of nice things or gimmicks, but as an important function that expands and completes the engineering cycle. Marketing isn’t just about getting clicks and engagement; It’s about building a product that meets market demands, requiring a constant feedback loop between developers and marketers.
3. Ability to move at the speed required by the industry when exiting ‘reaction’ mode
Crypto is volatile and fast-moving, and as a result many teams in the category are understandably in a constant state of reaction. But being agile enough to react is one thing, not having a clear strategy is another.
It’s also really hard to escape the “price gouging” pressure that has led the industry to over-rely on KOLs or influencers to wave tokens. These tactics are not a replacement for a solid marketing strategy that focuses on solving problems and increasing meaningful audience engagement and effectiveness. Effective marketing requires a shift from token-centric narratives to creating sustainable ecosystems that users care about.
Crypto teams should avoid getting so hung up on short-term token price increases that they forget to create a solid strategy that will sustain them in the long run. Often the technical roadmaps for these projects span years and take into account the time and effort required to realize the engineering vision; The same thinking should be applied to marketing efforts.
Yes, the best technology still needs good marketing
For cryptocurrency to be adopted by the mainstream, marketing must not be seen as a token price booster or an afterthought. It needs to be an integral component of the process that fosters innovation, user adoption and long-term growth.
The technical teams that succeed in breaking through the noise of 2025 and beyond will be those that invest in marketing as a strategic function, not as a side activity. While it’s certainly difficult to find talent and teams that are comfortable creating beautiful creative assets as well as engaging in technical discussions about aggregated frameworks, they are out there.
Carolyn Rogers
Carolyn Rogers is the marketing manager at Blokhaus, a creative and marketing agency focused on crypto, fintech and emerging technology. He previously spent over 9 years at IBM in roles across a variety of enterprise technologies including cloud, AI, blockchain and automation. At Blokhaus, he leads marketing strategies for clients, including global campaigns, integrated activations and content initiatives.