Why Crypto Marketing is Over: Founders are Now the New Product! 🤯🚀

So, let’s talk about crypto. You know, that magical realm where money appears out of thin air, and everyone suddenly becomes a financial guru? For most of its brief existence, the game plan was as straightforward as ordering a latte: reward the behavior, and voilà, repeat it like clockwork! We had liquidity mining, referrals, token launches, and airdrops-a delightful buffet of incentives. But just like that time I tried to diet while staring at a chocolate cake, it all came crashing down when people lost interest. 🍰💔

So, what happened, you ask? Well, it turns out trust took a vacation, and good luck getting it back! With scams popping up faster than a bad Tinder date and metrics as genuine as my Aunt Edna’s “secret” cookie recipe, buyers decided that maybe, just maybe, they should stop believing in all that marketing mumbo jumbo. The result? Attention no longer converts, and frankly, it’s as tragic as finding out your favorite show got canceled.

Now, the secret sauce isn’t rewards or partnerships; it’s all about good ol’ founder credibility. Yes, folks, welcome to the new era where founders are akin to superheroes. 🦸‍♂️ They’ve got to earn your trust by explaining their product, teaching you how to use it, and generally being around more than your last boyfriend. But, hold on, this isn’t just about personal branding-it’s structural! Who knew crypto could be so complicated?

Forget fancy landing pages; now, it’s all about discovering products through real people who actually show up with the same worldview-like a cult, but without the weird robes. Buyers don’t want dashboards filled with confusing numbers; they want clear explanations that make them feel smart when they have to convince their teams who think Twitter is just for cat memes. 🐱✨

Founder-Credibility-Driven Growth Model

Let’s flip the script, shall we? Founder-credibility-driven growth has emerged like a phoenix from the ashes of traditional marketing. I’ve seen this play out like a soap opera across various crypto teams. Products with all the tech bells and whistles but lacking a charismatic founder floundered. Meanwhile, those with founders who just wouldn’t shut up about their vision ended up pulling in interest like moths to a flame. What’s the difference? Coherence, darling!

  • First, it compounds. Campaigns flare up and then poof, they’re gone. Founder stories? They accumulate like dust bunnies in my corner-every explanation builds on the last, and over time, the market doesn’t just recognize the product; it gets it.
  • Second, founder-driven growth creates defensibility. Institutions won’t adopt things they can’t explain. Founders who teach the market how to think about a problem don’t just promote products; they become the Rosetta Stone of crypto jargon.
  • Third, this type of growth creates trust asymmetry. In a noisy market, the person who keeps showing up with clarity becomes the go-to guru everyone else references. Kind of like that friend who always knows where the best brunch spots are! 🥂

This shift is unsettling because it changes the power dynamics of growth. You can’t fully outsource go-to-market strategies anymore. Sure, you can pay for campaigns, but belief? That’s priceless. Vision, philosophy, and conviction are the non-transferable items on the menu. The market wants the creator, not just anyone who can read a press release.

That’s why founders have quietly become the new infrastructure. They aren’t just builders; they’re the lifeblood through which markets learn how to navigate the ever-complicated world of finance. 🏗️

So, crypto marketing isn’t dying because teams stopped trying; it’s dying because the interface has dramatically shifted. In a sea of scams and hollow partnerships, the only growth engine still chugging along is authentic, founder-credibility-driven trust. When trust runs low, credibility is the new gold standard. Shine on, you crazy diamonds! 💎

Dean Khan Dhillon

Dean Khan Dhillon is the Head of Growth at RWA.xyz, a data analytics platform focused on tokenized assets. He specializes in RWA adoption, crypto market structure, and GTM for crypto infrastructure. Previously, Dean was CEO of fortyIQ, a crypto GTM and thought leadership firm, which he scaled to $2M ARR in under a year, and worked with over 25 leading blockchain protocols such as Babylon, Initia, and Syndicate.

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2026-01-09 18:41