In short: when paid channels are closed, distribution in crypto comes from the people who already have a reason to want you to succeed: issuers, integrations, curators and ecosystems. Work that list before you spend a dollar on reach.
Key points
- Sort every proposed channel into open, restricted or closed bands before setting any budget.
- Every asset you support has an issuer who wants more venues and will often promote you if asked.
- Rank integrations by where target users already spend time, and announce each one.
- Pitch curators and allocators on inventory, size, risk parameters and exit, not TVL charts.
- No APYs, no yield promises, and no screenshots of thin dashboards in any copy.
The three bands for crypto
Part 8 laid out distribution when platforms are closed. Crypto needs its own version because the closure is tighter and the exceptions change often.
| Band | What sits in it | How to treat it |
|---|---|---|
| Open | Owned media, integrations, partner co-marketing, ecosystem programmes, answer engines | Build here first; this is most of your distribution |
| Restricted | Paid placements and sponsorships where a platform allows them, with disclosure and legal review | Use sparingly, with every piece of copy reviewed before it runs |
| Closed | Mainstream paid social, search ads in most categories, anything that promises returns | Do not plan around it; policy can shift, but not on your timeline |
Put every channel you are considering into a band before you budget for it. Most teams discover that their plan was mostly in the closed band and their time was mostly in the restricted one.
The free BD list
Here is the list you already have. Every asset you support, list, lend against or route through has an issuer. That issuer wants more venues, more liquidity and more use for their asset.
You are a new place for their asset to be used. That is a reason to promote you, and most will if asked.
Work the list properly. Name a contact at each issuer. Offer something specific: a launch announcement, a joint piece of content, a shared integration guide, a slot in their community call. Ask for the same in return, in writing, with dates.
This is BD, not marketing. It takes one person with a spreadsheet and a calendar. It is the cheapest distribution you will ever buy, and almost nobody does it systematically.
Integrations: go where the users already are
A user in crypto rarely goes to a new site to find a new product. They find it inside the tools they already use.
That means wallets, front-ends, aggregators and lending markets are distribution, not just engineering. Each integration puts you in front of an active user at the moment they are deciding what to do with capital.
Treat the integration roadmap as a channel plan. Rank by where your target users already spend time, not by which team replied to your email first. Ship the integration, then do the co-marketing that goes with it. An integration nobody announces is a channel nobody uses.
Curators and allocators: sell the inventory, not the TVL
In DeFi there is a layer of people whose job is to decide where capital goes. Curators, vault managers, allocators, risk teams at treasuries. They are a distribution channel, and most teams pitch them wrong.
The wrong pitch is a TVL number and a growth chart. They have seen it, and they know how it was built.
The right pitch is inventory. What can they deploy into, at what size, with what risk parameters, and what happens when they need to exit. Give them the documentation a risk committee would ask for, before they ask.
One serious allocator who understands the position is worth more than a thousand wallets that arrived for a point multiplier. Build the materials for that allocator and the rest follows.
Foundations, grants and KOLs
Ecosystem foundations fund teams because they want activity on their chain. That makes them a distribution partner, not only a funding source. Part 17 made the point that chain choice is a distribution decision. Here is where you collect on it.
Ask every grant for what comes with it: announcement slots, event placement, introductions to the wallets and front-ends in their ecosystem, co-marketing from their own channels. If a grant offers money with no distribution, weigh it against one that offers both.
KOLs are a legitimate channel when done in the open. Paid partnership disclosed as such, every time. The claims rules below apply to their copy as much as to yours. A KOL who will not disclose is a liability with a follower count.
Claims rules and answer engines
Every piece of copy, from a landing page to a reply in a community channel, follows the claims register from Part 2. In crypto, that register has two hard lines.
No APYs. No yield promises. Not projected, not historical, not "up to". If a number about returns appears in your copy, it appears with context, a date and a reviewer's sign-off, or it does not appear.
Never screenshot a thin dashboard. A chart with three days of data and one large depositor is not proof of traction. It is evidence you were in a hurry. Wait until the picture is real.
Answer engines now shape a large share of how people first hear about a product. They read your documentation, your integration guides and your public records, and they repeat what is there. Write those pages plainly, keep them current, and make sure the claims in them are the ones you are willing to defend.
The checklist
- [ ] Every proposed channel assigned to open, restricted or closed before any budget is set
- [ ] Issuer BD list built with a named contact and a specific co-marketing ask for each
- [ ] Integration roadmap ranked by where target users already are, with co-marketing scheduled per launch
- [ ] Allocator pack written: inventory, size, risk parameters, exit path, and documentation
- [ ] Every grant and KOL arrangement includes distribution terms and disclosure in writing
- [ ] Claims rules applied to all copy, with no APYs, no yield promises and no thin-dashboard screenshots
Common questions
How do crypto projects market when ad platforms are closed to them?
Build mostly in open channels: owned media, integrations, partner co-marketing, ecosystem programmes and answer engines. Use restricted paid placements sparingly with review, and do not plan around closed channels.
How should I pitch a DeFi protocol to curators and allocators?
Pitch inventory, not TVL: what they can deploy into, at what size, with what risk parameters, and what happens when they exit, with the documentation a risk committee would ask for.
Can crypto projects use KOLs for marketing?
Yes, when done in the open: paid partnerships disclosed every time, with the same claims rules applied to their copy as to yours.
What should crypto ecosystem grants include besides money?
Ask for announcement slots, event placement, introductions to wallets and front-ends in the ecosystem, and co-marketing from the foundation's channels.