2026 Encryption Industry Marketing Trends and Predictions

Written by: Emily Lai

Compiled by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News

The cryptocurrency space is rapidly changing, user attention is fleeting, and the lifecycle of trends is getting shorter.

I summarized my observations and insights from the past 12 months and made predictions about the trends for 2026.

The core purpose of this article is to share my judgment on industry trends with founders, growth leads, and marketers from the @hypepartners team, the impact of these trends on your market strategies, and how to stay ahead.

10 months is enough to change a lot.

Since my last keynote speech at EthDenver in February 2025, we have witnessed:

Added over 319 stablecoins (data source @DefiLlama)

Institutions are entering the market through corporate blockchain, DATs, ETFs, etc., and fintech giants are increasingly adopting stablecoins.

The regulatory environment has relaxed, thanks to the “GENIUS Act” and a “crypto-friendly” U.S. president.

The number of newly issued tokens has increased by over 27%, reaching 567 million as of the time of writing (data source @Dune)

The selection of cryptocurrency payment cards has surged, with on-chain card transaction volume reaching $375 million in October 2025.

Prediction markets (such as @Kalshi, @Polymarket) have hit new trading volume highs, with new participants continuously emerging.

Digital banking and mobile financial technology applications based on encryption technology are being launched one after another (notably mentioning the heavyweight mobile application released by @aave this week)

A Comparison of Cryptocurrency Marketing in 2024 and the Present

The mainstream trends for 2024 include: team-led marketing, founder brand building, AI agents, “reply experts”, mascots, airdrops, intern accounts, and the concept of “mind share” proposed by the InfoFi platform.

Today, the situation is very different. The focus has shifted from liquidity in the Asia-Pacific region, to the return of ICOs, and then to “CT Leads”; the pace in the cryptocurrency space remains as fast as ever.

Is the mind share outdated? Mind share ≠ growth

In the past year, several highly anticipated token generation events have shown that even with a very high mind share, if the price performance does not meet the expectations of the crypto Twitter community, the buying demand remains weak.

From the perspective of key performance indicators, the focus has shifted back to user acquisition (B2B and B2C) and retention rates. From a narrative and macro perspective, the ecosystem and applications have begun to emphasize revenue and repurchase information.

Internal discussions are more focused on token strategy, tokenomics, and incentive design, aimed at alleviating selling pressure.

As the industry infrastructure, basic components, and middleware gradually mature, the focus of ecosystems and public chains has shifted to the application layer. When traditional financial institutions enter the market and mature fintech applications with millions of users adopt blockchain technology, the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies is enhanced.

More importantly, this allows us to reach new users outside the crypto Twitter sphere. With improvements in user experience, the emergence of new applications, and the establishment of trust, the addressable target market and audience are expanding. This means that user acquisition strategies that previously had negative returns on investment / advertising spend for Web2 may once again become viable.

Trend Direction: What is Rising and What is Declining

The following is a subjective and non-exhaustive list of popular and outdated items, incorporating the views of my personal network, friends in the crypto venture capital space, the crypto marketing circle, and the crypto Twitter community.

I have summarized these trends into 7 major themes, and below is a high-level summary of the observations for 2025.

Recruitment and employment market for growth positions

As the industry matures, companies and Web2 firms are more inclined to hire specialized talent in crypto marketing, rather than generalist marketing heads who can do everything.

Recruiters have reported an increase in demand for senior/leadership marketing talent, such as Chief Marketing Officers, a decrease in remote work flexibility, and a more open attitude towards Web2 marketing talent.

For junior marketers without Web2 marketing experience, the threshold has been unprecedentedly raised, as there is an increasing number of crypto-native talent circulating in the market (think about the failed or lost ecosystems over the past four years).

Performance marketing returns

As the focus shifts to user acquisition and retention, performance marketing has once again risen. This requires a comprehensive tracking system (on-chain, product/website, channels), growth experiments, a combination of paid and free media, the evolution from social tasks to liquidity tasks, and precise KOL marketing.

Increased use of related tools, such as: @spindl_xyz, @gohypelab, @themiracle_io, @tunnl_io, @yapdotmarket, @turtledotxyz, @liquidity_land, etc.

More precise strategies: Some decentralized exchanges for perpetual contracts offer white-glove services and one-on-one communication for whale users, or leverage trading KOLs in the Asia-Pacific region to acquire initial traffic.

Web2 paid advertising channels (social ads, search ads, outdoor ads) remain important. Telegram ads are currently an underutilized channel.

As large language models and AI ecosystems like OpenAI develop advertising products, new advertising placements will emerge in the future.

Content is king, continuous saturation

In 2025, the timeline is flooded with a massive number of content creators and videos. The types of creators are diverse: vloggers, short video creators, tech explainers, live streamers, movie narrators, and more.

The InfoFi platform has spawned a large number of “ambassador” accounts, which seek rewards by “actively voicing” their opinions. However, I believe this trend is difficult to sustain, and “talkers” are on my “outdated” list.

The brand started hiring actors, using Hollywood-level studios and cameramen to produce high-quality content and advertisements. For example, @aave laid out on Instagram before promoting its mobile app, and @ethereumfnd introduced storytellers like @lou3ee.

Diverse content formats: live series (such as @boysclubworld), static series, podcasts, short video clips, 3D/AI announcement videos, etc.

@OctantApp provides funding for creators, and I personally hold workshops for creators to explain the psychological needs of brands.

Core Insight: Content will continue to saturate. Quality, substantive content, and production level will become increasingly crucial. Breaking through the crypto Twitter layer to reach new audiences is equally important.

Explore the vast world beyond platform X

This year, we explored channels such as YouTube, Reddit, AI search engine optimization (like Perplexity, GPT), Instagram, Whop, etc. The speech focused on LinkedIn and TikTok.

LinkedIn Example: @Scroll_ZKP co-founder @sandypeng has been operating continuously since 2025, growing from 0 to 6.3 million impressions and 31,000 followers. (This shows her data and insights.)

TikTok Layout: In January 2025, we noticed a growing demand for presence on channels such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. We hired @web3nikki to establish a short video department focused on brand growth and user acquisition on channels like TikTok. All team members are native TikTok users, well-versed in the algorithm and viral logic, and capable of adjusting strategies from a crypto perspective. Since the department was established, we have served 12 clients and accumulated rich experience.

The event is moving towards experiential and exclusive.

The surrounding activities are excessively saturated (often exceeding 500 events a week), and organizers need to work harder to attract participants. The same goes for peripheral products, which should pursue higher quality, design, and exclusivity.

The number of private dinners is increasing. @metamask set a new benchmark at the exclusive invitation-only event in July at EthCC Cannes (involving yacht, helicopter, and plane transfers for KOLs/creators). @raave continues to define the standard for crypto music events.

The methods of obtaining tickets are trending towards hierarchical, exclusive, and serialized marketing activation. The digital experience is also increasing: airdrop unboxing, mini-games, Buzzfeed-style shareable personality tests, etc. More inspiration comes from Web2 brand activities, pop-up concepts, and influencer events, which are being introduced into the crypto space.

Reconstruction and Redesign of Incentive Measures

The trend is returning from airdrop activities to ICOs, with some incentive activities being rebranded as “privileges”:

“Being able to purchase this token is a privilege in itself” (analogous to the NFT whitelist in 2021).

“Buy now to enjoy discount privileges.”

“Stake immediately to earn enhanced rewards or points from multiple protocols.”

To receive the maximum airdrop, discounts, or points, you must be at the top tier (analogous to airline and hotel programs).

This reminds us of how banks and Web2 fintech companies will use their products to shape a “privilege” marketing approach (such as “Congratulations, you have pre-qualified!”).

Prediction: Incentive programs will further develop, becoming closer to traditional loyalty and membership programs.

The application of AI in marketing and operations

AI Search Engine Optimization / Large Language Model Search Engine Optimization, ensuring that company information appears in the training data sources of AI prompts. Web2 tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush have provided measures of AI visibility. OpenAI has officially announced the exploration of an advertising platform, which will bring new display positions and marketing strategies.

How to stay ahead

The shortening of trend life cycles is due to the following points:

The moat has weakened (AI, the internet, and tools have lowered the barriers to content creation).

The audience size within the crypto circle is limited.

New companies are emerging continuously, competing for attention every day.

Marketing requires continuous innovation, testing, and experimentation. Pioneers of tactics can capture brand awareness through novelty until the tactic becomes saturated. Retesting old tactics and aesthetics can sometimes reignite a sense of novelty. This is a cycle.

“When they turn right, you turn left. When they sway left and right, you sit still under the tree, seeking higher dimensions of consciousness, venturing into the unknown. Then, repeat the cycle.”

The key to staying ahead lies in: grasping the pulse of the field, drawing inspiration from outside the crypto circle, and adhering to first principles thinking. The following questions can help you form your own predictions and marketing strategies:

Ultimately, you are betting on the future.