Forget cat memes. The next crypto bull market will be driven by TradFi.

Financial institutions will recast the narrative around cryptocurrencies, one email at a time

OPINION
article-image

Alones/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Get ready for the next crypto marketing surge, but don’t expect it in your inbox.

Consider how financial institutions market their ETFs. Some, like VanEck, target the Web3 community publicly on platforms like X. That is visible to everyone. 

But most firms will market their ETFs to their traditional audience, the traditional way: private, 1×1 outbound marketing and events. The recipients of this campaign will be traditional finance stalwarts, more familiar with blue chips than private keys.

Imagine a financial advisor with a sales target emailing their affluent clientele. They’re sharing articles about blockchain technology’s potential, discussing the impressive ROI of the latest crypto ETF and debunking common misconceptions about cryptocurrencies. This is a coordinated, strategic effort to cast crypto in a positive and compelling light, led by the advisors who inform what makes up the portfolios of many of the largest pools of capital.

The same investors who once viewed digital currencies with a side-eye are about to get a tailored introduction to crypto from their trusted advisors. This isn’t an anonymous influencer promoting the virtues of blockchain from a digital soapbox. It’s the familiar voices they’ve relied on for years, now discussing the potential of digital currencies and an emerging asset class in its early stages. The effect of these familiar voices in the crypto conversation? Profound. The clients of these institutions, with their substantial investment power, can significantly alter the market’s dynamics. 

Financial institutions aren’t merely selling a product. They’re recasting the narrative around cryptocurrencies. As the institutions that have guided financial markets for decades start endorsing digital currencies, we’re witnessing a paradigm shift.

Read more from our opinion section: Web3 is for regular people, too

Hundreds of crypto ETF applications, more of which seem likely to start getting approved now, signal more than just a new offering in the investment landscape. They’re a vehicle for a new narrative. It’s not just about making crypto accessible — selling backstage passes to the crypto concert minus the mosh pit — it’s about reshaping how crypto is understood. And this transformation is starting now, behind the polished mahogany doors of financial institutions.

As Web3 marketing continues to spawn cat memes, NFT galleries, infrastructure summits and DeFi hackathons appealing to the crypto-versed crowd, a new cohort of traditional investors are about to be subtly ushered backstage by the persuasive voices of ETF marketers and salespeople. The crypto concert is about to get a lot more eclectic. The crypto community should prepare for this influx, ready to equip these new entrants with the necessary data and strategic messaging that is custom fit for their audience. Because in the world of crypto, a rising tide means a new game for everyone.



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

LTIPPanalysis.png

Research

This report is a retroactive analysis of Arbitrum's Long Term Incentives Pilot Program (LTIPP). We collect relevant data at a protocol level and review bi-weekly updates to analyze recipients, their strategies, and the impact of the incentives on high level growth metrics. In particular, we want to highlight outperformers and underperformers, and glean any best practices or lessons learned for protocols distributing ARB incentives in the future. The overarching goal is to synthesize lessons learned that the DAO can reference as it begins thinking about future incentives programs–namely, the working group for incentives that is being actively discussed–especially as Timeboost introduces new conditions for trading and economic activity.

article-image

BuilderNet is a new block building network designed to return more MEV and gas fees to users

article-image

Ledn’s John Glover gives some price targets to watch for bitcoin

article-image

Sponsored

AI project Zerebro intersects the spheres of artificial intelligence, finance, art, music, and culture

article-image

Allmight is focused on furthering the United States’ leadership in crypto

article-image

The conditions Charles Schwab is waiting for before jumping headfirst into crypto could take shape soon

article-image

The FCA’s director of payments and digital assets shared some takeaways from chats with crypto companies and law firms