Big numbers, oversaturation, and complicated products are exactly why trust has become the real moat for any crypto company that wants to be taken seriously.
Here are six things such businesses need to do better in their marketing if they want investors to see them as long-term partners, not just the next big thing.
Make Your Business Model And Tokenomics Boringly Clear
The first rule is to evaluate the business, not just its stock price. Long-term investors need to understand:
- Who pays you?
- For what exactly?
- What does it cost you to provide that service?
- Where does the token fit in, if at all?
In crypto, that means:
- A simple “how we make money” page or explainer in your funnel.
- Tokenomics pages that show supply, unlocks, and incentives without spin.
- Being honest about concentration risk. If a small group of early adopters or insiders holds most of the supply, say so and explain how the risks can be reduced.
Treat Leverage And Crypto Futures As Advanced Tools, Not Lottery Tickets
Derivatives are the most important part of crypto trading. Recent estimates say that between 76 and 80% of all crypto trading happens through derivatives. Most of that flow comes from Bitcoin and Ethereum contracts, which have an annual notional turnover of more than $28 trillion.
That makes crypto futures an important part of the story and a test of trust. When marketing derivatives, you should:
- Futures should not be seen as gambling, but as risk-management tools (hedging, expressing structured views).
- Use simple language to explain what margin, funding rates, and liquidation mean.
- It should be made clear that these products are for experienced traders only and not for new investors who want to "win back losses."
Independent guides that compare exchanges on real-world factors are a shortcut to that kind of transparency. Reviews of leading crypto futures exchanges shouldn’t just name platforms. Who they're really made for, how their fee structures work in practice, how much leverage they allow, and what risk controls back that up must all be laid out. Serious brands are willing to be compared to their competitors by a third party. This sends a clear message to investors that they should look at your structure and safety features as well as your maximum leverage.
Lead With Education, Not Adrenaline
When you’re just looking at the price of something, you’re not investing. The same is true in crypto. An investor who only sees tickers and pumps will behave emotionally, not rationally. Marketing should:
- Explain what the product does in real-world terms.
- Show how the protocol or platform makes money (fees, spreads, token emissions, revenue share).
- Use simple, repeatable explanations like “you’re buying exposure to X type of risk in exchange for Y potential return.”
In practical terms, that means fewer “next 100x gem” slogans and more “here’s how this yield is generated, and here are the conditions under which it can disappear.”
Be Explicit About Risk, Volatility, And Leverage
One of the biggest red flags is that debt and leverage are becoming more important in both the economy and the markets. In traditional finance, regulators say over and over that most small traders lose money when they use high-risk derivatives like CFDs.
That math also applies to crypto; three-quarters of all trading volume is made up of derivatives. So if crypto companies want to get people to trust them, they should:
- Put clear, front-of-funnel risk language into their marketing (“most traders lose money with high leverage,” not buried in a footer).
- Explain how volatility works and what “liquidation” actually means in simple language.
- Use visuals (drawdowns, historic crashes, volatility bands) to show that large swings are normal, not bugs.
Build Your Own “Margin of Safety” Into Promises
if you’re crossing a shallow creek, you can accept less margin. If it’s the Grand Canyon, you want a lot more buffer. That’s exactly how investors feel about crypto after multiple boom-and-bust cycles.
In marketing, a margin of safety looks like:
- Not giving enough information about returns and being clear about what can and can't change.
- Don't use words like "guaranteed," "risk-free," or "safe yield" unless you can back them up with audited reserves and regulated structures.
- It's important to be honest about how systems fail and test claims against extreme but realistic market moves.
Every time a crypto platform “oversells” and then blows up erodes trust. The most recent example is when the CFTC got a $128 million judgment against EmpiresX, which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 12,500 investors.
Stay Inside Your Circle of Competence (And Say So)
The “circle of competence” idea is brutally simple. If you don’t understand a space deeply, you shouldn’t be allocating capital there.
Crypto companies can borrow this concept in their marketing:
- Be clear about what you don't do. For example, say, "We don't offer algorithmic stablecoins" or "We don't hold uncollateralized loans."
- It's more believable to say "we're good at institutional BTC/ETH derivatives" than "we're the all-in-one super app for everyone."
- Put out risk frameworks that are easy to understand, including what you list, what you don't list, and why.
Investors are more likely to trust a team that says “this is outside our expertise” than the one that claims to have mastery over every new narrative.
Conclusion
Crypto brands that win won't be the loudest. They'll be the ones who use clear risk language, honest messaging about derivatives, and focus on education as long-term behavior. The goal is to separate long-lasting compounding stories from yet another short-lived cycle.
If you do these six things right, every campaign you run will quietly build trust among investors. This is something much more valuable than just clicks.
