As blockchain technology gains greater traction, students and the forthcoming cohort of young entrepreneurs demonstrate a burgeoning familiarity with the technology.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Greg Siourounis, managing director of the Sui Foundation, discussed the foundation’s endeavour to establish a blockchain academy in partnership with the American University of Sharjah, based in the United Arab Emirates.
Siourounis articulated the initiative’s objective as heightening awareness among students regarding blockchain and its potential for crafting applications and platforms to tackle various issues.
He conveyed plans to conduct seminars and workshops aimed at educating youths about the capabilities and limitations of blockchain.
Upon initial interaction with university students, Siourounis was taken aback to discover a considerable degree of awareness concerning blockchain technology. Reflecting on this encounter, he disclosed to Cointelegraph:
“We walked into the amphitheatre where students from high schools and also from universities were presenting ideas, and surprisingly enough, seven out of 10 ideas had blockchain as one part of their solution.”
Siourounis elucidated that this indicates a growing understanding among students and young entrepreneurs of the utility of blockchain technology.
Consequently, he stressed the necessity of furnishing young individuals with the requisite tools to enhance their comprehension of blockchain’s potential and limitations.
Moreover, Siourounis underscored the importance of shielding students from misinformation, stating:
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“So, it’s twofold. One is to educate them on the usability, but at the same time give them the right tools and filters to filter the information that is coming from outside about this technology.”
The establishment of the blockchain academy aligns with Sharjah’s aspiration to emerge as a hub for blockchain research and education.
Tod Laursen, chancellor of the American University of Sharjah, asserted that the academy seeks to provide students with insights into “future-oriented topics,” enabling them to engage with trending subjects and acquire skills essential for “thriving in the evolving landscape of tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the Governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Eli Remolona, disclosed the central bank’s intention to introduce a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the forthcoming years.
Speaking to Inquirer.net, Remolona elaborated on the BSP’s plan to develop a CBDC, affirming the central bank’s decision not to employ blockchain technology due to previous unsuccessful attempts by other central banks.
Crypto.com has positioned itself at the forefront of major fan bases in the Formula 1 (F1) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) worlds through lucrative sponsorship deals, driving the cryptocurrency exchange’s expansion.
In a comprehensive interview with Cointelegraph on February 9, Eric Anziani, president and chief operating officer of Crypto.com, discussed the company’s high-profile advertising ventures with F1 and the UFC, along with its naming rights agreement for the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles:
“We’ve been fortunate to find these amazing partners. F1, the UFC, working in LA with the Crypto.com Arena and AEG.”
Anziani highlighted that market surveys conducted by the exchange demonstrate its global awareness ranking highly in brand recognition among retail cryptocurrency users.
“For a brand to be established in just a couple of years is very challenging to sustain.
Maintaining top-of-mind awareness for users is very challenging, and I think those investments have clearly paid off,” Anziani said.
ESPN estimates that the 2023 Formula 1 season attracted an average of 1.11 million viewers per race in the United States alone.
Meanwhile, F1’s 2022 viewership figures reveal an audience of over one billion people across the race calendar.
The UFC also boasts a global audience, with fight nights over the past two years drawing similar numbers to a single F1 race.
Major fights, such as Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor, sold 2.4 million pay-per-view tickets.
Crypto.com’s logo prominently features on UFC octagons, securing prime advertising space in what is recognised as one of the world’s fastest-growing sports.
“We have also witnessed numerous activations with those brands being integrated, relevant to the fans and participants.
It has been tremendous in terms of bringing people into the space through these partnerships,” Anziani said.
READ MORE: Super Bowl LVIII: Crypto Ads Absent Amid Global Expansion Plans
These partnerships have contributed to Crypto.com’s expanding user base, with previous estimates indicating 80 million users in 2023.
Anziani informed Cointelegraph that the exchange is nearing 100 million users in 2024.
As its influence expands, Anziani noted that the exchange is also targeting specialist services for high-volume, high-net-worth traders.
In February 2024, the company launched Crypto.com Prime, an exclusive programme requiring a $1 million deposit for membership activation.
“When I want to execute a large trade, I need minimal fees and deep liquidity. So we aggregated all the books and provided them with two basis points,” Anziani explained.
The programme offers institutional-grade custody, $1 million account protection, uncapped fiat transfers, and individual account managers for high-net-worth traders focusing on wealth accumulation and inheritance and tax planning.
Regarding what sets exchanges apart in terms of business models and offerings as more of the global population engages with cryptocurrencies, Anziani offered three key considerations driving user preferences:
“It’s a great question but a complex one. First of all, regardless of your profile as a user, you want a platform where your funds are secure, and you can trust the platform.”
Anziani noted that some users prioritise convenient cryptocurrency access, while others, particularly high-value traders, value API connectivity, exchange liquidity, and fee structures.
“I believe compliance and security form the foundation that everyone looks for as a starting point,” Anziani added, emphasising its significance following ecosystem failures like FTX.
Crypto.com is one of several cryptocurrency exchanges and businesses tapping into the global audiences reached by major sports.
OKX sponsors English Premier League team Manchester City and F1 team McLaren.
Cryptocurrency betting platform Stake joined the F1 scene in 2024, securing a two-year naming rights deal with the Sauber F1 team.
Institutional investors are increasingly placing their bets on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the future of trading, as indicated by a recent survey conducted by the multinational investment bank JPMorgan.
In the latest edition of JPMorgan’s “e-Trading Edit: Insights from the Inside” survey, 61% of the 4,010 institutional traders surveyed across 65 countries foresaw AI and machine learning (ML) emerging as the most impactful technologies for trading within the next three years.
According to the survey’s findings, AI and ML were closely followed by application programming interface (API) integration, with 13% of respondents selecting it as one of the most important technologies shaping the future of trading.
Blockchain or distributed ledger technology and quantum computing both garnered 7% based on the preferences of the respondents, while mobile trading applications and natural language processing secured 6% of respondents.
AI and machine learning have been steadily gaining ground in JPMorgan’s reports in recent years, with the technology accounting for just 25% in ranked importance two years ago.
Conversely, institutions have grown increasingly sceptical about the role of other technologies in trading, including mobile trading applications and blockchain, according to JPMorgan’s survey.
Since 2022, blockchain and mobile trading applications have seen a decline in investor interest, with a reduction of 18% and 23% respectively as promising technologies for trading.
AI has been reshaping the future of finance by offering various features, including trade predictions or identifying real-time threats to market sentiment.
READ MORE: NY Attorney General Expands Complaint Against Genesis Holdco Amid Settlement Talks
According to a 2022 report by Nvidia, investors have been integrating AI and ML, with 30% of respondents reportedly managing to reduce their annual revenue by more than 10%.
While reaffirming the importance of AI in trading, institutions surveyed by JPMorgan have become less inclined to venture into cryptocurrency trading.
According to the survey results, 78% of institutional traders have no intentions to trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or digital coins within the next five years.
This percentage has increased since last year, as 72% of respondents indicated a lack of willingness to trade such assets in 2023.
Simultaneously, the percentage of respondents who have initiated cryptocurrency trading or already engage in it has slightly risen from 8% in 2023 to 9% in 2024.
JPMorgan has been contentious regarding its stance on crypto over recent years.
CEO Jamie Dimon has persistently criticised cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, even after the company was named an authorised participant in one of the fastest-growing spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds by BlackRock.
Ethereum network gas fees soared to an eight-month peak amidst a surge of interest in a novel, unofficial experimental token standard known as ERC-404.
On February 9, Ethereum network gas prices reached an average zenith of 70 gwei (£47 for a standard transaction), with peak gas expenses skyrocketing to as high as 377 gwei — a level not seen since May 12, 2023.
The surge in gas prices can be attributed to various factors, but it coincided with the escalating buzz surrounding the ERC-404 token standard across the cryptocurrency sphere.
The ERC-404 phenomenon commenced on February 5 when a venture named Pandora introduced the experimental standard.
Subsequently, it has witnessed an increase of over 6,100% and amassed a trading volume exceeding £347 million.
ERC-404 seeks to tether ERC-721 nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to ERC-20 tokens, facilitating what some have termed as fractionalised NFTs.
This permits multiple wallets to possess a portion of a single NFT and utilise that portion for trading or staking for loans.
Despite affixing the prefix “ERC” to this novel token breed, the nomenclature remains decidedly unofficial.
READ MORE: Institutional Inflows Drive Bitcoin Price Target to Six Figures for 2024
Speaking to Cointelegraph on February 9, one of the developers behind the Pandora project, known under the pseudonym “ctrl,” conveyed that the team was endeavouring to “significantly reduce” gas costs.
“We’re striving to optimise for gas because that’s a significant aspect of adoption and protocols’ desire to integrate… So, in certain instances, we might potentially reduce gas fees by around 300% to 400%.”
As per the pseudonymous user PopPunk, the co-founder of gas-auditing company Gaslite, an ERC-404 token utilises approximately three times the gas needed for an average NFT transaction.
The heightened network activity on February 9 predominantly stemmed from a surge in transactions on the decentralised exchange protocol Uniswap.
This surge can largely be attributed to the substantial trading volumes generated by Pandora, DeFrogs, and a plethora of other ERC-404 projects, boasting a combined trading volume exceeding £434 million in the past week, according to data from crypto aggregator Birdeye.
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has declared its expansion into Argentina as part of its ongoing strategy to target the Latin American market, following its debut in Brazil in late 2023.
In a recent statement, OKX announced that Argentine users would have access to OKX’s crypto exchange platform, a self-custody wallet, and the ability to trade nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
Argentina occupies the 15th position on the Chainalysis 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index, which evaluates on-chain and real-world data to gauge nations leading in crypto adoption. Meanwhile, Brazil holds the ninth rank.
“We’re thrilled to announce the official launch of our exchange and Web3 Wallet in Argentina! This global expansion is a vital step in unlocking the potential of crypto across Latin America,” OKX tweeted.
The announcement follows about nine months after competitor crypto exchange Binance introduced exchange services in Argentina.
Maximiliano Hinz, director of Binance for the Latam southern cone, explained to Reuters in April 2023 that the expansion decision stemmed from the growing demand for crypto services in Argentina.
“This launch has to do with the public demand that exists here,” Hinz stated.
OKX president Hong Fang highlighted Argentina’s significant growth in crypto adoption:
“We are delighted to officially launch the latest expansion of our world-class exchange and Web3 wallet in one of the most vibrant cryptocurrency markets in Latin America.”
Fang added that Argentina is a priority as part of its expansion plans across Latin America.
“The promise of crypto and blockchain is expanding across Latin America, and Argentina represents a crucial launchpad for our regional growth strategy,” Fang stated.
This follows the recent announcement of the “Bases for the Reconstruction of the Argentine Economy” decree passed in December 2023, permitting Argentine citizens to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to settle contracts within the country.
READ MORE: Bitcoin’s L2 Ecosystem is Booming as Halving Approaches
Diana Mondino, the Argentine minister of foreign affairs, international trade and worship, confirmed the news that “Argentina contracts can be settled in Bitcoin, and also any other crypto.”
However, in October 2023, Cointelegraph reported that Latin America prefers centralized exchanges over decentralized exchanges compared with the rest of the world.
“Latin America shows the highest preference for centralized exchanges of any region we study, and tilts slightly away from institutional activity compared to other regions.“
Nonetheless, in May 2023, Argentina’s central bank banned payment providers from offering crypto transactions to reduce the country’s payment-system exposure to digital assets, subjecting fintech companies to the same regulations as conventional financial institutions in Argentina.
The freshly introduced spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have wrapped up their inaugural 20 trading sessions, attaining the £10 billion milestone in assets under management (AUM).
As per figures from BitMEX Research, net flows for the nine ETFs hit £2.7 billion on Jan. 9, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, presently holding Bitcoin (BTC) valued at £4 billion.
The runner-up is Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, managing over £3.4 billion in BTC.
The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF has also crossed the billion-pound milestone, housing approximately £1 billion worth in its portfolio.
In contrast, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has seen outflows of £6.3 billion over the past 30 days, with £51.8 million in outflows recorded on Feb. 9, marking its lowest daily volume of capital withdrawals since conversion.
“I thought the Nine would get a bit weaker as GBTC outflows subsided but they’re getting stronger,” remarked Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas on X.
Invesco experienced an outflow, becoming the first non-GBTC product to do so.
READ MORE: Bitcoin’s L2 Ecosystem is Booming as Halving Approaches
Over the forthcoming months, Bitcoin ETF flows are anticipated to surge as trading firms conclude their due diligence on the investment vehicles.
Bitcoin’s price stabilised above technical support in January, “including its 200-day moving average (£29,902) and on-chain mean (£33,487),” according to a recent analysis from ARK Invest.
Throughout the month, the cryptocurrency price increased by 0.6% to £42,585.
ARK Invest’s bullish perspective suggests that Bitcoin is supplanting gold as a risk-off asset. “Bitcoin’s price relative to that of gold has increased twenty-fold in the last 7 years.
In January 2024, Bitcoin could buy ~20 troy oz of gold, compared to 1 troy oz in April 2017,” notes the analysis. “We believe this trend should continue as Bitcoin increases its role in financial markets.”
Given the macroeconomic context, the asset manager foresees that “as inflation cools and real rates rise, Bitcoin should remain antifragile as banks continue to lose deposits.”
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) authorised Bitcoin ETF applications from ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock and Grayscale on Jan. 10, over a decade after Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss applied to launch the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust in 2013.
On 8th February, the New York State Office of the Attorney General (NYAG) resolved its case involving the Gemini Earn programme by reaching an agreement with Genesis Global Holdco.
Yet, the following day, the NYAG submitted an expanded complaint in the same case, identifying Genesis Global Holdco and all its codefendants.
The Genesis holding company petitioned the New York Southern District Bankruptcy Court on 8th February to ratify a settlement pact between itself and the NYAG. According to the filing, the settlement was the result of extensive negotiations.
Under the Genesis settlement, the NYAG would be reimbursed for its claims on equal terms with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but only after creditors were paid.
Genesis previously reached a $21 million settlement with the SEC on 31st January. Both settlements will be deliberated on 14th February.
In October, New York Attorney General Letitia James initiated a lawsuit against Genesis Holdco, Genesis Global Capital, Genesis Asia Pacific, their parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG), cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, former Genesis CEO Michael (Soichiro) Moro, and DCG CEO Barry Silbert for fraud linked to the Gemini Earn programme.
The NYAG alleged that the parties had defrauded over 230,000 investors, including 29,000 New Yorkers, of more than $1 billion.
On 9th February, James revealed that the NYAG was broadening its allegations against DCG, Silbert, and Moro, having identified additional investors who suffered losses:
“In total, OAG [Office of the Attorney General] found that these companies defrauded more than 230,000 investors out of more than $3 billion.”
Despite the settlement reached the previous day, Genesis Holdco (as one of the “Genesis/DCG Defendants”) was implicated in five of the ten causes of action in the new complaint. According to the revised complaint:
“Gemini solicited money from the public with false assurances that Earn was a highly liquid investment and that Genesis Capital was creditworthy based on Gemini’s ongoing risk monitoring. In reality, however, Gemini’s confidential risk reports found that Genesis Capital posed a high risk of default.”
Allegations that the Genesis loan book was overcollateralised were unfounded, and a significant portion of Gemini customers’ funds were invested in FTX-affiliated Alameda Research, according to the complaint. Genesis also incurred losses due to the collapse of Three Arrows Capital, the complaint continued.
It seeks a permanent injunction against the defendants from conducting related businesses in New York state and the disgorgement of illegally obtained funds along with the reimbursement of investors.
Gemini and Genesis collaborated on the Gemini Earn programme, introduced in 2021. Genesis halted withdrawals in November 2022 and declared bankruptcy in January 2023, triggering a series of legal actions.
The SEC filed a complaint against Gemini and Genesis in January 2023. Gemini sued Genesis in July and again in October.
In January, Genesis settled with the New York Department of Financial Services over Anti-Money Laundering shortcomings and inadequate cybersecurity. As part of the agreement, it forfeited its New York BitLicense.
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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, based in the United States, anticipated that crypto-oriented voters in California would have a significant impact on the 2024 elections based on their ownership and views on digital asset-related policies.
In a blog post on 9th February, Coinbase referenced data from business intelligence firm Morning Consult, indicating that 27% of Californians — approximately 8.2 million individuals — owned cryptocurrency.
The majority of crypto owners in the state — 78% — believed that policymakers should favour “new, innovative, and disruptive technologies,” and many indicated they would vote accordingly.
“California crypto owners overwhelmingly report that they would be much more likely to support candidates that hold pro-crypto and blockchain positions,” said Coinbase.
“Almost 4 in 5 CA crypto owners say they would be more likely to support a candidate who supports the U.S. crypto industry as a job creator and source of U.S. geopolitical strength.”
According to Coinbase, a slightly larger majority — 51% — of U.S. voters nationally among Generation Z and millennials expressed willingness to support candidates favourable to crypto in the 2024 elections.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the likely candidates for both major political parties for president, have already appeared on primary ballots in South Carolina and New Hampshire.
Coinbase’s findings mirrored a survey released in January by the Crypto Council for Innovation, which suggested that most U.S. voters prefer lawmakers who seek “to write clear rules for cryptocurrency,” indicating that crypto users could be a “key swing voting bloc” in 2024.
“Congress and other policymakers should take note that crypto voters are engaged in their states and they want rules, not an unpredictable regulation-by-enforcement approach.”
Digital assets have become a campaign issue for Republican Party presidential candidates in the United States.
Before withdrawing from the race, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis opposed central bank digital currencies in the country. Trump has since adopted the issue, pledging to never allow a digital dollar if re-elected.
Authors such as Michael Chabon, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Sarah Silverman, who are taking legal action against artificial intelligence (AI) firm OpenAI for copyright infringement, have urged a California court to dismiss similar lawsuits filed by The New York Times (NYT), John Grisham, and others in New York.
In a court filing on Thursday, 8th February, the authors contended that allowing these duplicate lawsuits—such as the NYT’s case and a prior one initiated by the Authors Guild on behalf of Grisham and others—in different jurisdictions would result in “inconsistent rulings in overlapping class actions” and constitute a misapplication of court resources.
Comedian and author Sarah Silverman, alongside two other writers, Richard Kadrey and Christopher Golden, lodged a lawsuit against OpenAI’s ChatGPT for copyright infringement in July 2023.
They claimed that when ChatGPT produces summaries of their work, it reveals training conducted with copyrighted content.
The Californian plaintiffs also alleged that the New York lawsuits facilitated OpenAI’s engagement in “forum shopping” and “procedural gamesmanship.”
The authors in California informed the court that the New York cases closely mirror their own, indicating that OpenAI seeks more favourable conditions in New York following the rejection of its proposed litigation schedule by the Californian court.
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Various groups of copyright holders, including writers, visual artists, and music publishers, have taken legal action against tech firms like Microsoft-backed OpenAI over purported misuse of their work in training generative AI systems.
OpenAI, Meta, and others argue that their AI training constitutes transformational use and falls within the fair use copyright doctrine.
Meta highlighted parallels to legal precedents, such as Google’s book copying for search, which was deemed fair use in Authors Guild vs. Google in 2015.
In September 2023, a New York-based professional organisation for published writers, spearheaded by the Authors Guild and featuring George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, George Saunders, and Jonathan Franzen, joined a proposed class-action lawsuit against OpenAI, citing alleged misuse of copyrighted material in its AI model training.
Subsequent complaints by the NYT drew upon both the U.S. Constitution and the Copyright Act to defend the original journalism of the newspaper.
Bitcoin took a rain check on a sudden upswing at the Wall Street open on February 9th as 24-hour gains reached 6%.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView illustrated BTC’s price trajectory retracting after hitting $47,700.
The move, fuelled by spot markets, barely paused overnight as consecutive Asia and United States trading sessions posed little challenge for bulls.
At the time of writing, attention focused on $47,400 as volatility persisted, with Bitcoin still assessing its highest levels since late 2021.
The week’s performance also marked Bitcoin’s strongest since last October.
“Strong bounce from the midrange, attacking $48,000 again, as expected,” popular trader Jelle wrote in part of his latest analysis on X (formerly Twitter).
“Last hurdle for Bitcoin to overcome, not much standing in the way of new all-time highs once it breaks.”
Jelle additionally described the current price range as a “moment of truth.”
Fellow trader Skew, meanwhile, cautioned that the entire day would likely remain “pretty volatile.”
More reserved about the immediate outlook was Keith Alan, CEO and co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, who noted significant sell-side liquidity just below the two-year range highs and $50,000.
“Something to consider before you FOMO into BTC at this level.
There is ~£175M in BTC ask liquidity (aka resistance) stacked between here and $50k, and only ~£50M in bid support down to $43k,” part of his own X post read.
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Alan nonetheless suggested that a weekly close above $45,000 would benefit bulls, with whales easily able to drive the market higher should $50,000 be breached — to the detriment of short positions.
“If you are considering a short, be prepared to get squeezed. IF whales manage to push above $50k there is currently very little friction up to $55k,” he concluded.
An accompanying chart illustrated buy and sell liquidity and cumulative volume delta, or CVD, on the BTC/USDT order book of the largest global exchange, Binance.
The day’s movements among the newly launched U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued an encouraging narrative for bulls.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw outflows as anticipated, while the previous day’s cumulative netflows among the remaining nine ETFs were the third-largest since their Jan.
11 launch, according to data uploaded to X by Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart.
As Cointelegraph reported, the ETFs from BlackRock and Fidelity Investments recorded the most successful first month’s trading of any ETF product in the past thirty years.
Like clockwork every four years, Bitcoin’s mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto programmed the world’s dominant cryptocurrency to go through a dramatic supply squeeze known as the halving (or “halvening” if you want to sound really crypto-native). As if controlled by the mystical gods of blockchain themselves, the amount of shiny new bitcoin entering circulation gets abruptly chopped in half. poof Just like that.
And so as 2024 continues ticking by, cryptocurrency project teams across the land find themselves facing yet another BTC halving event – the third in Bitcoin’s relatively brief but wild history. If past halvings are any indication, the impending slash to supply should rocket BTC’s price into a new all time high – or at least, that’s what 84% of investors think will happen.
As such, the halving presents an opportunity for crypto projects to make sure their unique brands stand out – before the Bitcoin mothership takes off without them.
Refresh Your Project’s Branding and Messaging
Like an ageing rock band embarking on a reunion tour, many a crypto project kicking around since the last halving bear signs of showing their age – tired branding, recycled messaging, questionable colour schemes. Before stepping back in the spotlight for their halving encore, these projects would be wise to nip and tuck their aesthetic elements as well as craft marketing narratives that better resonate in today’s Web3 landscape.
No one wants to listen to musical acts that refuse to release new songs or at least go back and remaster the old ones. Savvy crypto projects understand the importance of polishing up their unique value propositions and tying them to the latest crypto developments (i.e. the halving) rather than relying on dated materials that fail to excite. Out with the old, in with the bold.
Step Up Your PR Game
In the frequently scam-ridden world of crypto, establishing trust and credibility remains a towering obstacle for projects seeking adoption. And with the terabytes of information overload numbing people’s minds in today’s digital era, cutting through the noise to stand out presents its own unique challenges.
Crypto projects are thus wise to step up their PR game as the next halving chapter approaches. While cryptonative journalists and podcasters love the tech, they crave the story and personality behind the project even more. Founder interviews, guest articles in niche publications, and unique angles that highlight new integrations or developments are the types of inbound marketing plays that catch reporter eyes.
And don’t forget press releases blasted out through crypto press release distribution services – those can help plant your credibility-establishing messages in front of the right audiences at the right time. This is a vital strategy for long term success in the volatile world of Web3.
Ramp Up Community Engagement Efforts
Unless they fancy themselves fading into irrelevance, crypto project teams would be immensely unwise not to tap into and re-energise their grassroots communities as the 2024 halving approaches. Those communities represent their most valuable mechanism for long-term growth amidst the inevitable adoption hype halvings fuel.
Projects should host frequent AMA sessions, run creative social contests and giveaways utilising their native tokens, and provide other incentives to strengthen contributors’ attachment. These cultivation moves build loyalty while organically surfacing ideas for desired features and user experience upgrades directly from users themselves.
Smart crypto platforms even graduate especially talented community members into more formal roles — admins, subreddit mods and brand ambassadors who can spread the word. Converting standout supporters into leadership positions in this way activates the perfect candidates to manage the next waves of adopters Bitcoin’s proposed price explosions will soon attract into the community.
Increase Exposure Through Advertising and Cross-Promotions
As the next Bitcoin halving approaches, creating hype and visibility for crypto projects will be key. This is the time to focus on widening your exposure through smart advertising and partnerships.
Consider splurging a little on native ads in popular crypto publications – that targeted audience needs to hear about you. Work out some affiliate deals with leading crypto YouTubers and podcasters in the hope that their influential sway will rub off on you. And don’t forget about cross-promotions with complementary crypto projects. A little ambassador and creator camaraderie can go a long way.
And once again, remember to double down on building your social media and community channels. That’s where curious followers will come knocking when Bitcoin hits fever pitch. Getting as many eyes on your crypto project as possible needs to take top priority for every marketer’s game plan leading up to the halving. When hype builds, you wanna be on their radar.
Polish Your Whitepaper
A crypto project’s whitepaper operates much like a band’s discography – its comprehensive documentation of the technical vision, product roadmap, tokenomics, and other key details. As the crypto crowd swells heading into the next halving-powered hype cycle, projects would be remiss not to polish up those vital historical records.
That means integrating new developments, ensuring branding and messaging sync with the papers’ contents, and potentially even creating supplementary “greatest hits” materials like one-pagers, lite papers, or help docs for simplified consumption. Outdated whitepapers risk losing relevance as interest resurges, so a little spring cleaning of the core literature can freshen things up as interest and scrutiny compounds from both existing and new community members.
Final Word
The impending 2024 halving signals a pivotal moment for crypto projects to shine a spotlight on their unique value propositions before Bitcoin once again dominates attention. By taking proactive steps to refresh branding, boost community engagement, expand visibility channels, and polish underlying literature, projects can ride the rising interest into the halving event on positive momentum.
The compounding awareness should lead to stronger communities, accelerated adoption and partnerships, and greater resilience to weather any crypto winter that may follow Bitcoin’s price peak.