Crypto Marketing Strategy: 6 Steps From Ad Approval to First Deposit

Key Takeaways

• Platform approval depends on the product and market.
• Creator fees, ad placements, and clicks tell you what you're paying for, not how many customers will make a deposit.
• Rewards, creator fees, and network minimums are major expenses to account for.
• First deposits give you a better measure of channel performance

A crypto marketing strategy starts with what each ad platform and regulator allows. This determines where you can advertise and how you can measure results.

This article is for marketers at crypto exchanges, wallets, and apps who want every ad checked against the rules before it runs and judged by first deposits.

It covers six steps: ad platform rules, ad laws in the US, UK, and EU, creator briefs, budgeting, checking seller promises, and tracking each ad to a first deposit. SEO and referral bonuses are answered in the FAQ.

Step 1: Check Each Ad Platform’s Crypto Rules

For a crypto exchange, wallet, or app, match each ad platform’s crypto rules to its product, licences, and customers’ countries.

Google’s crypto ads policy bans ads for initial coin offerings, or new token sales, in all countries. It also bans DeFi trading protocols, which let people trade without a company in the middle.

Step 2: Check Local Laws Before Running Crypto Ads

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires advertising claims to be truthful, not misleading, and supported by evidence. Its endorsement guidance also says creators must clearly disclose paid partnerships and other relationships that could affect how audiences see their recommendations. If a promotion involves a crypto asset that is a security, additional securities laws may apply. The SEC requires people promoting such securities for payment to disclose the compensation they receive.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK regulator, says a crypto ad for UK consumers is lawful only through four routes. Since 8 October 2023, a promotion outside them has broken section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the FCA says. It is a crime, with up to 2 years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.

Its rules also require ads to be clear, fair and not misleading, with prominent risk warnings and, since 8 January 2024, a cooling-off period such as 24 hours.

In the EU, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) says a licensed provider’s ads must be fair, clear and not misleading, and labelled as ads.

In April 2026, the Dutch regulator (AFM) published a report on 33 crypto providers licensed under the EU's MiCA rules. AFM monitored their advertising and cost information between August and October 2025. The report found significant advertising problems at 14 providers and gaps in cost information at the rest of them. Some described crypto trading as "safe" without explaining the risks, while others advertised "commission-free" trading without clearly stating additional costs.

Step 3: Brief Paid Crypto Influencers Before They Post

Give paid crypto influencers the same clear instructions you use for your own ads. Federal Trade Commission’s staff guidance says the ultimate responsibility for clearly and conspicuously disclosing a material connection rests with the influencer and the brand. The Meta Business Help Centre says the paying business needs Facebook’s written permission before a creator promotes crypto.

In September 2022, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s ad watchdog, found two creators’ crypto ads misleading. It aimed its action at the advertiser and both creators. The creators’ management said the ads had “AD” and “#AD” labels. The ads lacked a risk warning that crypto could go down as well as up.

The FCA rules outlined in Step 2 also apply to these UK influencer promotions.

Step 4: Set a Crypto Marketing Budget

Add up the costs you have quotes for, including ad spend, rewards, creator fees, and ad network minimums. See these as expenses to account for, not as industry benchmarks.

Coinbase reports $441.3 million of USDC rewards in its sales and marketing expenses for 2025. This is its largest line there, ahead of $402.6 million of marketing programmes.

Coinbase reports rewards as a separate sales and marketing expense. Before including them in your budget, check whether rewards are allowed in your market.

• Ad spend and rewards: Lunar Strategy, a Web3 marketing agency, counts paid media and token distributions as acquisition costs.
• Creator fees: The agency R Gray puts a mid-tier creator at $500 to $5,000 per post. R Gray also says agencies add 15 to 30 percent on top.
• Network minimums: Blockchain-Ads, a crypto ad network, says that once you’re approved, you must meet a $10,000 minimum deposit. It also sets a minimum daily budget of $360.

To size spend, set a monthly cap for each channel and compare each channel’s cost per first deposit before you raise any cap.

Step 5: Test a Seller’s Promise Before You Pay

The creator fees and network minimums above come from sellers. Test an agency’s or ad network’s promise before you sign. Ask where the traffic goes, what happens on that page, and how conversions are counted. The agency R Gray calls an offer of “50 influencers for $20,000” a quantity metric.

Mintfunnel, a press release seller, says some tiers include guaranteed placement on CoinTelegraph. A placement doesn’t imply a customer. Bitmedia says it refunds clicks it identifies as fraud. Its FAQ says low conversion rates are not refunded, so the buyer carries that risk. These promises cover a placement or a click. Neither tells you whether the campaign brings in customers who make a first deposit.

Read the six checks before you opt for such services.

Paid Media on Google, Meta, and programmatic sites is one of Clickeon’s six services. Send us a proposal you’ve been offered, and we’ll tell you what it leaves open about traffic and first deposits. Book a free consultation.

Step 6: Track Each Ad to a First Deposit

Track each ad to a first deposit by saving its click ID when someone creates an account. Send that ID back to Google Ads when the person makes their first deposit. Google Ads gives each click a Google Click ID (GCLID). Return it with the conversion type and time, as Google’s guide to offline conversion imports shows.

Google's offline conversion guide uses a signed contract to explain the process. For crypto businesses, the same tracking approach can be used to report a first deposit, provided the product meets Google's advertising requirements.

The ad network Blockchain-Ads recommends measuring ID checks, first deposits, or first trades instead of relying only on sign-ups.

In my view, the ad platform and your CRM (your customer database) normally report different numbers. Compare them on deposits, using tracking from ad click to first deposit. Once first deposits are tracked, use the same CRM records to see which channels bring accounts that deposit again.

The Bottom Line on Crypto Marketing Strategy

The first five steps help you decide what to run and where to spend. The sixth shows which channels bring in first deposits and deserve further investment. Start with permissions: list your product, licences, and customer countries against each platform’s crypto policy.

Frequently Asked Questions About Crypto Marketing

Can a crypto ad network get around Google’s rules?

Not through extra accounts. Google’s Circumventing systems policy bans using several accounts to promote products without Google’s approval. Google suspends such accounts without prior warning.

Can a crypto business offer referral bonuses?

Only where local rules allow them. In the UK, the FCA said in June 2023 that “refer a friend” bonuses would be banned. Check its current rules before offering one.

Does SEO work for crypto businesses?

It depends on the searches you target. People ready to sign up type transactional terms. People who want to learn type informational ones. In my experience, sign-up searches lead to a first deposit, and learning searches mostly do not.

Can you see which crypto companies advertise on Meta?

You can search Meta’s Ad Library by term, name or Page. It holds all active ads shown across Meta technologies.