How to be a crypto CMO and keep your sanity (mostly) | Opinion

You can always spot the crypto CMO. They’re the ones with a twitch in their eye, a forced smile, and at least one draft email trying to explain (against all odds) whythiscompany is a ‘game-changer.’ Meanwhile, the CFO treats marketing like an optional subscription he forgot to cancel. The CEO is pitching ‘the next big thing,’ which sounds suspiciously like the last big thing. The investors? Already out, sipping cocktails somewhere tax-friendly.

Every early-stage crypto company sounds big until you realize you’ve walked into a crime scene armed with a Canva subscription and an espresso machine.

So what’s it like to do the job? What are the actual challenges that crypto CMOs face? And most importantly, how can you avoid rehearsing your ‘lessons learned’ LinkedIn post ahead of schedule? Let’s dive in.

Follow the money (or lack thereof)

Before you start dreaming up campaigns, take a hard look at the business. Does it actually make money, or is it surviving on investor fumes and venture capital optimism? Start by grilling the CEO and CFO, as if your career depends on it, because it does. If they start sweating at basic financial questions, congratulations: you’re about to join a company that expects marketing to ‘figure out growth strategy’ while finance figures out how to delay payroll. Here’s what you need to grasp:

• What’s the burn rate, and how long is the runway? (Translation: Are they casually setting cash on fire, and how long before the CFO starts rationing office coffee?)

• Are they reliant on hype cycles, token speculation, or ‘the next bull run’ as a revenue strategy? (Because if that’s the case, you’ll also need a personal risk strategy.)
• What happens when investor money dries up? (Spoiler alert:Marketing budgets get slashed first.)

Abandon hope if…

• The founders dodge financial questions like a bad Tinder date dodges commitment.
• Burn rate is high, but break-even is an ideological goal, not a financial one.
• Revenue is like a UFO sighting—there are reports, but nobody’s ever actually seen it.
• User acquisition is aggressive, but nobody has a plan to make those users profitable.

Reality check:

In crypto, companies move fast, but not all movement is forward. If revenue is a ‘future concern,’ so is your paycheck. If the financials are ugly, marketing is always the first to get squeezed. You’ll be asked to“do more with less”until there’s nothing left to do.

Scaling a business or inflating a valuation?

Early-stage crypto companies live and die by their investors. Some understand that real growth takes time, others just want vanity metrics slapped onto a slide deck so they can vanish before reality catches up.

So, before you start plotting a marketing strategy, ask:

• Are investors prioritizing sustainable growth, or is this just about inflating numbers for the next funding round? (Translation: Are we building a business or just making the deck look pretty?)
• How does the company define “traction”? (If growth is measured in active community members and Twitter likes, congratulations, you’re about to become the Head of Discord.)

Abandon hope if…

• The investor list looks like a rug-pull leaderboard. All short-term speculators, no long-term vision.
• They blew half the marketing budget on a YouTuber who mispronounced the company name.
• Marketing is expected to ‘build momentum’  while the engineers are still arguing about which chain to build on.

Reality check:

They might assure you the product is ‘on track,’ but so was the Titanic before it hit the iceberg. If investors are obsessed with traction but allergic to business models, and the real goal is securing the next funding round, you’re not scaling a company, you’re just inflating a valuation.

WAGMI? Maybe. But first, show me the business model

A crypto company without a working business model is just a very expensive science experiment. So, before you start crafting campaigns, you need to know:

• Does this project have a real, sustainable business model, or is it running on bull market prayers?
• Is monetization an actual plan, or is it a “later problem”? (If it’s the latter, you’re not a CMO, you’re just the exit liquidity wrapped in a fancy job title.)
• Is marketing expected to generate revenue because the product isn’t? (Translation: Am I here to build a brand or to perform financial CPR?)

Abandon hope if…

• They claim to be “pre-revenue,” but they’ve been around for three years.
• The monetization plan is“TBD,”but they’re already hiring influencers and running PR campaigns.
• The business model is a mystery, but marketing is expected to ‘unlock new revenue streams.’

Reality check:

Here’s the hard truth: No working business model is what economists call a “dead business.” In crypto, we call it “the future of finance.” No amount of creative genius can save a company built on wishful thinking. 

If their entire revenue strategy is“wait for mass adoption,”then your marketing plan is“wait for your next job.”

Regulatory risks: Are we a business or a future case study?

Crypto is a regulatory minefield, and marketing often gets caught in the crossfire. If a company isn’t legally compliant, you’re not taking a marketing job, you’re volunteering to be the spokesperson when the regulators come knocking. And when they do, don’t expect the CEO to stick around for the press release.

So, here’s what you have to understand:

• Where does the company operate, and who are its primary users? (So you know if you need to market to traders, institutions, or your future cellmates.)
• How does the product fit within evolving regulations? (Translation: Do you need a legal disclaimer under every campaign?)
• What’s the legal team’s involvement in marketing? (Because the last thing you need is launching a campaign only to have the SEC slide into your DMs.)

Abandon hope if…

• The answers about compliance are vague, overly optimistic, or “we’re working on it.”
• The company is operating in regulatory gray zones with no clear jurisdiction.
• The legal team seems… nonexistent.(Or consists of one overworked generalist who mostly writes disclaimers.)

Reality check:

Crypto regulation is like gravity, it doesn’t care whether you believe in it. If compliance is treated as a “later problem,” assume it’s already a problem, and marketing is just painting a target on your back.

Just remember: When regulators come knocking, the CEO will be on a “scheduled media blackout,” and you’ll be the one issuing a statement.

The highest-paid yes man: Do you have real authority?

ChiefMarketingOfficer sounds important. It suggests strategy, influence, and leadership. But in crypto, it often means sitting through a monologue where the CEO explains marketing to you, usually referencing:

• Elon Musk’s Twitter antics,
• “Community-driven growth”(translation: free marketing),
• How Apple“never needed ads.”

Your job? Nod, smile, and mentally prepare for the moment they ask if you can ‘growth-hack’ your way to free customer acquisition. Then, when they finally pause for breath, you casually mention that Steve Jobs spent over $100 million on marketing in the first year of the iMac.

So, before you sign up, establish:

• Do you actually have decision-making power, or just here to execute the CEO’s gut instincts?
• Is marketing a strategic function or just an afterthought? 
• Who owns the budget, brand, and growth strategy?

Abandon hope if…

• The CEO thinks marketing is just“community growth” (translation: free).
• The board thinks branding is a logo.
• Every decision requires five meetings and a founder’s mood check.
• Growth isyourresponsibility, but you have no authority over budget, hiring, or strategy.

Reality check:

A CMO title means nothing if you have no control over strategy, budget, or priorities. If leadership sees marketing as a necessary evil, expect every strategy meeting to feel like explaining TikTok to your dad.

And if you’re expected to ‘own growth’ but have no authority to make real decisions, you’re just there to execute someone else’s gut instincts, and every major decision is made in a Telegram group chat you’re not in.

What it takes to make it

Marketing in crypto isn’t for the faint of heart. One day, you’re building a brand. Next, you’re explaining to the CFO why marketing isn’t a luxury expense. Then, before you know it, you’re on Twitter damage control because the CEO just called regulators “haters” in all caps.

Five rules to stay sane:

1. Secure budget and decision-making authority upfront.
2. Push for KPIs tied to real revenue, not vanity metrics.
3. Involve legal early, because no campaign is worth a subpoena.
4. Stay realistic, marketing can’t fix a broken business model. 
5. If the founders can’t answer tough financial questions, run.

At the end of the day, in crypto, only the smart money survives. The dumb money? Well, they hire a CMO to fix the unfixable. If you thrive on unpredictability, if you see opportunity where others see chaos, if you can turn a vague roadmap into a compelling vision, you’ve found the perfect job.

If not? Well, there’s always web2.

Ilias Melikov

Ilias Melikovis a marketing leader with over a decade of experience in the tech industry. His work is grounded in the principles of long-term brand development and short-term tactical marketing, balancing sustainable growth with measurable results. Throughout his career, Ilias has held key roles as marketing director, brand marketing lead, chief communications officer, and managing editor. Orchestrating campaigns that amplify brand awareness and drive user adoption, he excels in crafting clear and precise brand narratives, executing performance-driven marketing strategies, and managing multi-channel engagement strategies. Passionate about decentralized technologies, Ilias actively contributes to discussions on their transformative impact on global markets.