Performance marketing tools were designed for cookies, page views, and app installs – not wallet addresses, on-chain transactions, or token-incentivized user acquisition. We develop performance marketing programs around the metrics that truly predict whether a user stays after the incentive runs out.
The Challenge
Traditional attribution tools miss the conversion event that actually matters
Most performance marketing stacks are built around pixel and cookie-based attribution tracking page views, sign-ups, and app installs, but the action that actually indicates a real crypto user – a wallet connecting, a transaction executing on-chain – happens outside that framework entirely. Teams running standard attribution end up optimizing campaigns toward the wrong signal, spending budget on channels that produce page views but not real protocol usage.
Token incentives distort CAC calculations
When user acquisition is subsidized by token incentives or liquidity mining rewards, the real cost of acquiring a user includes the incentive cost, not just the media spend, but most teams calculate CAC off ad spend alone and radically understate what a user actually costs. When incentive programs wind down and the true CAC becomes visible, growth plans built on the understated number fall apart.
Mercenary users boost performance metrics that fail to predict retention
Campaigns optimized purely for wallet connects or initial transaction volume often attract incentive-chasing users who leave the moment a better yield or reward shows up elsewhere. Teams that don't separate incentive-driven activity from organic retention end up scaling campaigns that look like they're working right up until the incentive ends and the users disappear with it.
Platform restrictions block the channels that work best in standard performance marketing
The channels performance marketers rely on most – Google Ads, Meta, TikTok – carry crypto-specific restrictions that limit reach, require certification, or ban certain ad formats outright, forcing teams to build performance programs around a narrower and more complex channel mix than a typical consumer or SaaS acquisition strategy.
How We Can Help
We begin by assessing your existing attribution setup and CAC calculation, verifying whether incentive cost is truly included and whether conversion tracking measures wallet-level activity or only surface-level clicks.
Strategy development involves creating attribution infrastructure around wallet connects and on-chain transactions as the main conversion events, plus a true CAC model that counts token incentive cost alongside media spend. This ensures growth decisions reflect the actual cost of a user rather than an understated figure.
Execution includes campaign development across the compliant channel mix open to crypto advertisers, cohort-based retention tracking that distinguishes incentive-chasing users from organic users, and continuous optimization toward retained users instead of initial wallet connects alone.
Measurement involves reporting true CAC (media plus incentive cost) against retained-user value and monitoring the percentage of acquired users who remain after an incentive program tapers off, because that figure is what actually indicates whether growth spend is working.
Unlike a standard performance marketing agency, we treat wallet-level attribution and incentive-inclusive CAC modeling as the foundation rather than an afterthought, and we know which channels remain genuinely viable for crypto advertisers today.
We also help teams distinguish between the two very different roles performance marketing plays in crypto – user acquisition and the management of incentive-driven mercenary capital – so each campaign is optimized for the correct outcome based on the problem the team is actually addressing.
What we deliver
- Wallet-level attribution infrastructure tracking connects and on-chain conversions
- True CAC model that includes token incentive cost, not just media spend
- Cohort-based retention tracking that separates organic users from incentive-chasers
- Compliant channel mix strategy across the restricted platforms available to crypto advertisers
- Ongoing optimization toward retained-user value, not just initial acquisition volume
A CAC figure that leaves out token incentive cost isn't slightly inaccurate – it's often off by multiples. A user's real cost only appears when incentive spend is added to media spend, and by that point, most teams have already scaled the wrong channel.
Our Methodology
Our performance marketing engagements for crypto and DeFi teams operate as a 90-day sprint focused on correcting attribution and CAC measurement before any spend is scaled. Phase one, covering the first 30 days, audits existing attribution and CAC calculations, develops wallet-level tracking infrastructure, and creates a true CAC model that includes incentive cost.
Phase two, spanning days 31 to 60, develops and launches campaigns across the compliant channel mix, with cohort-based tracking in place from day one to distinguish organic retention from incentive-driven activity.
Phase three, from days 61 to 90, optimizes active campaigns against retained-user value and true CAC, then delivers a reporting process the team can use to assess future incentive programs and channel investments with the real cost factored in. Unlike a generalist performance marketing agency, each phase addresses the specific ways crypto acquisition costs and conversion events differ from conventional digital marketing.
Our Working Process
Initial engagements last 60 to 90 days. During the first 30 days, we correct attribution and CAC measurement. Days 31 to 60 focus on launching campaigns with cohort tracking built in. From days 61 to 90, we optimize against true CAC and retained-user value.
Our team consists of a performance marketing lead responsible for channel strategy and campaign optimization, an analyst who develops wallet-level attribution and true CAC models, and an operator experienced in managing token incentive programs who knows how to distinguish mercenary capital from genuine growth. On your side, we require access to on-chain analytics or wallet-connect infrastructure, your ad accounts, and visibility into the economics of any current or planned incentive program.
Weekly working sessions assess campaign results directly against true CAC – if a channel appears efficient based only on media spend but becomes costly after incentive expense is included, we identify it immediately rather than after a quarter of scaled spending. A midpoint review examines early cohort retention data to verify that campaigns are bringing in users who genuinely stay.
Most teams establish accurate attribution and a true CAC model within 30 days, often immediately reshaping how they view existing spend, while complete campaign optimization against retained-user value is finished by day 90.
- Attribution built around wallet connects and on-chain activity, not page views
- A true CAC model that includes incentive cost, not just media spend
- Campaigns optimized for retained users, not mercenary incentive-chasers
- A compliant, effective channel mix within crypto advertising restrictions
If your crypto / defi company needs performance marketing leadership, we should talk.
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Frequently asked questions
What does performance marketing cost for a crypto or DeFi company?
Management fees scale with media budget and attribution complexity, and are structured similarly to hiring a senior growth marketer without the cost of full-time headcount. The larger budget issue is generally how much incentive spend sits on top of media spend, which we help model clearly instead of allowing it to remain hidden.
How soon will we have accurate CAC and attribution data?
Wallet-level attribution infrastructure and a true CAC model are generally established during the first 30 days, often immediately reshaping how a team assesses current campaign performance. Cohort-based retention data that distinguishes organic users from incentive-driven ones typically becomes meaningful within 60 to 90 days.
How will your team work with our current growth and analytics staff?
We partner directly with the person responsible for growth marketing and work closely with engineering or on-chain analytics teams to develop wallet-level tracking. For companies without dedicated in-house performance marketing resources, we manage channel strategy and execution directly.
How is this different from a conventional performance marketing agency?
A conventional agency derives CAC from media spend alone and measures conversions through cookies and pixels. We create CAC models that incorporate token incentive cost and build attribution around wallet-level, on-chain conversion events, providing the only way to understand the true cost and quality of crypto user acquisition.
How do you evaluate the ROI of a performance marketing engagement?
We measure true CAC – media plus incentive cost – against retained-user value over time, with particular focus on the percentage of acquired users who stay active once an incentive program tapers off. That retention figure is the clearest indicator of whether spend creates genuine growth or merely temporary, subsidized activity.
What kind of crypto or DeFi company is best suited to this service?
The ideal fit is a protocol or token project with an effective scale of $5M to $100M that is running or preparing paid acquisition alongside a token incentive program and needs to understand the true cost and quality of the users it acquires, rather than only the media-spend-only figure.
