The crypto market has undergone seismic shifts over the past few years. The explosive growth of the bull run fueled a wave of speculative enthusiasm, with influencers playing a central role in driving hype, community engagement, and token adoption. Fast-forward to the post-bull market era, and the game has changed dramatically. Investors have become more cautious, projects are under tighter scrutiny, and audiences no longer respond to hype alone.
In this new climate, crypto influencer marketing must evolve from quick-win campaigns to trust-based, value-driven strategies. Influencers can still be powerful allies, but their role, approach, and responsibilities have shifted. Understanding these new rules is essential for any crypto business looking to survive and thrive in 2025 and beyond.
The Rise of a More Educated Audience
During the bull market, retail investors flooded into the space with limited technical knowledge. This made it easier for influencers to sway market sentiment with price predictions or promotional endorsements. However, after market corrections and regulatory crackdowns, audiences have become far more informed.
In today’s post-bull environment, crypto audiences actively fact-check claims, evaluate whitepapers, and look for substance over sensationalism. They follow influencers not for hype-driven calls, but for deep market analysis, genuine education, and transparent communication. Projects now need to partner with influencers who can provide credible insights rather than flashy endorsements.
Shifting from Hype to Value
One of the most important rules in this new era is the shift from hype-driven promotion to value-oriented content. The “pump-and-dump” culture that dominated during bull cycles has lost credibility, and investors are no longer swayed by short-term FOMO campaigns.
Instead, successful crypto influencer marketing now hinges on building long-term trust and delivering tangible utility. That means highlighting real-world use cases, demonstrating product functionality, and focusing on problem-solving rather than price speculation. Influencers who create tutorials, case studies, and deep-dive analyses tend to outperform those relying solely on flashy announcements.
Regulatory Awareness Is No Longer Optional
Regulatory scrutiny over influencer marketing in crypto has intensified, with high-profile cases showing that misleading promotions can result in legal consequences. Influencers and projects must now operate with full compliance awareness, disclosing paid partnerships, avoiding misleading claims, and ensuring that all promotional materials adhere to jurisdiction-specific laws.
In the post-bull market, regulatory transparency isn’t just about avoiding fines—it’s also about building credibility. Audiences reward influencers who disclose sponsorships openly, and they are far more likely to trust projects that embrace compliance from the start.
Micro-Influencers Take the Spotlight
While big-name influencers still attract attention, the post-bull market has opened the door for micro-influencers to become key players. Micro-influencers, with audiences ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 followers, tend to have higher engagement rates and stronger personal connections with their communities.
For crypto projects, this offers a more targeted and cost-effective way to reach niche audiences. Instead of spending a massive budget on one celebrity endorsement, brands can collaborate with several micro-influencers who have deeply engaged, loyal followings in specific segments—whether that’s DeFi traders, NFT collectors, or blockchain developers.
The Shift to Multi-Platform Strategies
During the bull run, YouTube and Twitter were the dominant platforms for crypto influencer campaigns. While these channels remain essential, the post-bull market has seen a diversification in content platforms. Telegram, Discord, TikTok, Instagram, and even LinkedIn have become important arenas for crypto discussions.
A modern influencer marketing campaign is no longer about dominating a single channel—it’s about creating a multi-platform ecosystem that reaches audiences at different touchpoints. For example, a project might launch a technical explainer on YouTube, engage in real-time discussions on Twitter Spaces, share educational infographics on Instagram, and build exclusive community content on Telegram. This cross-platform approach ensures a wider reach while reinforcing consistent messaging.
Storytelling as the Core Marketing Tool
Crypto audiences have grown weary of generic token announcements. In the post-bull market, the most effective campaigns tell a compelling story. This might be the story of a founder’s vision, the journey of building a product, or the real-world impact of blockchain adoption.
Influencers who integrate storytelling into their content create stronger emotional connections with their audiences. They humanize the project, making it relatable and memorable in a way that data-heavy whitepapers alone cannot achieve. The key is authenticity—fabricated narratives are quickly spotted and dismissed by a skeptical audience.
Data-Driven Influencer Selection
In the bull market, many projects chose influencers based purely on follower count. That approach no longer works. In the current climate, data-driven influencer selection is critical.
Engagement rate, audience demographics, content relevance, and historical campaign performance now matter more than vanity metrics. Advanced analytics tools can help identify influencers whose audiences align perfectly with a project’s target market. This data-backed approach ensures higher ROI and minimizes wasted marketing spend on irrelevant or disengaged audiences.
Building Long-Term Partnerships Over One-Off Promotions
In the post-bull era, one-off sponsored posts often fail to build meaningful traction. The most successful crypto influencer marketing campaigns focus on long-term partnerships where the influencer becomes a genuine advocate for the project.
These relationships allow influencers to follow a project’s progress, provide regular updates, and nurture community interest over time. Audiences respond better when they see consistent engagement from influencers, as it signals genuine belief in the project rather than a quick payday.
Community-Driven Campaigns Take Priority
Community has always been a cornerstone of crypto culture, but its role has grown even more important after the bull market. Influencers who can mobilize their communities for interactive events, AMAs, governance discussions, or collaborative content are far more valuable than those who simply broadcast promotional messages.
In the post-bull market, campaigns that invite active participation—such as contests, user-generated content, or token utility demonstrations—tend to generate stronger engagement and retention. Influencers act not just as promoters, but as community builders who facilitate ongoing dialogue.
Transparency as the Currency of Trust
In a market where scams, rug pulls, and overhyped projects have eroded trust, transparency has become the most valuable currency. Influencers who openly share both the strengths and weaknesses of a project earn credibility. Similarly, projects that provide regular, verifiable updates attract more loyal supporters.
This transparency extends to influencer partnerships. Clear communication about payment terms, deliverables, and performance expectations helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures mutual accountability. In a cautious market, transparency isn’t just good ethics—it’s good business.
Leveraging Education as a Marketing Tool
In the bull market, marketing often centered on urgency and speculation. In the post-bull market, education has emerged as the most effective persuasion strategy. Influencers who can explain complex blockchain concepts, tokenomics models, or market trends in a simple, engaging way hold significant influence over informed investors.
Educational content not only builds credibility but also positions both the influencer and the project as thought leaders in the space. This approach attracts audiences who are in it for the long term, rather than short-term traders chasing quick gains.
Conclusion: Adapting to a Maturing Market
The post-bull market era has transformed the dynamics of crypto influencer marketing. The days of hype-driven campaigns and speculative FOMO are fading, replaced by strategies built on trust, education, compliance, and community engagement.
For crypto projects, this means choosing influencers who can deliver value, authenticity, and targeted reach rather than just mass exposure. For influencers, it means adopting a more responsible, transparent, and informed approach to content creation.
The rules have changed, but the potential remains immense. In fact, the post-bull market offers an opportunity for truly impactful influencer marketing—where campaigns create lasting value for audiences, build sustainable communities, and help blockchain innovations gain the credibility they deserve.