Blockchain marketing news in May 2020

What a month May was.

A lot has happened in the world since we asked whether the market was hotting up at the end of April. This month, we don’t even need to ask. There are big changes happening across all sorts of social and economic areas right now. Blockchain and crypto in flux and so is blockchain marketing.

So much so that we made a small but significant announcement:

From the first week of June 2020, the blockchain marketing newsletter will be delivered every week.

In the depths of crypto winter, there were plenty of months where there wasn’t enough to report. Now the opposite is true. For the last few months, we’ve felt like so much has been happening that we might have been doing you a disservice to deliver the news every month. Well, not anymore.

There’s so much going on that you need to know it sooner rather than later. For example, this month we’ve got stories about Libra seeming to bounce it’s way off the ropes straight back into the centre of the ring with an investment from Temasek, a rebrand and a big new appointment. Other big tech firms that marketers rely on aren’t missing out this month’s action either, with news of Twitter and YouTube bans for various crypto content producers.

The biggest social media news for us this month came from Reddit though, which is using an Ethereum incentive scheme in its community. Watch this space as it could be a huge development. If that’s not enough ETH for you, there’s a great interview with Hudson Jameson about marketing Ethereum.

And if all that wasn’t enough, there are also some awesome articles that cover educational content in blockchain marketing, something we’ll be exploring more next month. First up, we feature a global study that shows most people still don’t understand blockchain and crypto, and demonstrates the importance of educational content. Secondly, there’s a playbook for marketing crypto that specifically identifies the value of educational content in driving leads.

So that’s what we call a big month in blockchain marketing news. Take a look at all the big stories this month and strap yourself in for more excitement in the weeks ahead because, don’t forget, we are the pioneers!

News and Reports

Singapore’s Temasek throws weight behind Facebook’s Libra

We’d say the biggest Libra-related news came out of Asia, with Singapore’s Temasek, one of the world’s biggest institutional investors, throwing its support behind the digital currency. This must be considered a massive win for Libra as it has been haemorrhaging support since it launched roughly a year ago.

Facebook rebrands libra wallet service to Novi

The social media giant also announced that it was changing the name of Calibra, its Libra-based wallet that will integrate with WhatsApp and Messenger, to Novi. You get the sense that Facebook is doing a lot to get regulators onside and TechCrunch says this is it "trying to make it super clear that the Libra project isn’t a Facebook project per se".

Facebook’s Libra appoints Bush-era terrorism finance tsar as first chief

It seems the digital currency initiative is gradually raising itself from the depths with more big news this month. It also announced the appointment of Stuart Levey, a former US under-secretary for terrorism and finance, as its first chief executive. This looks like a move to strengthen its hand as it faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny.

Reddit tries out blockchain-based incentive scheme to encourage community actions

This feels like a potentially big step forward for adoption of blockchain-based services. Social media platform Reddit has introduced a new community points system based on blockchain technology. With the ‘karma’ points system having been around for some time on Reddit, it will be fascinating to see how this new test works out.

Binance widget now available to Brave desktop browsers

Regular readers will know that we are big fans of Brave and the company’s latest news is that it has incorporated a Binance widget in an update of its desktop browser. Once connected to a user’s Binance account, the new widget lets them view their account balance or deposit, convert and buy cryptocurrencies.

Twitter accused of ‘shadow-banning’ Bitcoin And crypto accounts

Even though we assume Twitter has a much more bitcoin and crypto-friendly leadership than some other large tech firms, it seems that hasn’t stopped the platform from what some have called ‘shadow-banning’ well known accounts. You can file this one under "social media’s ongoing spat with crypto".

Telegram shuts down its cryptocurrency operation

As the ICO boom waned throughout 2018, the prospect of a Telegram ICO kept a lot of people’s hopes up that a better way of fundraising was still possible. Alas, it seems that progress won't be fueled by the messaging app that is so popular in crypto circles, after it signalled it was shutting down operations in the space.

YouTube pulls the plug on Cointelegraph’s live stream

Remember that filing cabinet for "social media’s ongoing spat with crypto"? Well, you’ll need to open it up again. This time it was YouTube shutting down Cointelegraph’s live stream during the bitcoin halvening (yep, that came and went this month too), having completed only a few hours of their two day schedule.

New partnership adds crypto payment routes on Shopify

Some more big adoption-related news came from Shopify, the e-commerce platform, this month as it announced a partnership with crypto payments processor CoinPayments. The deal means Shopify sellers can now accept crypto via CoinPayments, paving the way for them to accept 1,800 different cryptocurrencies.

Features and Interviews

Marketing Ethereum 2.0 and herding cats with Hudson Jameson

This is a really interesting interview for anyone who wants to understand what blockchain marketing is all about. Hudson Jameson is the core developer liaison for Ethereum, so he’s not only at the heart of one of biggest blockchain networks but also had to deal with all kinds of craziness that the industry can throw up.

The forex and crypto marketing playbook: 5 strategies for growth

Anyone who has spent any time working in blockchain or crypto marketing knows that the strategies you use are very similar to those employed by forex companies. This article is good summary of the strategies that should be used, including one that you’ll be hearing more about from us soon - lead generation with educational content.

Interview with Jonah Schulman, Head of Marketing at Security Token Market

We love to feature as many insights from people working in blockchain marketing as possible and this month it's Jonah Schulman from Security Token Market. Although the article is a bit too focused on the company’s product, it does provide some useful information about the goals and regulatory restrictions he is dealing with.

Industry opinions

Study: Communication and education are key to building trust in crypto

This is a really interesting global study from Edelman that reveals three out of four people are not familiar with crypto and blockchain technology. You might not be surprised by these (we weren’t) but what is encouraging is that "the more people know about crypto, the more they see the potential for the positive impact it can have".

The blockchain way to monetize your social media posts

We talk a lot about social media in the blockchain marketing newsletter, usually because the crypto industry seems locked in an unending battle with it. However this article looks at the recently launched Smart Advertising Transaction Token (SaTT) and how advertisers can use it to track campaign participation and results in a decentralised way.

And finally...

Balaji Srinivasan on the argument for decentralization

A few months ago, we featured Balaji Srinivasan’s appearance on Castle Island’s On The Brink podcast and this month we’re featuring part one of his appearance on the Pomp podcast. We’re huge fans and always find out something new and useful from listening to or reading his content. So, if you don't know him, check it out.