With over half of Gen Z already owning cryptocurrency, it’s clear that traditional marketing playbooks don’t apply. To understand this new landscape, we sat down with Milena Traikovich, a Demand Generation expert who specializes in how emerging technologies connect with younger audiences. She brings a wealth of experience in analytics and performance optimization to a field often misunderstood as just memes and hype. In our conversation, we explored the core drivers behind Gen Z’s crypto adoption, moving beyond financial returns to discuss the critical roles of social proof, seamless user experience, and identity. Milena unpacked how marketers can transform market volatility into engaging narratives and strategically balance grassroots excitement with the credibility of institutional acceptance.
The data shows that for Gen Z, “ease of use” is the single strongest predictor for crypto adoption, even more so than potential profits. If you were designing a crypto app from scratch to capture this audience, what would that initial onboarding experience look like to ensure it feels completely effortless and intuitive for a digital native?
The goal is to eliminate any and all friction, making the first step feel as casual as signing up for a new social media app. I’d start with a one-click sign-up using an existing Google or Apple account, bypassing tedious forms. The moment they’re in, instead of a complex dashboard, they’d see a clean, visually-driven interface that mirrors the apps they use daily. The crucial step would be a guided “first purchase” experience. We’d prompt them to buy a tiny, almost trivial amount—say, $1 of a popular coin—with a single tap using Apple Pay or a linked debit card. This isn’t about investment; it’s about action. It transforms the abstract idea of “owning crypto” into a tangible, immediate experience, making them feel part of the ecosystem in less than 60 seconds.
It’s fascinating that social influence seems to trump expected financial returns for this demographic. Can you walk us through what a successful, community-centric crypto campaign would look like, and how you would measure its success to prove that social momentum, not yield, was the real engine for growth?
Absolutely. Imagine we launch a campaign that is centered entirely around a private Discord community. Instead of running ads that scream “200% gains,” our call to action would be “Join the conversation.” Inside, the focus is on shared experience. We’d encourage members to post screenshots of their first crypto purchase or their customized wallet interface, creating a sense of collective participation. The key metric wouldn’t be conversion rate from a landing page, but rather the referral rate originating from within the community. We’d track how many new users join via an invite link from an existing member. When we see that our user acquisition cost from paid ads is high but the organic, peer-to-peer acquisition from the community is thriving, that’s our proof. It shows the real driver is that feeling of “insider knowledge” and belonging, not a cold calculation of potential returns.
The article frames price volatility not as a risk, but as engaging “drama.” How can marketers actively craft this drama into a compelling narrative that fuels engagement, rather than just passively sharing a price chart and letting people react?
This is where creative storytelling comes in. A sharp price swing is a plot point. Let’s say a coin jumps 200% in 48 hours. Our content strategy wouldn’t be a dry announcement. Instead, we’d create a series of short, high-energy videos for TikTok and Instagram Reels. The first might be a fast-cut montage of the chart’s climb set to trending audio, with text overlay saying, “You watching the charts this morning.” The next could feature user-generated content from our community, sharing their “I can’t believe it” reactions. We could even personify the coin, creating a mini-narrative around its “big moment.” A sudden crash is treated similarly but with a different emotional tone—it becomes a story of resilience, a “we’re all in this together” moment, reinforced with memes that show solidarity. This transforms a purely financial event into a shared cultural experience, making it something to talk about rather than something to fear.
Crypto ownership is described as an “identity badge” for Gen Z, signifying a break from old financial systems. How can a brand effectively weave this narrative of autonomy and tech-forward thinking into its core messaging without sounding cliché?
It’s about speaking their language and tapping into the underlying sentiment of empowerment. The messaging has to feel authentic, not like a corporation co-opting a movement. Instead of a generic tagline like “The Future of Finance,” you’d use something more direct and personal, like “Your Money, Your Rules.” or “Build Your Own Economy.” On social media, you’d create visual content that contrasts the two worlds. Imagine a split-screen video: one side shows a stuffy, gray bank with long lines and paper forms, while the other shows someone instantly swapping assets on their phone from a vibrant cafe. The message isn’t just about technology; it’s about the freedom and control that technology enables. It’s framing crypto not just as an asset, but as a tool for financial self-expression and a vote against a system they feel wasn’t built for them.
We’re seeing this interesting tension between the grassroots, meme-fueled culture of crypto and its growing legitimacy through institutional adoption. How can a marketing team strategically bridge that gap, making a crypto asset feel both rebelliously exciting and foundationally serious at the same time?
The key is a multi-platform, multi-toned strategy. You have to live in both worlds authentically. On platforms like TikTok and Discord, you fully embrace the hype. You engage with memes, you celebrate the volatility, you foster that raw, community-driven energy. That’s where the excitement lives. Simultaneously, on platforms like LinkedIn or through targeted PR, you highlight the credibility. You share news about institutional investments, you use the kind of language that Binance’s CEO did when framing crypto as a legitimate part of retirement systems. This gives the asset a “seat at the grown-ups’ table.” By marrying the hype with legitimacy, you create a powerful message for Gen Z: this isn’t just a gamble; it’s an exciting, culturally relevant asset that also has a serious, long-term future.
What is your forecast for how crypto marketing to Gen Z will evolve as the technology and regulatory environments mature over the next five years?
I believe we’ll see a shift from pure acquisition hype to a more nuanced focus on “responsible excitement” and integrated use cases. The core elements—community, ease of use, and identity—will remain central, but the messaging will mature. As regulations provide clearer guardrails, brands will have to blend the underdog narrative with more transparent education about risk, delivered in the same bite-sized, social-first formats. We’ll likely see more gamification, where users earn crypto through participation in branded experiences rather than just buying it. The ultimate evolution will be when crypto marketing is no longer about marketing crypto itself, but about marketing products and services where crypto is the invisible, frictionless payment or value layer. The focus will move from the asset to the application, making it a seamless part of Gen Z’s digital life.
