Cryptocurrency gaming·gambling marketing, Wallet holder acquisition cost highest

Marketing related to cryptocurrency games and gambling emerged as the most expensive field for attracting existing cryptocurrency wallet users. On the other hand, the Defi (DeFi) and Centralized Finance (CeFi) sectors were analyzed to be able to secure new users at relatively low costs.

Asaf Nadler, co-founder of Web3 marketing company Addressable, recently announced in a report, "Campaigns in the gaming and gambling sectors have the highest cost of wallet holder acquisition (CPW) in the industry," stating that the median CPW in this sector is $8.74, with the lower quartile at $3.40. CPW is the average cost of attracting one visitor who has already installed a cryptocurrency wallet and is considered a more suitable figure for gauging the actual effect compared to traditional click-based metrics.

Nadler explained the background of this cost increase by stating, "High attrition rates, strong speculative tendencies, and intensified competition within the market are the main causes." He added, "For Web3 games to truly establish themselves in the mainstream, a sustainable user acquisition method as in the Web2 era is necessary."

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency finance sectors of Defi and CeFi were found to have a much more efficient marketing structure. According to the report, the median CPW for these campaigns was $2.79, and the lower quartile was $0.10, significantly lower than that of games or gambling. This analysis was based on a total of 200 campaigns operated by Addressable together with over 70 companies, reflecting data from about 9.5 million cryptocurrency users worldwide.

By region, user acquisition costs varied significantly depending on market conditions. Premium markets like the United States and Western Europe could achieve efficient conversion in a bull market but saw costs spike in a bear market. As of 2024, the CPW in the United States increased fourfold from the first quarter to the third quarter, and Western Europe increased up to 27 times. Nadler analyzed, "These markets find it difficult to maintain sustainable marketing strategies if market sentiment contracts."

On the other hand, emerging markets such as Latin America and Eastern Europe can acquire users at low costs during a strong market, but costs have extreme volatility depending on market condition changes.

This result provides significant implications for marketing efficiency and strategy establishment by sector within the cryptocurrency industry.