Crypto Media Turn to Interviews and Communities as AI Changes Search Traffic

AI-generated answers are making search traffic harder to depend on, prompting crypto publishers to invest more in original interviews and direct relationships with readers, speakers said during one of four panels hosted by ChangeNOW at TOKEN2049 Singapore.

A co-founder of The Block of Media described how the publisher’s approach had changed. Educational articles once brought readers through Google rankings. The company is now putting more emphasis on interviews, turning those conversations into articles and short clips that can reach audiences across several channels.

Asked how he would start a media business today, the co-founder said: “I will not start a website. I will start with a person.” He described choosing a narrow audience and building relationships with the people in it.

CoinEasy’s Jaden reported less disruption in Korea, where the company reaches users through local communities and the domestic search engine Naver. He nevertheless described efforts to reach people through AI tools and expand offline events and physical products for its community.

The discussion also challenged how advertisers measure results. Pauline Shangett, ChangeNOW’s Сhief Strategy Officer, argued that immediate clicks capture only part of a banner campaign’s value. Repeated exposure can make a brand more familiar, she said, increasing the chance that someone remembers it when they eventually need the service.

The question of reaching people beyond crypto’s established audience also came up in the wallet panel featuring MetaMask, Trezor and ChangeNOW.

Asked what he would prioritize when building a wallet from the beginning, MetaMask’s representative said: “I would definitely focus on distribution.” He emphasized reaching users where they already are rather than expecting them to enter the Web3 space on their own.

Yana, ChangeNOW's Head of Business Development & Account Management, warned that marketing spending cannot compensate for a poor product. “If the product is not good, users will not trust it and also will not come back,” she said.

During the infrastructure panel, WalletConnect’s Diana Alexandrova offered a practical example of making crypto understandable: a short video showing a wallet payment at a Lisbon coffee shop. She advocated demonstrating how a service works and inviting people to try it.

The super app discussion addressed what happens after those users arrive. Rubic co-founder Aleksandra Korneva noted that many people need swaps only occasionally. Speakers examined whether payments, trading or other regular activities could give them a reason to return to the same app more often.