The DeFi Growth Playbook: What Actually Works in 2025
After managing growth for five DeFi products across four blockchain networks, here is the framework I use: what to build first, which channels to prioritise, and where most projects waste their budget.
I have run growth for DeFi protocols on Linea, zkSync, Scroll, and Solana. The products are different. The chains are different. But the fundamentals of what drives TVL, user acquisition, and retention are surprisingly consistent.
Start With Positioning, Not Distribution
Most DeFi projects want to start with Twitter campaigns and KOL partnerships. I always push back. Until you know exactly who you are for and what makes you different from the 50 other yield aggregators, content marketing is just noise production.
The positioning question: Who is the most valuable person you could possibly serve? What does their day look like? What do they read? What alternatives have they already tried and rejected?
The Three Audiences in Every DeFi Launch
- Degens, High-risk, high-yield seekers. They move fast, they leave fast. Useful for bootstrapping TVL but unreliable for long-term metrics.
- Protocol-aware users, They understand the tech, read the docs, and make reasoned decisions. These are your best word-of-mouth evangelists.
- Institutional/whale allocators, Slower to move but they bring capital that improves your depth metrics and legitimises the protocol for others.
Your launch strategy needs different messaging and channels for each of these groups. Most projects try to speak to all three simultaneously and end up resonating with none.
The Channel Stack That Actually Converts
Twitter/X: Brand awareness, thought leadership. High effort, slow ROI. Essential for credibility but do not expect direct conversions.
Telegram: Community holding, announcement channel, direct support. This is where trust is built and maintained.
Discord: Developer relations, power users, governance. Invest here only if your product is complex enough to warrant it.
DeFiLlama / Dune Analytics: Your best referral channel. Being discoverable through TVL rankings and open analytics dashboards drives highly qualified traffic.
On Partnerships
At MultiFarm, I sourced and closed 350+ strategic partnerships across wallets, CEXs, DEXs, infrastructure providers, and payment processors. The pattern that generated the most actual value: integrations with wallets and aggregators that put our protocol in front of users at the point of capital allocation. KOL partnerships generated attention. Wallet integrations generated TVL.
Build your partnership pipeline like a sales funnel. Qualify rigorously. Move fast on the ones that align. And always be clear on what success looks like for both sides before you sign anything.