Background
MetaMask is the dominant self-custodial wallet in crypto, with over 30 million monthly active users across the EVM ecosystem. What began as a browser extension for Ethereum has evolved into a comprehensive financial platform encompassing MetaMask Portfolio (a unified dashboard for tokens, DeFi positions, and NFTs), MetaMask Card (crypto-to-fiat spending), staking, swaps, bridges, perpetuals trading, and a Polymarket integration for prediction markets. The MetaMask paid media team handles campaigns across this full product range, facing unique challenges that differ dramatically from traditional fintech marketing. In many major markets, crypto advertising faces outright bans or severe restrictions, forcing teams to develop alternative strategies through KOLs, research partnerships, and educational content. Even where paid media is permitted, the core tension remains: how do you attribute on-chain activity back to advertising while maintaining the zero-cookie, privacy-first principles that Web3 users expect? For the Portfolio launch specifically, MetaMask needed to reach real, wallet-connected users globally, convert interest into sustained usage, and reinforce its leadership position in self-custody during an intensely competitive moment when every major wallet was fighting for market share.
Campaign
HypeLab executed a 3+ month, two-track campaign combining performance and awareness. On the performance side, we deployed contextual and wallet-aware targeting to drive qualified traffic to Portfolio, reaching users who had active wallet extensions and demonstrated DeFi engagement. This precision mattered because MetaMask's paid media philosophy emphasizes reaching crypto-native users in high-intent environments rather than spraying generic impressions across the web. The campaign ran across HypeLab's network alongside MetaMask's broader channel mix, which includes platforms like CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, and Etherscan for high-converting placements, plus paid social on X, Reddit, and Telegram. In parallel, we executed a large-scale awareness program across 100+ crypto sites, rotating creative formats (native, display, video, various sizes) to combat ad fatigue. The format variety proved essential: MetaMask's team specifically values having multiple creative options so they can keep messaging fresh for audiences who see ads repeatedly. Throughout the campaign, direct communication enabled rapid optimization. When MetaMask needed to pause campaigns urgently, the HypeLab team responded within 10 minutes via Telegram, a responsiveness that the MetaMask team notes is impossible with larger web2 advertising organizations.
Results
The campaign delivered cost per transacting user under $70 and reach of 15M unique users. To contextualize this performance: $70 per transacting user represents exceptional efficiency for crypto user acquisition, where industry benchmarks for DeFi protocols average $85 per user and can exceed $150 for exchanges requiring KYC completion. The 15 million unique users reached represents meaningful penetration of the global crypto-active audience. These were not generic impressions but wallet-aware placements reaching users with demonstrated blockchain engagement, the exact cohort most likely to adopt a new DeFi dashboard. In practice, millions of crypto-native impressions converted into high-value actions for a DeFi-savvy audience, pairing efficient acquisition with broad, credible visibility for the Portfolio launch. The campaign established HypeLab as one of MetaMask's consistent paid growth channels alongside their investment in media partnerships (Bankless, Crypto Banter, regional research institutes) and KOL programs for markets where paid advertising is banned.
Why it matters
This campaign demonstrates that Web3-native ad networks can deliver enterprise-grade results for the largest brands in crypto. MetaMask is not a scrappy startup testing channels; it is the most recognized wallet in the ecosystem, run by a team with experience at Heineken, L'Oreal, and Mastercard who bring rigorous web2 marketing discipline to crypto. The fact that HypeLab earned sustained investment from this caliber of advertiser validates the crypto-native advertising model. Wallet-targeted, contextually relevant distribution turns spend into measurable outcomes. For enterprise crypto advertisers facing the dual challenge of reaching users at scale while respecting Web3 privacy principles, MetaMask's success with HypeLab offers a blueprint: combine on-chain targeting precision with responsive partnership and format flexibility. MetaMask acquired high-value users cost-effectively, expanded ecosystem visibility across their full product suite, and strengthened brand trust and category leadership during the Portfolio launch.
“HypeLab is genuinely good. Consistent, fast, easy to use. The campaign creation flow makes sense. It just works.”
— Tom Sargent, Head of Paid Media at MetaMask (Consensys)
About Hypelab:
HypeLab is the top web3-focused advertising network helping hundreds of clients like Metamask, Circle, Uniswap, and more acquire real web3 users at scale. We have the largest quality inventory in the crypto industry and offer advanced targeting to reach your target audience. We empower web3 brands, protocols, dApps, and ecosystems the tools to scale sustainably and intelligently.