Kraken x Williams Racing Wins Big, Superchain’s New Branding, and Stellar’s Marketing Deep Dive

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📰 Top Headlines

Catch up on biggest crypto marketing stories in under 5 minutes.

1. Kraken x Williams Racing wins at the Race Media Awards: Who knew F1 fans and crypto traders had so much in common?

2. Superchain rebrands with a fresh new look — The Ethereum scaling network unveiled a bold new identity.

3. Ethereum’s Uniswap Shoutout: A Branding Milestone

4. Behind the scenes with Stellar’s CMO — A rare marketing dive into how Stellar built a $598M+ TVL empire.

5. Azuki’s ‘Fractured Reflections’ Trailer Drops: Anime, Blockchain, and the Future of Fandom

6. Pudgy Penguins x Line Friends — is the NFT crossover we didn’t know we needed

7. Crossmint’s AI just bought a Pac-Man machine — The first step toward AI-powered commerce?

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Kraken x Williams Racing wins at the Race Media Awards

Kraken just put another trophy on the shelf, winning Best Live Experience at the Race Media Awards for its Fan Zones partnership with Williams Racing and FanCapital.

Why it matters: Kraken took its F1 sponsorship beyond just slapping a logo on a car, creating immersive Fan Zones across Australia, Miami, and London.

Key takeaway: Crypto brands can’t just "sponsor"—they need to create experiences. Kraken’s partnership proves that integrated marketing beats passive advertising every time.

Superchain Unveils New Branding: A Bold Identity for 2025

Superchain just dropped a fresh identity, showcasing a new logo, color palette, and visual system that reflects its position as a key player in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Why it matters: Branding isn’t just about visuals—it’s about identity, differentiation, and memorability. With Superchain carving out its own narrative in the Ethereum ecosystem, this refresh positions it as a leader rather than just another layer-2 player.

Key takeaway: Crypto brands must think beyond logos—consistent branding builds recognition, trust, and community identity. Superchain just gave itself a strong foundation for 2025 and beyond.

Uniswap V4 Rolls Out – And Ethereum Finally Acknowledges Its Impact

For the second time in history, Ethereum account has tweeted the word Uniswap.

Uniswap Labs CEO Hayden Adams summed up the moment with a playful but telling response: "Love that Ethereum is now sharing updates about the things built on top of it, big step in the right direction. Thanks for recognizing me, senpai."

Why it matters: With Ethereum’s endorsement, Uniswap V4’s launch goes beyond product innovation—it becomes a marketing power move, reinforcing its dominance in decentralized trading. 🚀

Key takeaway: Uniswap V4 was already a major technical upgrade, but with Ethereum’s backing, it becomes a narrative-defining moment for DeFi. This isn’t just about an exchange—it’s about the next phase of Ethereum’s ecosystem marketing strategy.

Behind the Scenes on Stellar: 10+ Years of Crypto Marketing Evolution

How does a project go from an idea to a $598M+ TVL and a $12B market cap?

That’s exactly what was unpacked in "Behind The Scenes on Stellar"—a deep-dive discussion hosted on X (formerly Twitter) by Emily Lay, @xkonjin & reka.eth, featuring Jordan, CMO of Stellar.

Key Highlights:

• How Stellar’s marketing strategy evolved over a decade.

• What traditional finance brands get wrong about blockchain marketing.

• The secret to long-term growth in Web3 (hint: it’s not just hype cycles).

• Lessons on building credibility, partnerships, and adoption at scale.

Why it matters: Stellar is one of the longest-standing crypto projects, and its marketing evolution is a masterclass in sustained relevance.

Key takeaway: Web3 brands need a long-term strategy—not just viral moments. If your marketing doesn’t evolve, your project won’t either.

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Azuki’s ‘Fractured Reflections’ Trailer: Anime Meets Web3

Azuki is back, and this time, it's bringing anime fans deeper into the Garden with the highly anticipated second installment of its anime anthology series, Enter The Garden. The newly released official trailer for Fractured Reflections teases a visually stunning and emotionally gripping journey into the unknown.

This isn’t just another anime drop—it’s a cultural and marketing moment. With legendary anime director Goro Taniguchi at the helm and an elite creative team, Fractured Reflections is shaping up to be a major IP-building event that could redefine how anime, blockchain, and fandom interact. The series will premiere live on Anime.com in February, followed by an on-demand release on Azuki’s YouTube channel.

Why it matters: By premiering Fractured Reflections on Anime.com, a new anime-focused platform, Azuki is ensuring that its brand and content reach a highly targeted audience while maintaining complete control over engagement, data, and monetization.

Key Takeaway: Azuki’s anime push isn’t just about storytelling—it’s about building the future of fandom with co-creation, ownership, and blockchain integration at its core. If this launch succeeds, it could set the blueprint for how Web3 brands break into traditional entertainment.

Pudgy Penguins x Line Friends: NFTs Go Mainstream in Asia

Meet the cutest power duo in Web3—Pudgy Penguins and Line Friends' Minini, one of Asia’s most beloved IPs.

Why it matters:

• Expands Pudgy Penguins' brand into the massive Asian market.

• Bridges NFTs with mainstream pop culture.

• Proves NFT brands can create long-term IP value beyond PFPs.

Key takeaway: The future of NFTs isn’t just in Web3—it’s in cultural crossovers that tap into mainstream audiences. Pudgy Penguins just set the blueprint.

AI Shopping on Stablecoin Rails: A Marketing Power Play

The way we buy online is changing—fast. AI agents are set to replace traditional web interfaces, making purchases on behalf of users, and Crossmint is positioning itself as the key infrastructure provider. This isn’t just a technical evolution; it’s a strategic marketing move to shape the future of ecommerce and cement stablecoins as the backbone of digital transactions.

Why it matters: Ecommerce is shifting towards AI-driven, autonomous shopping, and Crossmint is capitalizing on the moment by positioning itself as the go-to infrastructure for this new reality. This move isn’t just about technology—it’s a narrative play designed to establish dominance before the market fully wakes up.

Key takeaway: By framing AI-driven ecommerce as inevitable and aligning itself as the essential infrastructure provider, Crossmint is creating demand before competitors even realize the opportunity exists.

Marketing Tool Spotlight

Today, we're exploring Tunnl, an on-chain influencer marketing platform designed to bridge the gap between brands and creators. By leveraging blockchain technology and AI, Tunnl aims to enhance transparency, trust, and efficiency in marketing collaborations. Let’s examine how this tool can be a game-changer for crypto marketers.

Key Features

• On-Chain Smart Agreements: Tunnl utilizes hybrid smart contracts, allowing users to encode engagement parameters directly into their contract structures. By integrating Chainlink functions, these agreements verify engagement data, significantly bolstering reliability and trustworthiness in the agreement process.

• AI-Driven Content Verification: The platform employs AI to automatically verify that the content meets specified requirements, ensuring compliance with brand messaging.

Benefits

• Enhanced Trust: Payments are only released when content meets predefined verification requirements, ensuring that both brands and creators uphold their commitments.

• Streamlined Collaboration: Tunnl provides a centralized hub for creating, managing, and executing marketing agreements, reducing the complexities associated with traditional influencer marketing processes.

Use Cases

• Product Launches: Brands can connect with creators whose content aligns with their product, ensuring authentic promotion to a relevant audience.

• Brand Awareness Campaigns: By partnering with influencers through Tunnl, brands can increase their visibility and reach in target markets.

Ease of Use

• User-Friendly Interface: Tunnl is designed for users of all technical backgrounds, offering a straightforward onboarding process and intuitive navigation.

• Efficient Matching Process: The platform's AI tools assist in quickly identifying suitable creators, expediting the initiation of marketing campaigns.

Price Point

• Flexible Pricing: Tunnl operates on a fee structure that includes a flat fee of 5 USDC charged when an offer is accepted by a creator, and a 5% fee added to the creator's payment upon successful completion of the offer. This model ensures that fees are only incurred when value is delivered

Conclusion: Tunnl represents a significant advancement in influencer marketing by integrating blockchain and AI technologies. Its focus on transparency, trust, and efficiency makes it a valuable tool for brands and creators aiming to establish authentic and reliable partnerships.

Community Shoutout: You’re All Rockstars, But This One Stands Out

James Richard: "we’re going to build vibrant community through organic marketing campaigns"

🍪 Quick Bites for Crypto Marketers

1. Kraken reports record-breaking financials, hitting $1.5B in revenue for 2023, a 51% YoY growth. The exchange’s staking and trading revenues surged, showing strong institutional and retail demand.

2. Kraken Pay: Redefining Payment Speed in the Crypto Universe

3. Crypto.com expands sports trading, letting users predict game outcomes for profit.

4. Ondo Finance’s NYC Summit bridges TradFi & DeFi.

5. Algorand Q4 Transparency Report shows rising swap volumes & exchange listings.

6. Avalanche partners with Aethir for a $100M AI + Blockchain fund

👋 That’s a Wrap!

That’s it for today’s edition of The Marketing Miner! Keep mining for crypto marketing insights and strategies, and don’t forget to share these nuggets with your fellow crypto marketers. Let’s keep building, one block at a time!

DISCLAIMER: This isn’t financial advice—just pure marketing gold. The content in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and isn’t a recommendation to buy, sell, or make any financial decisions. Please do your homework, double-check the facts, and ensure you’re comfortable before investing.

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