How to Build a DeFi PR Strategy That Earns Trust and Media Coverage

A DeFi team can build a strong product and still struggle to explain what benefits it brings or what it changes in the industry. When a protocol adds a feature or enters a new ecosystem, journalists, users and partners want to know what changed, how to check it, and why it is important.

To let them know all of this, there must be a honed DeFi PR strategy in place. Decentralised finance, or DeFi, means financial services that run on a blockchain through smart contracts, programs that carry out set rules automatically.

Drofa Comms repeatedly faces situations where DeFi companies need to communicate their victories, partnerships and other news. One example is the launch of Curve Finance on Stellar, its first native deployment outside the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) ecosystem. As experts in this field, let’s take a look at what a DeFi PR strategy includes and how to build one.

Key Takeaways

• A DeFi PR strategy starts with clear audiences, a plain-language story and claims you can prove.
• A technical event becomes a media story when journalists see why it matters to their readers.
• Prepare for hard questions before a crisis, and judge results by relevance and accuracy, not only article counts.

What Is DeFi PR?

DeFi PR is when you explain a decentralised finance project to the people who need to understand it, including users, journalists, investors and partners. It covers positioning, media relations and public communication about the protocol’s product, governance, risks and development. It also prepares the team for uncomfortable questions.

DeFi public relations can help a team explain its product and what makes it distinctive, prepare stories for journalists, raise awareness among the right audiences, communicate important changes and get ready for hard times. Because reputation also depends on the product and the team’s actions, PR cannot create trust on its own or guarantee new users.

Why Does DeFi Need a Different PR Approach Compared to TradFi?

In traditional finance (TradFi), securities rules require issuers to disclose material information, and intermediaries are responsible for safeguarding customers’ assets, as a report by a CFTC advisory subcommittee describes. Intermediaries also keep assets and liabilities on one balance sheet, which makes responsibility easier to locate. DeFi can spread them across protocols and token holders, and the same report names unclear lines of responsibility as a central concern. This is where DeFi PR comes in: a project has to explain in public what a TradFi customer can often find in formal disclosures.

So before putting money into a protocol, people look for answers on several points:

• the way the protocol works and the problem it solves;
• the source of the yield;
• the people who make decisions and can change parameters;
• the scope of the audit and the risks that remain;
• a place to follow updates and get answers.

Therefore, DeFi protocol communications must show who controls the product and what could go wrong. Journalists and partners need the same clarity, and crypto readers may expect more technical detail than a general finance audience.

Audits need particular care, by the way. An audit covers a defined scope at a set time and does not guarantee safety, so no message should suggest otherwise. We cover governance topics in detail in our article on public accountability in DeFi.

How to Build a DeFi PR Strategy

Five steps cover the core of a DeFi communications strategy.

Define the Audiences You Want to Reach

Audiences overlap, so write down what each group needs before drafting messages.

Explain What Your Protocol Does in Plain Language

Explaining what your protocol does in plain language simply means a well-thought-out positioning. It relies on five key points. They include the problem the protocol solves, its users, the way the solution works, the difference from existing alternatives and the facts that support the claims. 

Remember that “A revolutionary DeFi protocol” tells a journalist nothing and brings no value. By contrast, “An exchange where users swap two stablecoins in one transaction, with fees and rules in the documentation” names a function and a benefit. The example is hypothetical.

Support Your Claims With Evidence

Users, journalists and partners will meticulously check what you say, so keep the proof ready:

• product documentation;
• data with an explanation of how it is calculated;
• audit reports with their date and scope, and notes on fixes;
• a description of governance and who holds which powers;
• a spokesperson who can answer questions.

“The protocol has been audited” might be enough as an excuse. But it tells nothing if risks are gone or not. The better approach is the one that provides the author, date, scope, and says how findings were handled.

Find a Story That Matters to Journalists

DeFi media relations starts with a story. A journalist first asks what value news brings to the outlet’s readers. Good hooks include:

• a launch or major update;
• a move into a new ecosystem;
• a partnership with a clear role for each side;
• a governance change;
• original data or research;
• an expert view on a current industry issue.

A simple pitch follows one line: what happened → why it matters → what supports it → who can comment. Editorial coverage is the outlet’s own decision, while paid placement should be labelled as such. No agency can promise publication in a particular outlet.

Prepare for Sophisticated Questions Before a Crisis

Agree the basics while things are calm. There must be a person who collects and checks information, a spokesperson for the project, one place for official updates, wording that separates what is known from what is still being checked, and an approval route through the technical and legal teams.

Our guides cover specific cases, from a liquidity crisis and token price changes to relaunching a protocol to rebuild trust.

DeFi PR in Practice: Curve Finance’s Expansion to Stellar

The Announcement

Curve Finance, our long-standing client, launched on Stellar, its first native deployment outside the EVM ecosystem. EVM networks run smart contracts in the Ethereum Virtual Machine environment, so “outside EVM” means Curve entered a network built differently. On 29 October 2026, The Block reported that StableSwap went live.

The PR Approach

Drofa Comms ran the media campaign under embargo: seven working days in total, five spent actively pitching. An embargo means journalists get the news in advance and agree on a publication time. The client’s key message was “first native deployment outside EVM.” It turned a technical fact into a clear reason to cover the news.

The Results

By Drofa Comms’ own count:

• more than 50 media mentions came in five working days of pitching;
• The Block published a piece with the key message within minutes of the embargo lifting and shared the news on X;
• CoinDesk covered the launch on its X channel;
• Crypto Briefing, DiarioBitcoin and Incrypted reported it too.

A mention is not always a full editorial article, we do not add up outlet audiences into a reach figure, and the CoinDesk item was a post on X. A technical update becomes a clear media story when the team explains why it matters and prepares the facts in advance.

How Can You Measure DeFi PR Results?

The number of publications is only one measure. Also check:

• the fit between the outlets, their readers and the project’s goals;
• the accuracy of the key facts and the context of the main messages;
• relevant enquiries from journalists and partners;
• click-throughs to project materials, where they can be tracked.

The Curve campaign used two variables: mention count and whether the key message reached the coverage. PR does not automatically raise total value locked (TVL), token price or user numbers, since product quality, market conditions and incentives affect them too.

How Drofa Comms Can Help DeFi Projects

If you need a DeFi PR agency, Drofa Comms can help with:

• positioning and a communications strategy;
• stories and materials for the media;
• campaigns around launches and other events;
• preparing founders and experts for journalists’ questions;
• a communication plan for difficult situations.

We do not promise coverage in specific outlets, token growth or liquidity inflows. To discuss your launch, update or expansion, get in touch with our team.