In this episode of the HodlFM podcast, Tanya sits down with Roman Pinsky, the CMO of Chainers, a game-changing Web 3 project that’s blending player-owned economies with classic gaming mechanics. Roman, a seasoned marketing expert with years of experience in both Web 2 and Web 3, takes us through his journey in the crypto space, from launching DMarket and its ICO to his current role at Chainers.
Throughout the conversation, we dive into the evolution of Web 3 marketing, from the wild days of ICOs to the more regulated and refined marketing strategies of today. Roman shares his insights on what’s worked in the past, what’s no longer effective, and what’s shaping the future of crypto gaming and marketing.
If you're a fan of Web 3 games or looking to break into the crypto space, this episode is packed with valuable tips on growing startups, attracting the right audience, and promoting blockchain projects. Stay tuned as Roman also shares exciting developments at Chainers and what’s to come in the world of Web 3 gaming!
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Tanya:
Welcome to the HodlFM podcast! My name is Tanya, and together with our guests, we will be breaking down crypto earnings, investments, and general trends in the space. Today, we will talk about Web 3 marketing, how to grow crypto startups, attract audiences, and promote blockchain companies in general, with a particular focus on Web 3 games. Our guest today is Roman Pinsky, the CMO of Chainers and the person behind the DMarket launch and ICO. Happy to see you, Roman!
Roman:
Happy to see you, Tanya, as well! Thanks, first of all, for the invitation. I've been pretty nervous about it because, to be honest, this is my first podcast ever. But I’ll try to be as natural as possible.
Tanya:
That’s great! You have a very rich marketing background. Can you tell us about what you've been doing previously and what you’re doing right now?
Roman:
Yeah, so I wouldn’t go deep into when I first started doing marketing, but I’ll talk mostly about the past seven or eight years of my experience. I was at the beginning of the market foundation. In 2017, we created DMarket itself, with the Web 2 gaming community in mind. By that time, there weren’t many ideas about players owning economies in games, so for us, the adoption of blockchain seemed like the next step in Web 2 gaming evolution.
Later, DMarket was acquired by Mythical Games, which was also one of the pioneers in Web 3 gaming and the creators of Blancos and NFL Rivals. They were a pretty famous company by that time, and they had a valuation of more than $1 billion—this was maybe four or five years ago. But I spent seven years working at DMarket and then at Mythical Games.
This experience opened those technological Web 3 doors for me, and now I’ve joined the Chainers team as CMO. My responsibilities are to create and align a new marketing strategy, brand vision, positioning, and go-to-market strategy, extending the game’s awareness in existing markets and opening it for new ones. I won’t go deeper into the matrix and operational stuff I’m responsible for, for the sake of time, but that’s the main overview of my current state at Chainers.
Tanya:
Great! This is very interesting. So, let’s go back to 2017-2018, when there was this ICO boom. It was really crazy, right? Could you tell us what it was like back then, what marketing a product was like, and what you did? What worked?
Roman:
It was totally different from what it is nowadays. Way, way different. And to be honest, there was mostly hype and a constant community desire to invest in something new and interesting because the ICOs were something new for them. It was something that they had never seen before, and something they wanted to, may I say, gamble with—maybe trade their luck with. Of course, most of the investors just wanted to get a quick buck and become rich off another token. It was the wild west, to be honest, but the market was just starting to get traction. For community rounds, they were much easier and simpler than they are now. No launchpads existed, just pure landing pages and startups or projects, and we were doing everything ourselves. As for marketing, media buying was the king, especially banner ads, ICO list aggregators, Telegram shillers, and influencers—of course, YouTubers most of all. The influencer time came a little bit later, like two or three years after we launched the ICO.
Tanya:
That’s really cool. I remember those days. It was wild and really, really cool, actually. The niche was changing, and it evolved a lot. If you look back at those times and right now, it has changed significantly, and maybe also in terms of marketing. Could you tell us what used to work back then and doesn't work now? And what would never work now?
Roman:
Media buying and banner ads were extremely popular and really expensive during the ICO times in 2017 and 2018. We were buying them straight from the vendors. We weren't using any third-party websites, just connecting directly to the websites that were selling ads. They don’t get many results anymore.
So, if you’re raising money for regular day campaigns, these channels still work, but for raising money, they won’t work anymore. Unfortunately, people are more cautious now, or maybe just have more fear about unsuccessful projects over the past decade. And I’m not talking about the Solana shitcoins and pump-and-dump tokens, it’s something different.
People still fall into the traps, but they try to find places where they can just waste their money on really nice things. In 2025, as you’ve probably noticed, there is more regulation right now, and the niche is becoming more normal and institutional. It’s not as wild as it used to be in 2021 or during the ICO boom.
Tanya:
Right, right. What about marketing crypto projects now? Because it’s totally different from what it used to be. Could you tell us more about how it evolved until this time?
Roman:
The evolution has been pretty significant over the past seven or eight years. Of course, almost 99% of the projects died along the way. We witnessed the illusion of DeFi, GameFi, and NFTs, and it also affected marketing. As the market settled, it transcended to marketing as well. I see the evolution of programmatic networks or dedicated Web 3 DSPs (Demand Side Platforms), which were only effective for Web 2 seven or eight years ago, but now they are taking their deserved place among Web 3 marketing channels and instruments.
I also see slow adoption among regulators. Google, Meta, and others are changing their moods towards Web 3 projects, slowly allowing them to run ads. Meta is still conservative because they require additional permissions, but I think it’s just a matter of time before they come along, and the regulations will weaken from their side.
With the appearance of Gen Z, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and other social media platforms are starting to take their deserved places and become one of the drivers of factory marketing nowadays. I see a space for development here, and there’s still space to grow, as adoption of crypto by the users of those platforms is not as big yet. We see the shift from hype-driven campaigns to AI-powered funnels. So, marketing your product is becoming a bit easier now, with more conventional approaches than before.
Tanya:
Yeah, it’s becoming more conventional. Now, let’s move to Chainers. Could you give us a one-liner, a simple elevator pitch?
Roman:
I was preparing for that! That’s funny you asked because we’re working on new positioning for Chainers, new taglines, and elevator pitches. The latest one I came up with a few weeks ago:
"Chainers is a multi-genre universe that blends player-owned Web 3 economies with classic Web 2 gaming mechanics. The game offers a dynamic world simulator where players create, play, earn, and cooperate."
Tanya:
Nice! Very nice. Can you tell us more details about what the game is about and how it’s different from other crypto games? There are so many of them.
Roman:
It’s not just a game; it’s more like a virtual world. And not in the classic interpretation, like Decentraland, Sandbox, or Roblox. It’s definitely not a classic Web 3 game where you need to grind tokens, stake them, and repeat. Chainers is an expanding virtual world with hundreds of activities and a player-owned economy, but not in the classic sense. Sure, all Web 3 games talk about the "mythical player-owned economy," and Chainers has reusable assets across games—that’s the main difference. From farming and city-building to racing, shooting, and even defending against alien invasions in co-op campaigns, each asset you earn in one game can be reused in another game across the Chainers' universe.
So, we’re talking about asset interoperability, which enhances the way we interact with games and their content. In Chainers, all in-game assets like equipment, resources, and land are NFTs, and you truly own them and can use them across different games. In the future, players will be able to trade assets or even exchange them on the global marketplace, creating real value in terms of a player-driven economy. I wouldn’t consider game assets as an investment tool, but rather as a utility for game and economy development. Believe me, it’s not the classic approach we used to see, and I’m pretty sure this will shape the future of Web 3 gaming.
Tanya:
That’s really cool! And you were talking about NFTs here. Don’t you think that NFTs have kind of died the way they were promoted a few years ago? They were mostly useless as a hype instrument for marketers. I even predicted three or four years ago that they would be dead, and I said that maybe 90% or 95% of all NFTs will die. The NFT space will change its shape and will be driven by more sustainable economic models, like NFTs as art in galleries or museums, or with real use cases in games. Do you agree with that?
Roman:
Yeah, I don’t think NFTs will die in games because they are a part of the game economy. They do have real utility within the game. I think NFTs in the gaming industry are still a valuable tool, and they will become even more useful. I agree that NFTs used purely for art, like we see in galleries, is a more sustainable approach, but in the context of games, NFTs are here to stay.
Tanya:
Exactly, I totally agree with you! Because the NFTs that used to exist weren’t really useful or applicable in the real world. So, let's talk about the trends right now. What do you think are the biggest trends in the current cycle?
Roman:
I’d closely look at AI, data labeling, and real-world assets. There are tons of interesting blockchain projects in the niche of real-world assets, especially in fields like science and medicine. Those are the biggest and fastest-evolving industries. Of course, GameFi and Web 3 gaming are still strongly undervalued, but the blame lies with current Web 3 games, which simply aren’t delivering interesting gameplay. But I believe that Web 3 games and GameFi’s future will come. The world isn’t quite ready for that yet, but the time is getting closer.
Tanya:
Right! And as a CMO of a Web 3 game, can you tell us some more practical insights about what works for a Web 3 gaming startup? What helps to grow a startup like that right now?
Roman:
First of all, I’ll talk not about marketing but about the product itself. Working projects will deliver real value to customers. Even if you buy all the traffic in the world, but your product is nothing, nothing will happen. As for marketing, I see that old-fashioned Google and YouTube ads still bring decent results, but for Web 3, programmatic and DSPs work pretty well.
Key opinion leaders (KOLs) are a little harder to decode now due to fake traffic, but I’m still a big fan of YouTube, combined with retention funnels and narrow customer segmentation like email and Google display network campaigns. TikTok is good for awareness, but the attention span there is rather low, so you need a lot of creativity for eye-catching content.
And the most important, which people usually don’t talk about, is B2B partnerships. These drive growth and make a difference between low-quality and high-end projects—things like cross-promotion, product integrations, and content merging.
Tanya:
Great! That’s really useful. What about Web 3 games? What are the best ones in your opinion? Which ones do you follow?
Roman:
Of course, the first one is Chainers. We’re in the middle of preparing our new roadmap with some really cool product features and gameplay mechanics, and this year should be really fun for us. I’ll also mention a few other games: Lumitra looks quite interesting; it’s an open world with crafting and action mechanics. They’ve just recently closed their beta test and are under maintenance right now. Another one is Astronova, an open-world MMORPG with AGI (artificial general intelligence). They’re finishing their fourth pre-sale round and are supposed to launch this year. If you like old games like World of Warcraft or Lineage, this might remind you of them with a touch of blockchain and gamifying.
Tanya:
Cool, cool! Thanks! We should definitely check them out. What about Chainers? Are you planning any major updates?
Roman:
We’ll reveal our roadmap very soon. Until then, I prefer to keep it secret, but I can promise that the plans are really major. We’ve just got a new producer, and we’re working around a huge roadmap and backlog we’ve prepared. We need to polish everything before we announce anything.
Tanya:
We’ll be looking forward to your announcement! What about trends in Web 3 gaming? What’s the coolest thing you’re watching?
Roman:
To be very short: Fun-first Web 3 games. Web 3 devs need to remember why we play games in the first place and why gaming became popular. That’s the most important trend right now.
Tanya:
I think it’s really important because Web 3 games right now, from what I’ve seen, they’re not actually playable. You think about how to make money, but not how to actually play. I agree with you completely.
Roman: Exactly!
Tanya: Great! Let’s wrap up with a small lightning round. I’ll ask you some short questions, and you’ll give me fast, short answers. First one: What is your favorite token right now and why?
Roman:
To be honest, I don’t have any favorite tokens after the recent market crash. I used to invest in Trophy, and I invested in Astronova token, which is in pre-sale right now. But I’d suggest sticking with major projects like Ethereum and Bitcoin for now and focusing on utility over hype.
Tanya:
What’s the most underrated Web 3 game in your opinion?
Roman:
I think it’s Off the Grid. It’s an upcoming battle royale, and it’s also available on Xbox. You can play it without blockchain, not just on PC but also on console. It has pretty cool gameplay, and I think it will make some noise in the future.
Tanya:
What about the best Web 2 game?
Roman:
Best Trending. It’s the most unusual one that took my breath away, but I love many games equally. You’ll see more coming soon this year.
Tanya:
Great! And last one—could you share your socials and the socials of Chainers so that people can find you?
Roman:
Sure! Can we add it to the description of this podcast and video? It’s hard for me to name them all right now, but I left my Twitter and LinkedIn, and people can find everything there.
Tanya:
Okay, we’ll do that! Great, that’s it. Thank you for joining, Roman. It was a really cool episode with valuable insights.
Roman:
Thank you for having me! It was a pleasure.
Tanya:
That’s all for this episode of HodlFM. Make sure you subscribe to our channel, like, and share this video with your friends. See you next time!
Tanya Petrusenko
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