Traditional banks look on as clients are cleverly lured away by cryptocurrency providers.

How about a Lamborghini? The latest iPhone? Or simply five bitcoins? Cryptocurrency providers dangle potential prospects with the allure of never-ending riches as a way of smoothing their entry into the world of digital currencies.

Greed is always the start. Bitcoin, as the world's eminent cryptocurrency, is constantly at a new high. Kick yourself for not being invested. One thing is sure. You always want to know more.

Landing on Some Platform

You start searching the internet and find plenty of stuff when you look up crypto or bitcoin. That is also where many crypto platforms lurk, ably guiding users to their websites. An example of that is «crypto.com». It paid a tidy sum for the domain name – and it almost always features at the top of any search engine.

But cryptos do a great deal more than just that to get new clients. Their second play is a simple one. Get current clients to recommend their platform and they often spend a good deal of money doing just that.

Starting Bonus

Up to $50 or $100 a head are on offer for new clients. It allows them to start buying and selling coins immediately. They can also transfer them to other platforms or simply pay the money into their bank accounts if they want to. It allows them to experience the brave new crypto world without risking their own money. As it is often at the start that beginner's mistakes are made – but when that happens at least they haven't lost real money.

Entry Quiz

Crypto firms have been banging on the ad drum in the U.S. in a big way, particularly when the government was sending stimulus checks out. Cryptocurrency investments were touted as a great inflation hedge. The pitch worked and the main American platforms saw buoyant uptake as a result.

Coinbase, a known listed crypto provider, has found another way to attract users. Anyone interested can answer a quiz. They are rewarded with coins that they can send to their private banking account should they want to. But what they are really after is getting them to playfully engage with virtual money early on.

Simple Apps

The providers also do everything they can to cut complexity and become as attractive to as many people as possible. Internet domain names are difficult to remember - so they offer simple apps with very few functions for beginners. Practiced, experienced users are directed to broader websites.

Storytelling is also rampant. Investors and clients are frequently relayed heartwarming stories about how the lives of some have been changed since they started investing in crypto. 

Ask the CEO

Such stories can also be told live at so-called Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) rounds. The heads of the platforms make themselves available online to tell everyone what their business model is. They also try to allay the uncertainties of anyone interested. It provides a genuine, real-world touch.

They also answer one of the main burning questions proactively. How do investors actually get their money back? The companies cooperate with the main credit card companies including Visa and Mastercard. You can use crypto for normal purchases online. Not only does that build confidence – but it also integrates digital money into daily life. 

Naturally, they don't refrain from pointing out the regulatory licenses they have in order to leave a serious, institutional impression. But new clients have to look closely if they actually want to understand what license the providers have and what it is for.

Using it for Mortgages

In the meantime, crypto providers have a range of products on offer. No one really needs a legacy bank anymore. Mortgage anyone? No problem. High-interest deposit? No problem. Instantaneous payment to the other side of the world? No problem.

What are the established banks doing against all of this? Instead of actively trying to keep clients, they instead try to scare them off by threatening a dire picture of catastrophic losses. They often build barriers when clients appear to become interested in digital money. Banks and sometimes credit card companies often don't execute payments for crypto platforms.

But with that, they risk angering their clients – possibly pushing them away completely.