2 months ago
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As the year comes to a close, we got the chance to sit down with Ignacio Aguirre Franco, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitget. In our discussion, we explored his work experience, Bitget’s rebranding, and their distinctive branding and marketing strategies that have kept them ahead of the competition.
Ignacio also gave us a hint of the biggest opportunities for crypto exchanges in the coming years.
Working experience
Coming from a computer engineering background, Ignacio began his coding journey at a young age. He later transitioned to consulting, where he identified a gap for professionals with a technological and marketing background. He would later work in various sectors, including entertainment at Universal Pictures, gaming, and companies such as Adobe and SAP.
“I’ve been in the crypto space for almost ten years now, and working professionally in crypto for six. I’ve worked in crypto compliance, DeFi, and even a Bitcoin bank before joining Bitget.”
Each experience built a knowledge layer. According to Ignacio, his primary goal in the space is to create narratives and storytelling that connect with people.
“For me, marketing isn’t just about features—it’s about the business case and the value people can relate to.”
We then asked Ignacio how it is working at Bitget.
While at Bitget for only three months, Ignacio highlighted the exchange’s rebranding into a universal exchange, which he delves into later in the interview. He also lauded the exchange’s global team, which is heavily remote, comprising highly specialized individuals.
“In my past roles, I learned different things from different companies, and Bitget is similar in that sense — we have specialists who understand their functions down to the smallest detail.”
Bitget CMO Ignacio Aguirre Franco on the left and Cryptopolitan’s Rohan on the rightMarketing a crypto exchange
Good code eliminates friction, good branding eliminates doubt.
Ignacio weighed the balance between product and marketing. A good product can survive without great marketing, but a bad product cannot survive even with the best marketing.
While technical teams highlight metrics, real value is in translating technical capabilities into human, relatable value.
“We build storytelling around our brand… the kind of storytelling that connects the product to a real human experience. “
We then asked him about the unique challenge of marketing a crypto exchange.
Ignicio shared that compliance and regulation were a must when entering a new market. The biggest challenge, however, was that the rules varied across borders.
“What’s acceptable in one jurisdiction might be restricted in another. Some markets are extremely tough; others have different sets of requirements entirely.”
This meant that all forms of messaging had to conform to all the varying regulations. While frustrating at first, it became easier with time, he confessed. In regions where crypto adoption was fragile or regulatory frameworks were evolving, they simply never marketed there.
On blockchain principles and terminologies.
“Communication has to strike a balance. We aim to attract new people to crypto, so our messaging needs to be simple and approachable. At the same time, there is a strong existing cryptocurrency community, and our company’s DNA is deeply rooted in the crypto space. So we can’t ignore advanced users either.”
Bitget as a universal exchange
On Bitget becoming a universal exchange, Ignacio discussed the three main things people look for in an exchange: asset variety, usability, and liquidity. All these were at Bitget. The exchange also included a decentralized exchange and access to real-world asset tokens (RWAs).
“The idea is to bring more products from TradFi and real-world assets into the play. Because we see a place where you don’t have to jump between apps, a central place where everything sits together.”
He also highlighted Bitget’s security systems, which have never been hacked, its $700 million Protection Fund, and 1.8x Proof of Reserves.
“To scale, there are two things: compliance and innovation. Because if you don’t innovate, you’re not relevant. So that’s where we sit, and then the whole marketing comes after it.”
Ignacio went on to talk about Bitget’s flagship product, GetAgent.
According to Ignacio, GetAgent was a natural step for Bitget, as it incorporates artificial intelligence as a trading assistant.
“GetAgent is an AI assistant. So you can ask, ‘Is it a good time to enter the market?’ or ‘Can you tell me the situation with this blockchain?’ And you can also ask it to trade. If you’re a beginner, it takes the friction out because you can ask, ‘Is this a good time to enter Bitcoin?’ It’s not going to tell you ‘yes, enter’ or ‘no, don’t.’ It’s going to say, ‘Here are the indicators — based on these indicators, it could be a good time to jump in.’ And then you can ask it to make the buy for you.”
For advanced traders, GetAgent helped in trade analysis and validation.
In addition to trading, GetAgent also serves as a knowledge base, collecting real-time information from multiple channels, including social media, real-time price data, and news.
“So I think it’s essential to have a tool that helps you clarify things. For beginners, it enables you to gain a better understanding. For advanced users, it allows you to make a more educated decision.”
Bitget CMO Ignacio Aguirre Franco and Cryptopolitan’s Rohan Maintaining brand identity
With most of the crypto exchanges offering similar products, we wanted to know how Bitget managed to stand out.
Ignacio discussed attention as a scarce resource in exchanges; therefore, there was a need to be different.
“We differentiate by bringing the best experience we can.”
Bitget pioneered copy trading, which has over 200,000 elite traders and is also the first exchange to become a universal exchange. Staying ahead of the pack was crucial.
He also emphasized the importance of improved communication and fostering trust with their clients.
When it came to working with key opinion leaders, Ignacio said that they only collaborated with individuals who shared the company’s values.
“For us, the most important part is to stay honest and stay true. So we work with people who align with our culture.”
Looking ahead
We asked Ignacio about the most significant opportunities for crypto exchanges in the next 2 to 3 years.
Ignacio identified massive adoption and RWAs as significant opportunities for crypto exchanges in the coming years.
As a universal exchange, Bitget would become a platform, not only for crypto, but also for traditional financial assets and RWAs.
“When it’s tokenized — like tokenized stocks — the beauty is you don’t even have to buy the whole thing; you can opt for fractional buying. And it’s also available all day. Because stock trading in the U.S., for example, is Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 4:00. We don’t want you to trade on their time — we want you to trade on yours.”
He also observed that adoption will increase among the younger generation, digital natives who will interact with these assets as their first financial products.
“I see people who may never have a bank account, because now you can have a debit card linked to your crypto. So I see a huge opportunity of not just seeing it as a crypto exchange, but as their financial product.”
Ignacio closed off by telling us about how much they value their users.
“We always listen to and take feedback from customers about what they like or what they don’t like. For us, it’s about delivering the best experience on a platform with all the necessary assets. That’s the reason why we’re going to grow.”
English (US)