Crypto Goes Mainstream: Malaysia’s Streets Light Up with Digital Billboards

Key Takeaways

• Brought crypto to life by connecting with Malaysians in everyday places, making it feel familiar and approachable.
• Targeted diverse groups cleverly using data and real-time billboards across eight busy city spots.
• Proved DOOH’s power to build trust, spark curiosity, and make crypto part of the mainstream conversation.

Have you ever glanced up at a digital billboard and found yourself actually thinking about what you saw? Not every day, right? But imagine this: a crypto brand decided to shake things up. Instead of only living online, they brought their message out into the real world, onto the billboards you pass on your way to work, at the grocery store, or while out with friends. Their goal wasn’t just to sell, but to help people see that crypto can be a normal part of life. Using digital billboards, they invited everyone to look, wonder, and talk, even if it was just for a moment. This is how they made something new feel familiar, one street at a time.

Situation

Crypto in Malaysia: Momentum That Can’t Be Ignored

The crypto scene in Malaysia isn’t just a trend, it’s a movement. The national crypto market cap hit US$484 million in 2025, up nearly 10% from the year before. With initiatives like the Digital Asset Innovation Hub and Malaysia’s well-defined regulatory framework that fosters investor confidence and market security, the country is staking its claim as Southeast Asia’s next blockchain hub. On the global stage, cryptocurrency continues to break records, with total market value surpassing US$4.27 trillion this October, showing that digital assets have firmly entered mainstream finance.

Crypto penetration in Asia-Pacific is still in the single to low double digits, showing that most people in the region have yet to fully explore digital assets. Globally, around 6.8% of the population owns cryptocurrency as of 2024, while Asia-Pacific countries continue to see steady but gradual growth. According to Chainalysis, the region’s crypto transaction value rose from about US$81 billion in mid-2022 to US$244 billion by late-2024, showing growing activity but also highlighting the need for wider public understanding and trust.

To help more people understand and accept crypto, brands need to use mass-reach media that build both awareness and credibility. Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising offers that advantage; it reaches large audiences in public places and helps make new concepts feel familiar and trustworthy. Moving Walls’ audience data makes these campaigns even more effective by helping crypto brands show the right messages to the right people, in the right locations, and at the right time.

Overcoming Barriers: Building Trust and Relevance in Crypto Marketing

Crypto brands face challenges bigger than just price volatility, they must overcome issues around credibility and trust. In a world flooded with generic online ads, there was a clear need to step off the screen and into public spaces where Malaysians actually gather. The goal was simple but powerful: make something unfamiliar feel trustworthy by being present where people live their daily lives.

The campaign aimed to:

• Reach Malaysians from all walks of life, not only the digitally obsessed.
• Bring crypto down to earth by making it part of everyday conversations.
• Do it all in a way that feels credible, timely, and relevant.

Key Challenges

• Credibility was a major challenge, as many remain cautious about digital assets, making trust-building through DOOH essential.
• Expanding reach beyond tech-savvy young professionals to include everyday commuters and shoppers was necessary but difficult.
• Compliance with Malaysia’s strict DOOH regulations required culturally sensitive and locally relevant content to ensure acceptance.

Solution

Reimagining Connection-Meet the People Where They Are

The brand partnered with Moving Walls to launch a bold, five-week campaign across eight high-traffic city sites. Each programmatic billboard wasn’t just a display—it was a real-time conversation, shaped by context and movement on the ground.

Audience Segmentation and Smart Placement

• Focused on key audience segments: 29.28% mid-income earners, 22.92% young families, and 21.8% food lovers, expanding the crypto conversation.
• Ads were strategically placed across 8 key high-traffic urban sites to maximize visibility.
• The campaign reached beyond tech enthusiasts, connecting with mid-income earners, young families, and food lovers.

Data-Driven Execution

• Adapted campaign messages in real time to match location and time of day, keeping content relevant and fresh.
• Used smart scheduling and programmatic technology to deliver the right message at the right moment, capturing attention effectively.
• Leveraged data insights to continually optimize placements and creative, ensuring maximum audience engagement.

Outcomes

• The campaign reached over 930,000 unique individuals, making sure the message went beyond just online circles.
• A total of 107,572 billable adplays showed the campaign maintained strong and steady presence at key locations.
• 7,181,723 total impressions combined volume with high-frequency exposure.
• Majority male (58.91%), but significant female (41.09%) engagement, reflecting crypto’s growing mainstream reach among all demographics.
• Diverse segments reached: Not just techies, but mid-income, young families, food lovers, and routine commuters.

Most importantly, the campaign validated DOOH as more than just a visibility channel. It showed its power for behaviour change, turning “maybe” into “what is that?” and, finally, “let’s find out more.”

Conclusion

This campaign didn’t just promote a brand. It brought the abstract world of crypto into everyday life, making it accessible, relatable, and part of the national conversation.

Key lessons for crypto and fintech brands launching DOOH in Malaysia:

• Respect context: Tie campaigns to daily routines and local relevance.
• Use real-time data: Make creative rotations dynamic, not static.
• Think beyond obvious audiences: Everybody is a potential crypto user today.
• Embrace the rules: Cultural nuance = campaign stickiness.

Programmatic DOOH doesn’t just deliver impressions, it creates moments that stick. If your brand is ready to move from curiosity to conversation, from digital hype to daily habit, maybe it’s time to take your message to the streets. Get in touch with Moving Walls and let’s make your next campaign impossible to ignore.