The Progressive Launch Strategy in crypto incentives: lessons from 100+ programs

As a contributor to Fuul, an incentives distribution protocol, I've already seen over 100 projects launch and optimize incentive programs. While they all set to incentivize different user actions (think staking, trading, providing liquidity, etc), there's one pattern I consistently see: projects that announce everything at once often miss out on sustained engagement opportunities. Let me share what I've learned about launching incentives programs.

Why I Advocate for Progressive Launch

I always tell projects: resist the urge to launch and announce everything at once.

Yes, I can be more specific

If you're looking to pay out points or tokens for users whoa) LP into your Uni v3 pool,b) Refer others to do so,c) Hold on to your token,d) etcYou don't need to launch and announce your incentives program sharing all of these incentivized actions, instead, you could announce your program just with the LPing incentive.

Through the experiences of protocols like dYdX, Sushi, and Vertex, among others, I've seen firsthand how a strategic, phased rollout creates multiple engagement touchpoints and helps users better digest each program component. See an example below of sushi adding referral incentives:

You want to build MOMENTUM, you want to keep going back and announcing to your users new incentives, you want to have more chances for them to read and learn about your program - announcement threads on X age fast.

Here's My Core Framework

1. Start With Core Actions

I advise teams to begin with their most fundamental needs. If you're a DEX, start by incentivizing liquidity in your main pairs. If you're a lending protocol, focus first on deposit incentives. I've seen this focused approach consistently drive better initial adoption.

2. Weekly Cadence is Key

One of my strongest recommendations is using weekly reward distributions as communication anchors. I've observed that teams who maintain this cadence see much better community engagement. Each week becomes a natural opportunity to share results and build anticipation.

3. Strategic Feature Rollouts

Here's how I typically structure programs:

• Week 1: Basic incentives for core actions
• Week 2: Introduce referral mechanics
• Week 3: Announce protocol integrations / partners
• Week 4: Launch cross-protocol incentives

I've found this gradual expansion keeps communities engaged and gives each feature its moment to shine.

And you can call these whatever you want, some might call these epochs, seasons, you name it

4. Partnership Amplification

One of my favorite strategies comes from working with cross-protocol incentives. Recently, I posted about a protocol using Fuul that integrated with 15+ DeFi platforms. Instead of announcing all at once, they spaced out each integration, turning each into its own marketing moment. The result? Each partner amplified the message, creating a compound marketing effect.

The Bottom Line

Based on hundreds of program launches, here's what I recommend:

• Build your feature pipeline but stay flexible
• Coordinate launches with partner protocols
• Use analytics to guide your next moves
• Keep community communication consistent
• Always have upcoming features in your pocket

As an incentives nerd, I can confidently say: it's not just about the rewards—it's about creating sustained engagement and value. A progressive launch strategy consistently delivers better results than big-bang launches.

The most successful programs I've seen aren't just well-designed—they're well-timed and strategically rolled out. This approach keeps communities engaged, partners aligned, and creates multiple opportunities for organic growth.