LBank’s Muha: Culture, Inclusion Over Market Cycles

Muha, head of social, community and partnerships at LBank, spoke during a recent X Space about shifting the exchange’s growth focus from market-driven cycles to culture and inclusion. He cited two campaigns: Punky, which generated more than 10 million social impressions, and Nobody Sausage, which drove about 500,000 registrations and a 27% traffic spike on April 13.

He argued that past crypto growth often came from short-lived attention tied to token pumps and trending narratives. ‘For most of crypto and Web3 history, growth was kind of an accident,’ Muha added, noting many platforms benefited from users already inside the market who followed the next trend.

Muha warned that attention cycles have compressed, with some AI-related tokens peaking and fading within weeks and meme coin runs lasting days. He added that relying on external narratives makes firms dependent on chance: ‘If your entire growth model depends on a narrative you did not create and cannot control, you don’t have a growth model. You have pure luck.’

LBank has more than 20 million users and has operated for over a decade, which prompted the exchange to rethink growth tactics. Rather than waiting for a bull market or the next trend, the company focused on lowering the barrier between Web3 and mainstream users through culture and education.

Punky targeted crypto-native users and tested crypto-native culture on the platform. Muha described Punky as a ‘cultural artifact’ with a recognizable personality in Web3; the campaign produced more than 10 million impressions and drew users who already knew community language.

Nobody Sausage aimed at people outside crypto communities. Built around a widely known internet character with a large TikTok and Instagram audience, the campaign registered about 500,000 users and produced a 27% traffic spike on April 13. Muha noted the onboarding centered on the character rather than prize incentives.

On product changes, LBank plans to add real-time scrolling comments on trading charts to make trading more social. Muha noted younger users expect shared digital spaces with live commentary, and the exchange plans visible activity to signal presence.

Muha flagged a remaining challenge: converting newcomers into active, informed traders while still serving experienced users. ‘We know how to bring people in,’ Muha stated. ‘What we are still mapping is how to move them from curious to active trader.’ He added that inclusion will matter for broader crypto adoption in the next decade.