A practical guide for founders who need liquidity, exchange readiness, ecosystem partnerships, or GTM support without wasting weeks on cold DMs and unverified vendors.
Quick answer
Start with the outcome: liquidity support, exchange readiness, ecosystem partnerships, user acquisition, or strategic BD.
Shortlist providers by category fit, public track record, client references, jurisdiction, and responsiveness.
Avoid choosing only by logo wall. Ask for scope, reporting cadence, fee structure, and what success looks like in the first 30 days.
Market maker or BD agency
Market makers are hired to support liquidity, spreads, execution quality, exchange readiness, and token market health. A strong market maker can explain inventory, risk limits, reporting, venue coverage, and launch assumptions without hiding behind vague “liquidity support” language.
BD agencies are hired to create qualified conversations: ecosystem partnerships, integrations, exchange conversations, grants, distribution, or enterprise introductions. A strong BD agency can show who they reach, how they qualify, and what kind of meetings they can realistically create.
Verification
Crypto provider discovery is noisy because anyone can claim to have exchange relationships, liquidity access, or a private network. The first filter should be entity reality: company website, legal entity, principal identity, client references, and a clear operating model.
The second filter is fit. A market maker that works for large-cap CEX listings may not be right for a new DeFi orderbook. A BD agency strong in Asia may not be right for a European institutional push. Verification tells you they exist; fit tells you whether they should be in the room.
Shortlisting
For most crypto projects, three qualified providers is better than thirty search results. Each candidate should have a reason to be there: category fit, matching stage, region, relevant track record, or a specific distribution edge.
This is where The Signal is designed to help. Founders can browse category pages, request an intro from a partner profile, or post a public marketplace request so relevant providers can express interest.
Decision checklist
Before you accept a market maker or BD agency intro, ask what they will do in week one, what data they need from you, what they report weekly, and what would make them decline the mandate. Good providers are specific about constraints.
For market makers, ask about venues, inventory, spreads, depth, reporting, launch assumptions, and risk boundaries. For BD agencies, ask about target lists, outreach channel, meeting quality, copy approval, warm network, and conflict management.
FAQ
Start with market-making category fit, then verify the company, principals, references, venue experience, and reporting model. The Signal lets founders browse market makers or post a structured brief for relevant providers.
Look for agencies with relevant ecosystem access, channel expertise, proof of meetings created, and a clear outreach workflow. The Signal profiles and marketplace requests help founders compare BD agencies by category and fit.
Usually yes, unless one provider has a proven operating model for both. Liquidity support and partnership development require different incentives, reporting, and expertise.
Include project stage, launch timeline, target venues or ecosystems, desired outcome, budget range, and any constraints such as region, chain, compliance, or token status.