Ex-Cardano CMO Maverick Adam Bates Jumps Ship to XION as Chief Marketing Officer
New York City, United States, May 12th, 2025, Chainwire
Crypto’s heavy hitter who catapulted Cardano to a top 10 project will ignite XION’s quest to make Web3 invisible and mainstream
XION, the trailblazing blockchain rewriting the rules to make Web3 mainstream, just revealed Adam Bates as its Chief Marketing Officer. Renowned for his game-changing run as CMO at Input Output (IOHK) behind Cardano’s 2020-2022 glory days, Bates is ready to shake things up for the chain already steeped in stunts and lore.
Tasked with supercharging XION’s global hype machine, Bates will champion the mission to bring Web3 to the masses by making crypto vanish into the background. His playbook? Turn XION’s vision into a cultural juggernaut, building on its early wins with giants like Uber, BMW, Lego and Amazon, who’ve already tapped the XION platform to unlock bold new ways to grow.
“Blockchain’s been stuck in the nerd zone for a decade, tripping over its own techy traps,” Bates fired off. “XION’s the spark I’ve been hunting for. I didn’t work like crazy to make Cardano a global name to just churn out another chain. XION’s the real deal, and a bridge to supercharge blockchain’s benefits into everyone’s daily lives, morphing it from geek speak to the unseen backbone of our digital lives.”
There is no arguing with Bates’ origin story. At Cardano, he orchestrated the biggest hybrid marketing event ever, won a Fast Company “Top 10 Most Innovative Companies” nod, and catapulted the brand past Nestlé, BMW and Bitcoin to rank in the top 30 worldwide for fan love.
“Adam’s a creative beast who gets it, inside and outside of this crazy industry,” said XION founder Anthony Anzalone who also goes by Burnt Banksy. “We’re not here to play by the old rules. That’s the company’s DNA since the very beginning with the Burnt Banksy. XION is built to flip the script, bridging Web2 and Web3, and Adam’s the guy to make it loud.”
Before crypto, Bates worked with global titans like Virgin Airlines, Barclays, Emirates, Lego, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Samsung. He was also a Director at BBDO’s London hub, syncing with 300+ offices worldwide.
With XION embracing regulatory reality and developing relationships with major Web2 players, it is poised to be the category leader in transforming blockchain’s appeal to global audiences.
About XION
XION’s the first walletless layer-one blockchain built to drag crypto into the mainstream through pure abstraction. With protocol-level innovations like abstracted accounts, signatures, fees, and interoperability, XION hands developers the keys to craft and scale products that feel consumer-ready from day one. Backed by $36M+ from heavyweights like Animoca, Circle Ventures, Multicoin, Draper Dragon, and others, XION’s not messing around.