Time for a makeover: Crypto needs a rebrand

Crypto has an image problem. Like any image problem, it can’t be patched with code, fixed by price action, or buried under more industry buzzwords. The answer lies in developing a clear and refined identity, more credible language, and a different way of presenting ourselves to the outside world.

Public and mainstream media perception remains negative towards the industry, and Bitcoin Obituaries continue to pile up. It is telling that to many people outside of crypt, the most commonly associated phrases of late seem to be ‘memecoin’ and ‘rug-pull.’

To fix this, the industry must let go of the persona it forged in its earliest years. It should reposition itself as what it is rapidly becoming: the digital assets industry. This is not wordplay. It is a necessary shift for a sector that wants mainstream trust.

Why “crypto” no longer works

Inside the industry, the word still evokes innovation, decentralization, and a mission to rebuild finance. Outside the industry, it mostly evokes feelings of suspicion and unseriousness.

The sad truth is that many people do not separate Bitcoin (BTC) from rug pulls or Ethereum (ETH) from failed exchanges and the ICO era. High-level internal debates around concepts like permissionless design and ‘layer-twos’ are mostly irrelevant to the average user. When they see the industry online, they see a mess of acronyms, meme coins, hacks, and collapses.

Language shapes categories. If we want blockchain infrastructure to be recognised as a durable pillar of major industries, it needs a name that supports that ambition.

‘Digital assets’ is not perfect, but it offers clarity. It signals underlying value and matches the vocabulary of regulators, banks, and institutional investors. Most importantly, it will help to draw a line between serious ventures and speculative noise.

This isn’t just a branding problem within the industry; it’s visible in the data.

A quick look at Google Trends tells the story. Public interest in artificial intelligence has surged past Bitcoin and broader crypto terms. Since late 2022, searches for “AI” have consistently outpaced “Bitcoin,” often by a wide margin.

The contrast is stark. AI has captured the imagination of both the public and the enterprise world, while crypto, by comparison, has struggled to escape its old reputation.

A branding problem rooted in leadership

Many projects still communicate as if their only audience lives in a Telegram chat. Design is rough or too informal, the tone is flippant, and the messaging is buried in jargon. Sadly, professionalism is often viewed with suspicion by some in the industry, as though polish equals being an outsider.

That approach belongs to a market era that has passed.

Builders need to act like founders of long-lived technology firms. That means serious visual identities, coherent public messaging, clear websites, investor-grade product updates, and consistent engagement with a broader audience.

It also means strategic intent. Traditional startups think in terms of positioning, customer acquisition, and brand equity. Too many crypto teams still behave like Twitter influencers. A bull market can mask that weakness, while a bear market often exposes it.

Maturity is no longer optional

Crypto’s early adopters always insist that the industry’s irrelevance is a feature and not a bug. Memes, slang, and in-jokes make the space lively, they say. Some of that energy should stay, but it needs to be controlled. 

Institutional capital, policymakers, and mainstream users will not engage with a sector that is run by cartoon avatars. The value of the industry must be presented in a way outsiders can understand and trust.

That includes how teams speak, how they dress, how they structure a roadmap, how they report milestones, and how they meet external stakeholders. If a sophisticated investor cannot tell what a project does from its homepage, or if the latest public update is an obscure meme, the project has a communications problem. In markets, perception often becomes reality fast.

Stop marketing for the bull

Another credibility issue stems from how the industry shifts its voice with market cycles. During bull runs, it markets itself as a movement. During bear cycles, it markets itself as a technology. Sustainable adoption demands one voice in both climates.

Projects must stop talking as if they are waiting for the next rally. Flashy token sales, sprawling roadmaps, and marketing budgets that outrun delivery all signal short-term thinking, which scares away anyone without a high risk appetite. 

Companies that expect to be here a decade from now should behave accordingly. That stance should be visible in how they hire, spend, and plan. Edge is welcome, but edge needs credibility beside it. Without credibility, promising ideas will be dismissed or repackaged by better-presented competitors.

A new narrative

I have worked in communications for more than a decade, first in politics and corporate campaigns, now in digital assets. When a sector fails to own its story, others define it: journalists, regulators, critics, or internal bad actors.

The lesson is simple. Credibility is not a marketing add-on. It begins at the core.

That is what this rebrand is about. Not abandoning crypto, but making it intelligible. The story should be of infrastructure, not volatility; of potential, not chaos; of long-term transformation, not exit pumps.

The word crypto will not disappear, but it should stop framing our public conversation. We are building an industry. It is time to act like one.