Crypto’s real barrier: Why no one gets it
And how better communication can save us
If you can’t be understood, you can’t be trusted.
The peacock fans its feathers. The firefly pulses with coded light. The wolf howls to signal its tribe.
In nature, survival depends not just on strength, but on signal. Not just on presence, but on meaning.
Crypto, for all its brilliance and innovation, still struggles with this. It’s loud. It’s fast. It’s everywhere.
But it’s often not understood.
Because while crypto has built technology that could change the world, it has yet to brand itself in a way the world can follow.
For non-members, you can read the full story here.
We don’t have a tech problem. We have a branding problem.And by branding, I don’t mean logos or taglines.
I mean identity. Purpose. Narrative.
I mean communication that resonates, not just informs.
I mean the feeling someone gets when they first hear about your project — and whether that feeling invites them in or shuts them out.
Crypto explains itself through whitepapers and acronyms.
But it rarely expresses what it stands for in terms the average person can feel.
And when people don’t feel something, they don’t remember it.
When they don’t remember it, they don’t trust it.
And when they don’t trust it, they don’t adopt it.
In the best brands, communication isn’t an afterthought. It’s the delivery system for trust.
Apple didn’t win on specs. It won on simplicity and design.
Nike didn’t sell shoes. It sold ambition.
Even religions, the oldest coordination tools in history, succeeded because they built strong stories and clear symbols.
Crypto doesn’t need to invent this model. It just needs to respect it.
Stop leading with product architecture. Start leading with what the product helps people become.
We don’t need to become Web2. But we can learn from it.Web2 brands knew storytelling builds scaffolding for belief.
They made it feel easy to say “yes.”
Just look at PayPal.
It treats crypto as fintech.
Simple. Familiar. Spendable.
If PayPal can reframe crypto as digital money, so can we.
Words matter.
“Smart contracts” could become programmable finance.
“Blockchain”? Maybe just real-time settlement.
Same tech.
Different tone.
New trust.
OKX dropped the “E” — and with it, the baggage of being just an exchange.
Coinbase went even further.
They’ve leaned heavily into real-world brand-building:
A bouncing QR code during the Super Bowl.
TVCs like the “Crypto is for” series showing everyday use cases.
Even full-on advocacy ads positioning Bitcoin as the next chapter in economic freedom.
They’re not just designing better UX.
They’re shaping public perception at scale.
These aren’t surface moves.
They’re signs that crypto is learning to speak in ways the mainstream understands — and remembers.
Crypto’s strength has always been its community.
But community alone doesn’t equal meaning.
A strong brand gives a community identity. It gives it a flag to wave, a voice to echo, a story to grow inside.
It’s not top-down. It’s magnetic.
You don’t build loyalty by shouting into Discord.
You build it by showing people what they belong to — and why it matters.
Crypto must do the same.
Because branding isn’t a wrapper for your product. It’s the invitation to believe in it.
A clear, resonant brand can build trust at scale.
And trust is the ultimate currency, on-chain or off.
I explore this topic further in another story, where I share my thoughts on how brands can communicate better.
References
AdAge: https://adage.com/creativity/work/coinbases-new-ads-show-everyday-use-cases-cryptocurrency/2592611/
CCN: https://www.ccn.com/opinion/crypto/crypto-long-overdue-rebrand/
CMO Intern: https://www.cmointern.com/2025/04/web3-brand-positioning-essential.html?m=1
Footprint Analytics: https://medium.com/@footprintofficial/crypto-branding-vs-web2-how-blockchain-brands-are-built-b0048e524134
Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/blog/web3-marketing
Crypto’s real barrier: Why no one gets it was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.