Why Marketing Crypto Is So Difficult: Crypto Is Facing an Identity Crisis

Author: BCMO, Crypto Researcher; Compiler: 0xjs@Golden Finance

A lot of this has to do with the name itself—"crypto"—but we'll get back to that in a minute. It's no secret that marketing anything in the crypto space feels like swimming upstream, but why? It's not just technical jargon or the occasional headlines about hacks and scams. If you're not an NFT, a Meme coin, or the latest hype project, good luck getting noticed. As for mass adoption—which, in my opinion, is the ultimate goal—we can almost forget about it now.

Marketing crypto is a bit like trying to explain the internet in 1995. Everyone knew it was supposed to change the world, but no one could say exactly how or when. That's a big part of the challenge: cryptocurrency means a lot of things to a lot of people. It's like a chaotic buffet of products and ideas. So where do we start?

1. The past: representing a new beginning

Not long ago, it seemed like everyone was getting into crypto with a mixture of curiosity and excitement. The early crowds weren’t just tech enthusiasts, they were also people who were disillusioned with the legacy system and tired of playing by outdated financial rules. Cryptocurrency represented a fresh start, a way to take control of their financial future without relying on big banks or traditional institutions. Not to mention, it was a way to express the inner rebel in all of us. Of course, the timing helped, too. With low interest rates, and some extra cash from stimulus checks, people had a little breathing room to try out this new decentralized world.

Now: The Excitement Fades

Fast forward to today, and things look different. The market crash, failed projects, and the negative press that followed have left a lot of people (rightfully) frustrated, and the public skeptical at best. The excitement has faded. Now, when you try to make a pitch in this space, you’re dealing with a more skeptical, more fractured audience.

Now: The Excitement Fades

Fast forward to today, and things look different. The market crash, failed projects, and the negative press that followed have left a lot of people (rightfully) frustrated, and the public skeptical at best. The excitement has faded. Now, when you try to make a pitch in this space, you’re dealing with a more skeptical, more fractured audience. The motivations that once drove people to join—financial freedom, decentralization, and even the idea of ​​building generational wealth—have become harder to tap into.

So how do you engage an audience that has become disillusioned, or worse, indifferent? That’s the first problem.

In the early days, platforms like Telegram, Discord, and Twitter were the lifeblood of cryptocurrency marketing. It was where communities gathered, where projects announced big moves, and where seemingly everyone participated in the discussion. But now? The social media landscape has become much more chaotic. Twitter (now oddly called X) is no longer the powerful coordination machine it once was. Like other platforms, it has been largely muted due to channel fatigue and the sheer volume of information.

Third, crypto is facing an identity crisis

So now you’re no longer just marketing to one big group of people. You’re dealing with multiple, fragmented groups, each with their own way of communicating and preferred platforms. It’s like trying to throw a party but half the guests are on Zoom, some are texting, and others are only responding to voice memos. Good luck getting everyone on board.

Let’s face it — crypto is having an identity crisis. Initially, it was about decentralization and a rebellion against traditional finance. Then along came DeFi, NFTs, and meme coins, each with their own following. Now? Crypto is everything and nothing.

It’s DeFi. It’s Web3. It’s smart contracts. It’s digital collectibles. It’s DAOs. And so much more. So many applications have led to too many competing narratives and priorities. One group wants to focus on decentralized finance, another wants to focus on consumer applications, and another wants to create the next big NFT marketplace.

So, when you try to market, what story do you tell? What do you highlight? The truth is, there’s no single narrative that works for the entire space. You can’t just say “crypto is the future” and expect people to understand what the future looks like. It’s confusing, and confused audiences rarely convert into customers or users.

One thing that has hurt cryptocurrency marketing over the years is the tendency to focus too much on the technology itself. I mean, don’t get me wrong — the technology is impressive. Smart contracts, decentralized governance, layer 2 scaling schemes, ZK-rollups — it’s all cool, but what about the average person? They don’t care. They don’t want to know how the sausage is made; they just want to know why it’s better than what they’re used to.

Fourth, Crypto Lacks a Unified Vision

This is where the real marketing challenge lies. You shouldn’t sell the technology, you should sell the vision. What exactly can cryptocurrency do for people? Can it free people from the constraints of traditional banks? Can it spark a new wave of digital ownership? Can it provide a truly decentralized future where people have more control over their data and assets?

The projects that win in marketing aren’t the ones that can spout the latest buzzwords and acronyms. But the projects that paint a convincing vision. But here's the tricky part: even the vision has become fragmented. Are we building a decentralized financial system, or are we creating the next iteration of the Internet? Both? Neither? The lack of a unified vision makes marketing more difficult.

V. Crypto Needs a Good Reputation, Community Support, and Real-World Use Cases

Now we get back to the issue of trust. Like it or not, cryptocurrencies have some reputation issues. Scams, fraud, and regulatory crackdowns have all taken their toll. Even if a project is legitimate, it's hard to convince the public that it's not another one-hit operation. It's always difficult to market something with this kind of stigma.

How to gain trust in an industry known for volatility and risk? This is another marketing nightmare. You can't just slap the word "decentralized" on something and expect people to trust it. You need a good reputation, community support, and real-world use cases.

In the early days, cryptocurrency marketing was all about hype. ICOs promised to revolutionize the world and everyone would become millionaires. But the bubble burst, and now people are wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. Authenticity is at the heart of the game. People want to know what your project can actually offer, not just what it aspires to be.

The problem is, it's hard to find a balance. Too much hype and you'll be seen as a scam. Too much caution and you'll be ignored. Marketing in this space means finding a balance between excitement and credibility.

Back to Crypto Itself

Now, let's talk about the name - "crypto". To an important audience (not me, or anyone reading this), it sounds dark, mysterious, and even a little dangerous. The word itself carries baggage. It’s hard to market a technology that’s still viewed by the general public as niche and a little dubious. Sure, diehards love the name, but if the goal is mass adoption, we have a branding problem. Personally, I try to use the word “blockchain” instead of “crypto” whenever possible.

So, why is marketing crypto so difficult? There’s more than one reason. It’s a divided audience, a technology that’s hard to explain, competing visions, and a reputation problem that’s hard to shake off.

In such a complex space, the path forward for marketers isn’t an easy one, but focusing on authentic, vision-driven messaging is the first step to overcoming these obstacles.