Original author: Ignas, DeFi Research
Original translation: Nicky, Foresight News
Surprisingly, cryptocurrencies have had little impact on the daily lives of ordinary people.
Unless people actively engage in the field of cryptocurrency, they can easily live a life with almost zero contact with the crypto world.
But the problem is that when the bottom line of zero contact is broken, the related exposure is almost always negative.
You are watching Netflixs Squidward, and suddenly a celebrity who frequently checks the crypto market appears on the screen. He even asks others to return their phones so as not to miss any price fluctuations. Seeing this, I cant help but think of some real-life cases.
When you browse the news, you often see the following (almost all negative) headlines:
North Korea steals $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency in largest financial heist in history
A farce: Trumps new meme coin sparks outrage in crypto community
British woman was defrauded of Bitcoin worth £154,000, and the man involved was prosecuted
Crypto traders suicide livestream shocked the internet
Scams, fraudsters, ups and downs, cryptocurrencies have received a lot of negative news and their public image is in a mess. Objectively speaking, even those of us who work in crypto know that this industry is indeed full of problems.
But we also know why we stick to it: to achieve financial freedom while subverting the old financial system. Yes, the label of getting rich quickly is the reason why we are often criticized, but this is also an undeniable fact. After all, investing for profit is human instinct.
However, cryptocurrency is still one of the few industries that allows people to accumulate wealth from scratch. In the current economic environment, it has become extremely difficult to slowly get rich relying on a medium salary. Gen Z has quietly realized this and is withdrawing from the job market en masse.
If only they knew the possibilities that cryptocurrencies could bring to their lives…
But I think cryptocurrencies do a terrible job of highlighting their mission, such as why cryptocurrencies are needed and why getting rich through cryptocurrencies is not evil. Here is a top comment from the Financial Times that perfectly summarizes the skeptics point of view:
If you look at Reddit, you’ll know how anti-cryptocurrency the average person is, but I really wish we saw more positive coverage of cryptocurrencies in the mainstream media.
Objectively speaking, the Financial Times has always been skeptical about cryptocurrencies, but the quality of Bloombergs reporting has improved significantly in recent years and often provides profound insights.
Interestingly, in a seemingly unremarkable article titled The Seven Most Influential People in Personal Finance in the United States, Bloomberg unexpectedly recommended a big V in the field of cryptocurrency.
This person is mainly focused on memecoins and promotes related content in Telegram groups all day. I am relieved that Bloomberg is willing to cover cryptocurrencies, but I am still a little surprised to see that they actually recommended him!
People in the picture: @cryptomasun
Yes, people really hate us.
Since this is still a “research” blog, here are some authoritative survey data on cryptocurrency market sentiment:
Multiple surveys have shown that non-investors generally view cryptocurrencies as high-risk speculative tools rather than legitimate financial products.
In the UK, 64% of respondents who are aware of cryptocurrencies believe that investing in cryptocurrencies is essentially gambling.
Research on Cryptocurrency Investment Attitudes
A 2024 Pew Research Center survey showed that 75% of Americans do not trust its reliability or security, with the main reasons being the emergence of scams and the volatile market environment.
Edelmans 2023 global survey report reveals a crueler reality: cryptocurrencies are distrusted by all population groups, and the most fatal thing is that their trust is even lower than that of the banking system. Banks are precisely the traditional financial symbols that cryptocurrencies are trying to subvert.
Granted, the FTX crash in 2023 severely damaged the credibility of cryptocurrencies, but the crazy hype of memecoins in 2024 didn’t make the situation any better.
Consensys publishes an industry research report every year. Its 2024 annual research report reveals a cruel reality: the narrative of cryptocurrency as the currency of the future is declining. When the heat of negative public opinion such as speculation, fraud, phishing attacks, criminal money laundering is no less than the original core value proposition of traditional financial alternatives, the foundation of the industry has been shaken.
The message is clear: outside the crypto community, there is widespread skepticism that digital assets can be considered secure financial instruments.
While writing this article, I came across this tweet that perfectly sums up public sentiment towards crypto:
Why Crypto Culture Matters
Our public image may seem irrelevant because ordinary people just dont understand. They are afraid of escaping the competition of the 9-to-5 workplace, and are influenced by the demonization of cryptocurrency by the mainstream media.
But it is worth noting that public perception has quietly changed, and more people are willing to try cryptocurrencies than in the past. I believe this shift will attract millions of new members to join our community.
I think we can and should do better. We need to convince the world of the vision and mission of cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency envisions a decentralized financial system where individuals have full control over their assets without the involvement of intermediaries such as banks or governments. Its goal is to create a borderless, censorship-resistant, trust-minimized ecosystem where anyone can trade, store value, and build an economic system without relying on centralized institutions.
Our vision is being drowned out by the noise of memecoins and speculation.
Worse still, the public no longer sees cryptocurrencies as a revolutionary way to improve the financial system. As one comment below points out: “The Bitcoin ecosystem has become what you all hate.” Wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a few, extracting wealth from the financially distressed.
More importantly, due to the Trump administration’s public support, cryptocurrencies are now forcibly associated with the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, which is unpopular outside its supporters. Unsurprisingly, the EU sees Trump’s support for cryptocurrencies as a potential threat to the eurozone’s monetary sovereignty.
Don’t get me wrong, the previous US administration’s deregulation did inject optimism into the market. But today the cryptocurrency industry is playing a dangerous tightrope game with the Trump administration.
How to change the publics view of cryptocurrency? Make it more open and fair
Crypto’s reputation will not repair itself. If we want to achieve mainstream adoption, we need to reshape the narrative around crypto.
It’s easier said than done, but change must start from within: even the “natives” in the cryptocurrency space have lost faith in crypto.
I think we need to focus on three main points first:
1. Revitalize the glory of cryptocurrency
In previous cycles, newcomers to the cryptocurrency space were able to make money. However, the malicious exploitation of memecoins by small groups, coupled with the low circulation and high FDV (fully diluted value) token issuance supported by VC investment institutions, has left new entrants with no chance of profit.
In this cycle, we managed to resist the issuance of low circulation and high FDV tokens, but fell into the trap of the memecoin conspiracy group.
Projects like Legion and Echo have made progress by adopting fairer funding models, but they are still too exclusive. We need to create and promote projects that create value rather than destroy it, so that early participants can benefit together.
Kyle proposed a more detailed plan based on first principles on how to recover stronger from this market dislocation.
But due to extreme short-termism, a culture of maximal predation, and people lacking integrity, we have fallen into a vicious cycle, a collective self-harm, where everyone thinks it’s a good idea to throw money at a random scam project, thinking “I’ll get out before he runs away,” and this perpetuates a state of financial nihilism.
We need self-regulation of bad actors. The industry must do more to expose scams and hold influencers who run misleading promotions accountable. ZachXBT has done this before, but the scale of the criminal behavior got so out of hand that even he ended up selling the memecoins that were sent to him.
I need to do better in this regard myself and distance myself from those activities that extract value. People need to actually make money while promoting the cryptocurrency industry.
Today, many new entrants end up in financial failure or even worse.
2. Shift the narrative focus from speculative to practical
Cryptocurrency isn’t just for gambling, it can have real-world benefits.
We need to focus on use cases like remittances, financial inclusion, and transparent governance, not just memecoin culture.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is growing, new social networks are emerging, and projects like Lens, Abstract, and Farcaster have innovative profit models. In addition, the expansion of stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA) helps to protect and grow wealth, rather than destroy it.
The top KOLs on platform X may not care about this, but the platform only accounts for a small part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
I’m glad that Bitcoin is doing OK as “digital gold”, but Ethereum and Solana are being seen as speculative chains rather than cornerstone platforms for an open digital economy.
If we promote memecoins as cryptocurrency culture, I bet Pudgy Penguins will be a great representation of Web3 output to Web2 when compared to memecoin inputs to Web2 (DOGE, PEPE, etc.).
3. Reshaping the narrative of Bitcoin and Ethereum
Cryptocurrency is not a single unified culture, but rather contains multiple subcultures, the most famous of which are Bitcoin culture and Ethereum culture.
I am irritated by the idea that Bitcoin has become everything it was meant to destroy. Only those who have their Bitcoin in cold storage can truly appreciate the peace of mind that comes with self-custody and being outside the existing financial system.
ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) are good for our asset size, but they are a double-edged sword because people who buy ETFs don’t get the same sense of freedom that comes with self-custody.
I also hope that Bitcoin will find a way to distance itself from the MAGA movement. Bitcoin is global and should remain neutral.
This is why I like Ethereum. A lot of people have criticized the Ethereum Foundation for not getting close to Team Trump, but in the long run, this will prove to be a winning strategy.
As privacy and democracy gradually disintegrate, as AI blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy, and as digital ownership is no longer guaranteed, Ethereum provides the last digital safe haven.
The essential characteristics of Ethereum are as clear as a mirror:
Trusted and neutral technical architecture
Apolitical governance model
Decentralized value network
Global Participation Ecosystem
This operating system, which has been ignored by people outside the crypto world, conveys this concept to the outside world and creates products that truly embody the values of Ethereum.
Optimistic future
Although the total market value of cryptocurrencies has exceeded the $2.7 trillion mark today, have we really made money?
The cryptocurrency industry has evolved since Vitalik published this article in 2017, and not all activity is speculation and negative behavior.
As I mentioned in my previous tweet, 1.4 billion people worldwide do not have a bank account. Even in the United States, this proportion reaches 4.5%. The Federal Reserves own research found that high-income people view cryptocurrency as an investment tool, while low-income people use it more for trading. Among those who use cryptocurrency for trading, 60% have an annual income of less than $50,000, and 13% do not even have a bank account.
Venezuela ranks 40th in the 2023 Chainalysis Crypto Adoption Index. Stablecoins become a lifeline against hyperinflation. Similar to Argentina, as the national currency plummeted, stablecoin purchases soared, a sign of widespread cryptocurrency adoption.
Cryptocurrencies are not only being used to fight inflation, but also to fight oppressive regimes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, cryptocurrencies were used to deliver aid to doctors and nurses in Venezuela without interference from a corrupt regime. Ukraine raised $225 million in donations through cryptocurrencies when the war broke out.
The total locked value (TVL) in DeFi has reached $88 billion. DEX is now challenging CEX, and projects such as Maker are putting real-world assets (RWAs) on-chain.
And non-speculative decentralized social applications are also gradually being used by more people. Farcaster and Polymarket have thousands of users every day, and the number of users is still growing. We now have truly usable decentralized applications (dApps).
But all of this progress seems to have been ignored in Timeline X, and we have done a terrible job of communicating this mission.
Nonetheless, I believe that this market sell-off that is happening as I write these words will help the cryptocurrency industry to heal itself and development will continue. We first need to clean up the mess we have made and focus on spreading the positive aspects of cryptocurrency.
