Breaking the Negative Perception of Cryptocurrency: How to See Its True Value

Here is the English translation of the text, with the specified terms retained and not translated: Surprisingly, the impact of cryptocurrencies on our lives outside the crypto community is so small. Unless you actively engage with cryptocurrencies, you can easily go about your daily life with almost no exposure to them. However, the problem is that when this "minimized crypto exposure" is conveyed to people, it almost always carries a negative connotation. You watch Netflix's "Squid Game", and a crypto influencer scammer appears. He can't stop checking the crypto prices and demands his phone back. I can totally relate to that :( When you browse the news, you'll see the following (almost always negative) headlines: - North Korea steals $1.5 billion, pulls off the biggest heist in history - "Ironic": Trump's new meme coin sparks outrage in the crypto world - Man charged, woman loses £154,000 in Bitcoin scam - Crypto trader commits suicide live on stream Scams, frauds, pump and dumps, you name it. The public image of cryptocurrencies is terrible. To be fair, even us crypto natives know that the space is rife with chaos. But we also know why we're here: to make big money while revolutionizing the outdated financial system. Yes, the get-rich-quick part is one of the reasons we're often disliked, but it's a truth I can't deny. Every investor in anything wants to make money. However, crypto is one of the few industries left where you can still accumulate wealth from scratch. In today's economic climate, slowly building wealth on a median salary is extremely challenging. The Gen Z is realizing this and (quietly) opting out of the job market. If they knew what crypto could bring to their lives... However, I think crypto does a poor job of emphasizing our mission, why we need crypto, and why getting rich through crypto isn't evil. Here's a top comment from the Financial Times summarizing the crypto skeptics' view: If you look at Reddit, you'll see that the general public hates crypto, but I hope to see more positive crypto imagery in mainstream media. To be fair, the Financial Times has always been skeptical of crypto, but Bloomberg's coverage has improved over time, providing a lot of valuable insights. Interestingly, there was an seemingly innocuous Bloomberg article "Meet the Top 7 Personal Finance Influencers Giving Money Advice on Instagram, TikTok" that featured a crypto influencer. He mainly focuses on meme coins and promotes his own meme coin Telegram group, so while I'm glad Bloomberg was willing to cover crypto, I was still surprised they featured him! Yes, people really hate us Since this is still a "research" blog, here are some notable research data on crypto sentiment. Many surveys show that non-investors view crypto as a risky speculation, not a legitimate financial tool. In the UK, 64% of respondents believe "investing in cryptocurrencies is basically gambling". Pew Research Center's 2024 survey found that 75% of Americans distrust the reliability or safety of crypto due to scams and market volatility. In Edelman's 2023 global survey, all demographic groups expressed distrust in crypto. The fatal blow is that crypto's trust level is even lower than the banks we're supposed to be disrupting. Of course, the FTX debacle in 2023 certainly damaged crypto's reputation, and meme coins this year haven't helped us either. Consensys' excellent annual reports show the decline of the "future of money" narrative around crypto. Speculation, scams and phishing attacks, crime and money laundering sentiments are just as prevalent as the "alternative to traditional finance" sentiment. The message is clear: outside the crypto community, there is widespread skepticism about whether digital assets can serve as a secure financial tool. As I was writing this blog, I saw a tweet that nicely summarized the public's view of crypto: Why Crypto Culture Matters Our public image may seem unimportant since the masses "can't understand" us. They're afraid of being rescued from the rat race, influenced by mainstream media's portrayal of crypto. Nevertheless, public perception is shifting, with more people willing to buy crypto than ever before. I believe the change in crypto awareness can attract millions of new community members. I believe we can and should do better. We need to make people believe in crypto's vision and mission. Crypto envisioned a decentralized financial system where individuals can fully control their own assets, free from intermediaries like banks or governments. It aims to create a borderless, uncensored, minimally trusted ecosystem where anyone can transact, store value, and build economic systems without relying on centralized authorities. Our vision is being drowned out by the noise of meme coins and speculation. Worse, the public no longer sees crypto as a revolutionary way to improve the financial system. As the post below mentions, "the Bitcoin ecosystem has become the same thing you despise." Wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of the few, extracting wealth from those in economic distress. Worse still, due to Trump's public support, people now associate crypto with the MAGA movement, which is unpopular outside its inner circles. Unsurprisingly, the EU views Trump's support for crypto as a threat to European monetary sovereignty.

Do not misunderstand me - the former US government's cessation of regulatory scrutiny is a positive development for the cryptocurrency industry. However, the cryptocurrency industry is walking a tightrope under the current Trump administration.

How to change the perception of cryptocurrencies to make them more open and fair

The reputation of cryptocurrencies will not repair itself. If we want mainstream adoption, we need to reshape the narrative.

Easier said than done, but it must start from within: even the crypto natives are losing faith in cryptocurrencies.

I believe we need to focus on three key points:

1. Make cryptocurrencies great again

In previous cycles, newcomers to cryptocurrencies were able to make money. However, the abuse and exploitation of low-liquidity, high-FDV meme coins backed by certain groups and VCs has left little room for newcomers to profit.

We have successfully resisted low-liquidity, high-FDV projects this cycle, but have still fallen into the meme coin group's trap.

Legion and Echo are making progress by adopting fairer financing models, but they are still too exclusive. We need to create and promote games that create value rather than destroy it, so that early entrants can all benefit.

Kyle has proposed a more detailed plan based on "first principles" to rise from the market chaos.

But due to extreme short-termism, maximum extractive culture, and dishonest people, we have descended into this eternal financial nihilism self-cannibalization cycle - where everyone thinks it's a good idea to keep rushing into random scam coins, thinking "I'll get out before they scam".

We need to self-regulate bad actors. The industry must do more to expose scams and hold influencers accountable for misleading promotions. ZachXBT has done this work, but the scale of criminality has spiraled out of control, to the point where he himself has ultimately discarded a meme coin gifted to him.

I also need to do better in this regard and distance myself from value-extractive activities. People need to actually make money while expanding the crypto market share.

Now, newcomers often suffer severe economic blows, if not worse.

2. Shift the narrative from speculation to utility

Cryptocurrencies are not just gambling - they provide real-world benefits.

We need to shift the focus to practical use cases like remittances, financial inclusion, and transparent governance, rather than meme coin culture.

DeFi is expanding, and emerging social networks are bringing innovative monetization models, like Lens, Abstract, and Farcaster. Additionally, the adoption of stablecoins and RWAs (real-world assets) is increasing, helping to preserve and grow wealth, rather than destroy it.

The KOLs on X platform may not care about this, but X crypto only represents a small part of the broader crypto culture.

I'm glad Bitcoin is performing well as "digital gold", but Ethereum and Solana are seen as speculative chains, rather than foundational platforms for an open digital economy.

If we take meme coins as the representative of crypto culture, I'd bet Pudgy Penguins will be the strongest Web3 export to Web2, rather than the meme coin imports (like Doge, Pepe, etc.) from Web2.

3. Reclaim the narratives of Bitcoin and Ethereum

Cryptocurrencies are not a unified culture; they contain multiple subcultures. The most prominent of these are Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The notion that "Bitcoin has become everything it was meant to destroy" troubles me greatly. Only those who hold Bitcoin in cold wallets can truly understand the peace of mind that self-custody and disintermediation bring.

ETFs benefit our wallets, but they are a double-edged sword, as ETF buyers cannot experience the freedom that self-custody provides.

I also hope Bitcoin can successfully distance itself from the MAGA movement. Bitcoin is global and should remain neutral.

This is why I like Ethereum. Many criticize the Ethereum Foundation for not cozying up to the Trump team, but in the long run, this will prove to be a successful strategy.

In a world where privacy and democracy are being eroded, where AI blurs the lines between reality and illusion, and digital asset ownership is not guaranteed, Ethereum provides a safe haven.

Ethereum unapologetically exhibits the following traits:

• Credible neutrality
• Non-political
• Decentralized
• Global

Those outside of crypto don't understand it, so we have a responsibility to spread this message and build products that can truly showcase Ethereum's value.

An optimistic future

Today, the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization has just reached $2.7 trillion. But do we deserve this achievement?

Since Vitalik's post in 2017, cryptocurrencies have evolved, and not all of it has been speculation and negative games.

As I wrote in my previous post, there are 1.4 billion people globally who are unbanked. Even in the US, this ratio reaches 4.5%. The Federal Reserve's research found that high-income individuals view cryptocurrencies as investment tools, while low-income individuals primarily use them for transactions. 60% of traders have annual incomes below $50,000, and 13% are unbanked.

Venezuela ranked 40th in the 2023 Chainalysis Crypto Adoption Index. Stablecoins have become a lifeline in the face of severe hyperinflation. Similar to Argentina, when their national currency plummets, stablecoin purchases surge - demonstrating the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies are not just a response to inflation; they are also used to resist oppressive regimes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, cryptocurrencies were used to deliver aid to doctors and nurses in Venezuela, bypassing the interference of the corrupt government. Ukraine raised $225 million in cryptocurrency donations when the war broke out.

The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi has reached $88 billion! Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are now challenging centralized exchanges (CEXs), and platforms like Maker are bringing real-world assets (RWAs) onto the blockchain.

Non-speculative, decentralized social applications are also growing rapidly. Farcaster and Polymarket have thousands of users daily, and the user numbers are still increasing. We now truly have usable dApps.

However, all of these advancements seem to be overlooked on the X platform's timeline, and we have done a poor job of spreading this mission.

Nevertheless, I believe that the current market downturn will help the crypto industry recover, and progress will continue. We first need to clean up our own mess and focus on promoting the positive aspects of cryptocurrencies.