Adoption
Crypto wins the vote in the 2024 US elections
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2 days agoon
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adminDisclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial.
The 2024 US election campaigns have been a masterclass in how to compel a large group of people to elect their country’s leaders. In a short time, we’ve seen sentiments shift after each candidate began their campaign trails and made promises to voters surrounding issues such as immigration, cost of living, and reproductive rights.
From spreading memes about migrants eating cats and dogs and the humorous “coconut tree” remark to the decisive role of lobbying regulators, the similarities between pushing political messaging and crypto narratives are difficult to ignore.
Crypto is no stranger to compelling messages. One of the most memorable phrases in crypto history, “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on the brink of second bailout for banks,” contained in Bitcoin’s (BTC) genesis block, is a reminder of the powerful messaging that has helped propel the industry forward. For crypto to win the “people’s vote” again, the industry can learn from several foundational communication principles we observed in this year’s elections.
Tapping into the psyche of the masses with memes
The use of memes in political messaging this election cycle has helped candidates engage the voter base and shift their perceptions.
In July, singer Charli XCX took to her almost 3.7 million followers on X to endorse Kamala Harris with a three-word X-post, “kamala IS brat.” Brat was an album launched by Charli XCX, with notable colors of neon lime green and black. The Harris campaign quickly adopted the theme into their campaign color scheme, resulting in the “Kamala is brat” meme exploding across the web and TikTok, introducing a new cultural reference that positively shaped discourse. This is particularly significant for young and new voters who are increasingly getting their news through social media, according to Pew Research.
Originating from evolutionary biology, memetics, the study of memes explores how ideas, behaviors, and cultural phenomena spread. The light-heartedness of the medium allows people to digest complex or unsettling political realities in a more approachable way, impacting voter attitudes at an emotional level.
Crypto has seen its successful application through memecoins like Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Dogwifhat (WIF), which leverage meme culture to build communities and hype. Similar to political memes spreading ideology, memecoins spread economic narratives through humor and social media engagement.
The overall industry needs to see a return to memes that captivate users broadly. Popular memes like ‘diamond hands,’ ‘WAGMI’ (we’re all gonna make it), and HODL (hold on for dear life) have in the past spread beliefs about crypto like wildfire. The industry needs to craft new memes and leverage new moments to maintain its relevance and resonate with broad audiences again.
The use of emotional and purpose-driven messaging
Political campaigns also provide examples of how emotionally resonant, purpose-driven language connects with supporters.
Donald J. Trump’s campaign used many bold statements of purpose that studies show resonate with themes of strength and patriotism. Among the most popular is the campaign’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) message. His appeal is connected to the psychological readiness in the US culture for an antihero figure, who represents someone bold and unconstrained by typical political decorum and the willingness to challenge the status quo. This was symbolized in Trump’s call to “fight, fight, fight!” that spread following the assassination attempt in July.
The web3 parallel is the need to evoke purpose when speaking to end-users by bypassing complex jargon in favor of emotionally engaging language. Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Labs, a key crypto opinion leader, uses direct and emotionally engaging messaging to resonate with crypto enthusiasts. His commentary, which centers around key trends and recent events, enhances his credibility as a key spokesperson for Solana (SOL) and blockchain tech broadly.
Similarly to how political campaigns use soundbites that reflect the core values of the voter, web3 projects and founders need to rely more on using memorable statements that create an emotional connection, creating greater buy-in from a wider audience.
Lobbying to engage policymakers more seriously
Lobbying played a notable role in this year’s elections. The health of US citizens became an issue that rose in prominence when health lobbyist Calley Means reconnected Republican and independent presidential candidates Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This played a part in RFK dropping out of the race to support Trump’s campaign, catalyzing the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement and may make a difference in the final election outcome.
The US crypto industry itself has experienced regulatory hostility towards companies after the FTX collapse. Since then, there has been a growing realization that the use of money in politics is simply the way the system operates. Lobbying is needed for the industry’s priorities to be heard in the halls of Congress.
The last two years saw a major uptick in advocacy efforts for better US crypto policy. As of mid-October, crypto-focused super PACs (political action committees) had spent over $134 million to persuade voters to elect Congress members who support crypto. Just this week, the CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, announced the company was committing an additional $25 million to support the Fairshake PAC leading up to the 2026 midterms to elect pro-crypto candidates.
A continuation of this strategy by US companies could lead to significant shifts in US policy and could see better reception of crypto by users locally, with a ripple effect globally.
The 2024 US elections were littered with examples of masterful communication tactics that can be adopted by crypto projects. As the focus of the industry begins shifting from infrastructure development to the growth of consumer applications across various verticals, these strategies will be increasingly important in persuading users about why they should choose the products offered instead of the many other alternatives available to them.
Debra Nita
Debra Nita is the associate director and head of growth at YAP Global, a crypto-native PR firm. With over a decade of strategic communications and product marketing experience, Debra helps leading crypto and web3 projects gain publicity and build their reputation through top-tier media coverage, leadership, and narrative development. Her expertise includes layer-1 blockchains, rollups, decentralized finance, zero knowledge and cryptography, and stablecoins. Debra has also been a speaker and hackathon judge at leading crypto conferences, including ETHDenver, Mainnet in NYC, ETHToronto, and ETH Kuala Lumpur.
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Adoption
Algoz taps Wincent to streamline its fiat-to-crypto onboarding process
Published
5 days agoon
October 30, 2024By
adminDigital asset investment firm Algoz has announced a strategic collaboration with regulated market maker and top over-the-counter desk Wincent.
Algoz shared details of the new partnership via a press release sent to crypto.news on Oct. 30. This announcement follows Algoz’s recent collaboration with Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Custody.
According to the announcement, Algoz will leverage its partnership with Wincent to facilitate the onboarding of new investors. Through this collaboration, investors such as family offices seeking to enter the crypto market via Algoz will not need to convert fiat currencies to crypto beforehand, as is typical across many providers in the industry.
Wincent offers the solution to this hurdle. Algoz users can now invest using Tether (USDT) Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and other cryptocurrencies using U.S. dollars, euros, or other fiat currencies. The partnership allows Algoz clients to directly swap fiat for crypto, reducing risks associated with exposure to unregulated providers.
Algoz noted that its collaboration with Wincent supports asset conversion based on already approved know-your-customer and anti-money laundering checks. These regulatory requirements are critical components of global crypto regulation, with various industry players viewing them as essential to the growth of the crypto market.
With regulatory clarity pivotal to the industry, many players are implementing measures to ensure safe on- and off-ramping of customers. Regulated platforms like Wincent and institutional-backed providers like Zodia Custody contribute to this approach.
The platform’s off-exchange settlement solution, Quant Pro, plays a central role in the partnership.
For Algoz, the solution, Zodia’s custody wallet, and Wincent’s know-your-customer and anti-money laundering integration add a layer of protection for users.
“The creation of Quant Pro, our off-exchange settlement system, using Zodia was the first breakthrough for investors as we were able to significantly mitigate exchange and management counterparty risk.”
Stephen Wundke, director of strategy and revenue at Algoz.
Wincent’s regulated market records between $3 and $5 billion in daily volume, with over 300,000 daily transactions.
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Adoption
Saylor voices Bitcoin self-custody support amid backlash
Published
2 weeks agoon
October 24, 2024By
adminBitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor believes Bitcoin’s ecosystem should welcome everyone and every type of custodial option available.
Cryptocurrency community leaders and members criticized MicroStrategy executive chairman Michael Saylor for comments that seemingly criticized users who self-custody Bitcoin (BTC). Saylor suggested that so-called “crypto-anarchists” solely advocating against institutional safekeeping of digital assets were counterintuitive to Bitcoin’s regulatory security and mass adoption.
The comments attracted scrutiny from Bitcoin proponents like ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees and crypto developers like Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin. Buterin, in particular, found Saylor’s comments on custody to be “bat shit insane.”
Without publicly addressing any individual backlash, Saylor’s Oct. 23 post expressed support for the right to choose how assets like Bitcoin should be kept. The post advocated for considering and accepting all available options for BTC custody based on personal preference.
Self-custody has long been a prevailing concept in crypto circles since blockchain’s inception. The entire industry was built on declining trust in legacy institutions and a shift towards separating money from the state.
Fifteen years after Bitcoin’s launch, developments like spot BTC ETFs have ushered in a new era of holding Bitcoin. While many agree that ETFs have encouraged global adoption, calls for self-custody of Bitcoin have never faded away.
If anything, the conversation around individual custody of assets like BTC has only increased in 2024. Maxis, a term describing believers of a single blockchain asset, relentlessly argue that decentralized crypto storage remains users’ best defense against censorship and centralized failure points.
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Adoption
El Salvador Survey Shows Bitcoin’s Lindy Effect in Action
Published
2 weeks agoon
October 19, 2024By
adminEl Salvador’s misguided critics got some new ammunition this week.
A recent survey revealed just 7.5% of Salvadorans use Bitcoin for transactions, and that 92% of Salvadorans do not. But while some (cue: Steve Hanke) may look at these numbers and think “Oh, well that experiment failed,” I disagree.
Even putting aside the increased tourism, business activity, and international notoriety, El Salvador’s Bitcoin legal tender law has been a success.
El Salvador currently has a population of around 6.3 million, meaning 475,000 (7.5%) people are now using Bitcoin for transactions. The fact that almost half a million citizens now use BTC in their daily life for transactions is pretty impressive, but the Lindy effect means we can expect this figure to increase with time.
Considering the history of El Salvador, it was obvious from the beginning that the entire country was not going to start using this new payments technology from day one. El Salvador has a history of failed currency regimes. It takes time for any new system to build trust.
As I pointed out three years ago, I believe Bitcoin needs to become a store of value first before it can become a medium of exchange. Bitcoin today, even with it being a $1.4 trillion dollar asset, is still just a drop in the ocean compared to vast global wealth.
There is still a common consensus in the general public that Bitcoin is risky to get into, and that will need to change before more people in more countries start using it on a daily basis.
Bitcoin is still a new asset class that is growing up. The more it grows up, the more credibility it earns, the more price increases, the more innovation happens that sprouts new transactional and custody solutions to meet non-technical people where they are.
This will take a long time, but it’s a process that is underway.
I see many Bitcoiners online who are so bullish that they believe that adoption as an everyday transaction method will happen suddenly over the next few years, but this discounts real-world data, like this survey, which shows the process is much slower.
All this is to say that if Bitcoin is going to see worldwide merchant adoption and use by everyday individuals, we’re going to need to see a much higher price, Bitcoin will need to be easier to use, and more trusted than it is today.
Exactly how long will it take? I don’t know for certain. But if you think of it as a loading bar, we’re already 7.5% complete on our way to 100% of Salvadorans transacting in Bitcoin.
Remember, this is progress. Nothing happens overnight.
This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
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