Topple
Cryptocurrency - reimagined and repositioning branding project
Make crypto clarity
Client
SVA in Branding Thesis Project
My Role
Brand Strategy Development + Research + Storyline
Detail
Year
2021
Debbie W Huang
Chelsea Carlson
Manning Yu
Sae Hoon Jang
Emma Herboizheimer
Team
I was mainly on sourcing and researching all aspects of the project and grasping the overarching strategy. From the beginning of the proposal, the direction of cryptocurrency and sovereignty vs. individual sovereignty, to the interviews, questionnaires, positioning, and finally, the big idea. After we finalized the positioning, our group was divided into two leads; one focused on the design and one focused on the storyline. I was in the latter.
Research
4 weeks
Desktop Research - News and Industry Reports
16
Interviews Completed
(experts, audiences, investors)
50+
Scientific Journals & Papers
40+days
Social Listening
(Twitter, Reddit)
1
Survey (15+ respondent)
30+
Videos & Ted Talks
The Human problem
Power is concentrated in the hands of a few at the expense of people at the edges of society.
“The unexpected tragedy of our current financial system is that those who have the least money have to pay the most to ship it”
Joyce Kim
CEO of the Stellar Foundation
Money is a man-made fiction. There is no inherent value in these pieces of paper we chase. You can’t eat them. They won’t keep you warm. Their meaning, their value, and their power is manufactured.
Cryptocurrency, or money that only exists digitally, is a new chapter in this ancient story. Not just because crypto is a breakthrough technology…
But also because cryptocurrency has the potential to fundamentally reimagine and redistribute power, to transform financial access and literacy, to be an equalizing force akin to the printing press.
Cryptocurrency, by virtue of its decentralized power model, offers a glimmer of hope. A chance to both protect and empower people who have been systematically marginalized by our centralized financial system.
14 million migrant workers are struggling for banking
$554 billion sent home by migrant workers worldwide
1/3 of all Americans have poor credit scores
39 states bad credit is a legal reason to deny someone a job
1million sex workers aren't welcome on Venmo and Paypal
- Dr. David Stearns
Financial and information systems expert
"Certain transactions need to happen, but for unbanked consumers, they don’t happen through a bank. And that’s where they get expensive."
- John Thompson
SVP, Center for Financial Services Innovation
I’ve had the rug pulled out from me like so many others: my bank accounts closed and websites shut down, just because those companies found out who I was.”
Liara Roux,
human rights organizer and sex worker
Brand of Crypto Today
Brand problem
The negative perception of cryptocurrency overshadows the real potential of the technology to challenge unfair monopolies. A brand problem that needs a brand solution.
UNRELATABLE AND TOO RISKY
"I think that cryptocurrency is a platform for a specific number of people. I am in a situation where I cannot additionally invest in cryptocurrency or gamble my life.”
- Miguel, 32
Insight
People need a trusted place to weed out bad actors in crypto, to demystify crypto through approachable education, and discover personalized solutions to the financial struggles they are having in their real life.
Old
Risky
Complicated
Unrelatable
New
Accessible
Demystified
Personalized
If cryptocurrency was fundamentally accessible, it could topple the financial monopoly.
Introduce
Topple
...
TOPPLE APP
A revolutionary tool that makes cryptocurrency accessible by equipping people with the information they need to feel confident in their financial decisions.
Coin Rating
Rating coins based on a series of metrics, including volatility and eco-friendliness
We protect people from being taken advantage of by recommending trusted platforms, decoding the cryptocurrency space, and making novel technology easier to get started with.
