Decoding the art of naming crypto projects: Is the first step to success to have a good name?

Original title: "The Art of Naming Crypto Projects: How Hard Can They Try to Be Remembered?"

Original source: TechFlow

 

"Nobody, or famous?"

 

This opening line from the classic game "Cyberpunk 2077" inspires every heart that tries to make a name in the cyber world, and it also applies to the crypto market where attention is scarce.

 

When walking in the world, the name comes first.

 

If a crypto project wants to succeed, it must first have an impressive name.

 

In the crypto world dominated by the English world, various obscure and difficult to understand English project names emerge in an endless stream, most of which focus on being high-end and high-end.

 

In order to be remembered, project names can be very hard.

 

If naming is a science, then the naming routines of hundreds of crypto projects can actually be divided into different schools.

 

Astrophysical School

 

If you want to be high-end, science is indispensable.

 

Some crypto projects like to advocate science in their names, preferably the kind of science that is elusive but powerful to ordinary people.

 

So the high-end terms in disciplines such as astronomy, physics and chemistry have become popular in naming.

 

 

The hardest hit area: Cosmos Ecology

 

· Cosmos: From the Greek word "κόσμος" (kosmos), meaning "order" or "world", it refers to the entire orderly and harmonious universe in ancient Greek philosophy. It is very suitable to convey the concepts of wholeness and infinity, and it is suitable to be used as the name of a blockchain network or ecosystem dedicated to building a broad and interconnected blockchain network.

 

· Atom: Derived from the Greek "ἄτομος" (atomos), meaning "indivisible", it was first used to describe the most basic and indivisible material particles. The use of this name is intended to emphasize its basic nature and indicate that it is an indispensable part of blockchain technology.

 

· Osmosis: Greek "ὠσμός" (osmos), which refers to the natural flow of solutes or water through a semipermeable membrane in biology. Suitable for emphasizing the liquidity and interaction of data or assets in a blockchain network.

 

In addition, there is Galaxy (renamed Galxe), which is also an astronomical concept but has a clearer intention. It means "Milky Way" and emphasizes its huge scale that can accommodate many project release tasks for marketing.

 

Twilight of the Gods

 

If the scientific school's naming is very materialistic, there is another type of project naming that is very idealistic - borrowing names and symbols from ancient mythology to convey the mystery and profound meaning of the project.

 

If you search for the etymology of such projects, you will find that their names basically come from two categories: Greek mythology and Norse mythology.

 

As the crypto market has developed to this day, the famous gods in the two myths have already taken turns to appear.

 

 

Hit areas: L1/L2, Defi

 

· Thorchain/swap: Thor, the well-known god of thunder, originates from Norse mythology and symbolizes strength and security; thanks to the interpretation of Thor in the Avengers, the author now has the illusion of seeing lightning across the screen when interacting.

 

· Zeus Network: Zeus, the father of the gods in Greek mythology, may be trying to show that the project has leadership and authority in its field.

 

· Poseidon: The god of the sea in Greek mythology, who controls the ocean, is used to express the intention of asset flow in DeFi, which is really appropriate.

 

· Odyssey: Arbitrum previously held an ecological incentive event called Odyssey, which originated from the Greek epic "Odyssey", describing the adventure journey of the hero Odysseus.

 

· Metis: L2, which has been soaring all the way, is derived from the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology and is the first wife of Zeus.

 

· Hermes: The god of commerce and travel in Greek mythology, used to name DEX, it seems very suitable for trading.

 

Affix School

 

Different from the single words of the first two types of projects, some projects combine concepts together through "affixes" and "repetitions", forming a sense of unfamiliarity but inexplicable power.

 

Perhaps it seems unclear, so it is easy to not be forgotten.

 

According to the author's observation, the more powerful the infrastructure project is, the more likely it is to follow this trend.

 

Hardest hit area: Overvalued infrastructure projects

 

"tia" word group:

 

· Celestia: From the Latin root "celeste" (sky, sky), with the suffix "-ia" added. Yes, data availability is in the sky, you can call it at will.

 

· Initia: Directly from the Latin "initium", which means "beginning" or "beginning". It may mean that it has been taken care of for you from the beginning. For details, please see our other analysis "Interpretation of Initia: Ready-to-move-in, easy-to-customize full-chain modular Rollup network"

 

"Layer" word group:

 

· AltLayer: Direct translation of alternative layer, it has a hint of "why do you need to make your next application chain yourself".

 

· EigenLayer: A big project that everyone knows, but in fact "Eigen" means "own" or "unique" in German, that is, "a unique layer".

 

· SmartLayer: It is easier to understand in comparison, implying that the project adds intelligent or automated functions to the existing technical layer.

 

Delicious pie

 

Don't get me wrong, we are not talking about egg yolk pie.

 

Unlike the high-end infrastructure project names, the names of crypto applications are more down-to-earth. The most common ones are delicious things that are easy to get around, such as fruits and bread.

 

Hit area: DeFi

 

For example, there is Cake in front and Bake in the back, cakes and bread are all available, and other foods from all over the world are not to be outdone, Sushi, Cherry, Burger, Gelato, Taco, etc. are emerging in an endless stream.

 

Leeks can lose their wallets, but they can't go hungry.

 

Parasitism

 

There is another type of project that tries its best to attract attention by naming:

 

Instead of thinking of a new name, it is better to expand based on a name with its own traffic to achieve perfect parasitism.

 

If you don’t understand this strategy, you might as well recall TAO, the new king in the last AI bull market; when TAO soared, many ecological projects immediately emerged, and the names confirmed the above parasitic strategy.

 

Taopad Taobank Taodex Taoevm... prefixed with TAO, the price will float upward.

 

And there is another kind of parasitism, which comes from the powerful mind control ability of certain words.

 

For example, the word Meme itself has such strong appeal and recognition that countless projects are rushing to name their tickers MEME.

 

It is easier to gain traffic and funds by blocking key intentions.

 

 

The more popular example recently comes from the debate between PolyHedra and zkSync, both of which want to use the token name $ZK. The former accused the latter of bullying by using the ZK symbol, and was ridiculed by the community.

 

Outside the debate, we can see how precious the two letters ZK are. A good name can always represent a unique image in a simple way, and whoever can parasitize in this name first can occupy the user's mind.

 

Sometimes, the name is the meaning itself.

 

Only by being unconventional can you avoid being forgotten?

 

The various schools of thought are fighting each other, and what is shown behind them is the attention anxiety of crypto projects.

 

The cruelest thing in the crypto market is being forgotten. No one cares about it, which means that there is no market for it, which directly declares the soft death of the project.

 

Therefore, giving a good name that fits various intentions is the first step to resist amnesia.

 

Just by being unconventional, will you really not be forgotten?

 

Unlike the high-sounding images, the names of Meme projects are very casual ---- Open-mouthed cat, hat dog, your bald head, my friend... Various approachable and funny images emerge in an endless stream, and the myth of getting rich by getting a golden dog every few days is still rising and falling.

 

Although Meme has a vulgar name that is easy to be forgotten, the projects that come out are easier to spread.

 

However, the focus of victory or defeat has never been on the name.

 

Bitcoin has the most earthy name, but it has the most eternal kingship; and the challengers with more famous names than each other take turns to appear on the stage, and are gradually forgotten in the historical fluctuations of bull-bear conversion.

 

The fighting in the crypto-arena will continue. Who is Li Kui and who is Li Gui will be revealed in the competition.

 

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