Crypto wins the people’s vote: Lessons from the 2024 US elections | Opinion

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.