Written by: TechFlow
"Nobody, or famous?"
This opening line from the classic game "Cyberpunk 2077" inspires everyone who is trying to make a name for themselves in the cyber world, and it also applies to the crypto market where attention is scarce.
Traveling around the world, he is the most famous.
If a crypto project wants to be successful, it must first have an impressive name.
In the crypto world dominated by the English-speaking world, various obscure and difficult-to-understand English project names emerge in an endless stream, most of which focus on sounding high-end and classy.
In order to be remembered, project names can be very concise.
If naming is a science, then the naming methods of hundreds of crypto projects can actually be divided into different schools.
Astrophysical School
If you want to be sophisticated, you can’t do without science.
Some crypto projects like to use science in their names, preferably the kind of science that is elusive but powerful to ordinary people.
Therefore, high-sounding terms in subjects such as astronomy, physics and chemistry have become popular for naming.
Hardest hit: Cosmos ecosystem
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 a suitable name for a blockchain network or ecosystem dedicated to building a broad, interconnected blockchain network or ecosystem.
Atom: Derived from the Greek word "ἄτομος" (atomos), meaning "indivisible", it was first used to describe the most basic, indivisible material particles. The name is used to emphasize its fundamental nature, indicating that it is an indispensable part of blockchain technology.
Osmosis : The Greek word "ὠσμός" (osmos) refers to the natural flow of solutes or water through a semipermeable membrane in biology. It is suitable for emphasizing the liquidity and interaction of data or assets in a blockchain network.
In addition, there is Galaxy (now renamed Galxe), which is also an astronomical concept but has a clearer intention. It means "Galaxy", emphasizing its huge scale that can accommodate many project release tasks for marketing.
Ragnarok
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 significance of the project.
If you search the etymology of such items, 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, famous gods from the two mythologies have already taken turns to appear on the scene.
Hardest hit areas: L1/L2, Defi
Thorchain/swap : The well-known Thor, originates from Norse mythology and symbolizes strength and security. Thanks to the portrayal of Thor in the Avengers, I now have the illusion of seeing lightning across the screen when interacting with him.
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 sea god in Greek mythology who controls the ocean. It is quite appropriate to use him to express the intention of asset flow in DeFi.
Odyssey : Arbitrum previously held an ecological incentive event called Odyssey, which was derived from the Greek epic "The Odyssey", which describes the adventure journey of the hero Odysseus.
Metis: The L2 that has skyrocketed before, its etymology is the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology and she is the first wife of Zeus.
Hermes : The god of commerce and travel in Greek mythology, it is very appropriate to use it to name DEX and engage in transactions.
Affix School
Different from the single words in the first two categories, some items combine concepts through the method of "affix" and "repetition", forming a strange yet powerful feeling.
Perhaps it seems unclear, so it is easier not to be forgotten.
According to my observation, the more powerful the infrastructure project, the easier it is to follow this trend.
Hardest hit: Highly valued infrastructure projects
"tia" word group:
Celestia: From the Latin root "celeste" (celestial, sky), with the suffix "-ia" added. Yes, data availability is in the sky, at your disposal.
Initia : directly from the Latin "initium", which means "beginning" or "beginning". It may mean that everything is done for you from the beginning. For details, please see our other analysis " Interpreting Initia: Ready-to-move-in, a fully customized modular Rollup network "
"Layer" word group:
AltLayer : literally translated as alternative layer, it implies "why do you need to make your next application chain yourself?"
EigenLayer : A big project that everyone knows about, but in fact "Eigen" means "own" or "unique" in German, that is, "unique layer".
SmartLayer: This is easier to understand, implying that the project adds intelligent or automated functions to the existing technology layer.
Delicious pie
Don't get me wrong, we're not talking about egg yolk pie.
Unlike the high-sounding names of infrastructure projects, the names of encryption applications are more down-to-earth. The most common ones are delicious foods that are easily available around us, such as fruits and bread.
Hardest hit: DeFi
For example, there is Cake in front and Bake behind, with cakes and breads available. At the same time, other foods from all over the world are also not to be outdone, including Sushi, Cherry, Burger, Gelato (Italian ice cream), Taco (Mexican snacks) and so on.
You can lose all your money, but you can’t go hungry.
Parasite
There is another type of project whose names are designed to attract attention:
Instead of coming up with a new name, it is better to expand on a name that already has traffic and 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... With the prefix TAO, the price will go up.
And there is another kind of parasitism, which comes from the powerful mind-control power of certain words.
For example, the word Meme itself is so attractive and recognizable that countless projects are rushing to name their Tickers MEME.
By occupying the key intention position, it is easier to gain traffic and funds.
A more recent example is the dispute between PolyHedra and zkSync over the token name $ZK. The former accused the latter of bullying by using the ZK symbol, and was ridiculed by the community.
Beyond 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 on this name first can occupy the minds of users.
Sometimes, the name itself is the meaning.
Only by being unconventional can we avoid being forgotten?
As various schools of thought compete with each other, what is revealed behind the scenes is the attention anxiety of crypto projects.
The cruelest thing in the crypto market is being forgotten. No one is interested in it, which means there is no market for it, which directly sentences the project to soft death.
Therefore, giving a good name that fits various intentions is the first step to resist amnesia.
Just because it's unconventional, will it really not be forgotten?
Different from the high-sounding images, the names of Meme projects seem very casual in comparison - Cat with Open Mouth, Dog with Hat, Your Bald Head, My Friend... Various approachable and funny images emerge in endlessly, and the myth of getting rich by making a large MC memecoin in a few days is still emerging one after another.
Although Meme has a common name and is easily forgotten, the resulting project is more likely to be spread.
However, the focus of victory or defeat has never been on the name.
Bitcoin has the most rustic name, but possesses the most eternal royal power; while challengers with more famous names than each other appear one after another in the audience, but are gradually forgotten in the historical fluctuations of bull and bear cycles.
The fighting in the encrypted arena will continue. Who is Li Kui and who is Li Gui will be revealed in the competition.
