The crypto industry ranked eighth in terms of its emotional bond with consumers, according to marketing agency MBLM’s 2022 “Brand Intimacy” report. The report featured 19 industries, including fast food, beauty and travel—all of which crypto outperformed. 

MBLM also ranked 600 brands within these industries by the same criteria. Blockchain network Cardano won out among crypto brands at number 26—between Ford and Nestlé. Bitcoin came in at number 30, and blockchain networks Polkadot and Ethereum ranked 111 and 120, respectively. Only two exchanges made the list: Uniswap at 261 and Binance at 287.

This is the first year that MBLM included crypto in its annual report, a decision that managing partner Mario Natarelli attributed to the industry’s explosive growth.

“We were trying to imagine another emerging industry and its relative performance, and the only one we could think of is social and apps, and that's a 10 or 15-year-old story,” he said. “Even still, those brands don't perform to the level of crypto brands.”

Crypto's performance in the report may come as a suprise given its many controversies, bad actors and lack of mainstream adoption. It is possible that these realities have had an inverse effect on core crypto enthusiasts, bolstering their conviction in the space the more that others denounce it.

It remains to be seen, however, how the intimacy of crypto brands will change during the crypto winter, or downturn in the market. MBLM’s study covers data only from January to October 2021, ending when the prices of crypto assets were still rising to record highs. Beginning in mid-November, those prices began to drop, and have since led to the loss of well over half of the industry’s overall market cap.

MBLM conducted the report by pulling data from social media using artificial intelligence. Each brand’s total intimacy score was determined by two factors: archetypes, or patterns that consumers value in brands; and stages of intensity, which reveal the depth of the brand-consumer relationship. The final score is a number between zero to 100, and this year’s average was 36.8.

Crypto’s score was 37.7, placing it between health and hygiene and apparel. The top industry was media and entertainment (51.6), followed by tech and telecom (49.2) and retail (47.5). Top brands were Disney (68.1), Tesla (67.5) and Apple (65.3).

Cardano’s score of 52.6 was boosted by its high numbers on the indulgence archetype, which centers on moments of pampering and self-gratification. The up-and-coming blockchain’s performance in this area can likely be chalked up to the gambling element of crypto, said Natarelli. Like other blockchains, Cardano has a native cryptocurrency that many use as a speculative financial instrument.

But consumers may be attracted to crypto beyond reasons pertaining to their pockets. One is the industry’s association with the future, which excites people more than traditional financial brands (financial services ranked 14th amongst industries). Natarelli also attributed crypto’s emotional connection to high scores in the fulfillment archetype and its status as an anti-bureaucracy, pro-liberty space.