Clovr Bitcoin Brand Equity Index 2025

The Clovr Bitcoin Brand Equity Index 2025 tracks Bitcoin’s global brand equity. The aim is to show:

1. Bitcoin is a brand and a source of value for Bitcoin is its brand equity,
2. The Bitcoin brand equity per country among Internet users of each country, 
3. The difference between Bitcoin brand equity among rich (Global North) and poor (Global South) countries, 
4. The difference between Bitcoin brand equity among Internet users and non-Internet users, and
5. The wide moat Bitcoin has with regards to brand equity compared to alt-coins.

This study posits that, Bitcoin is a brand and part of its value is derived from its brand equity and, as Bitcoin’s brand equity increases globally, particularly in less developed countries and countries with low internet usage rates, the demand and price for Bitcoin will rise. This increase is expected in the medium to long term future, which makes Bitcoin a good cash replacement that is free of devaluation from central banks.

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What is a Brand?

In their landmark paper, “Tribal marketing: The tribalization of society and its impact on the conduct of marketing” (2002), which is cited by over 1,700 academics, Cova and Cova argue that people in the Internet age want a strong connection to each other and that tribal marketing gives them this sense of community. A brand therefore is no longer a logo, but an identity for a community of like-minded individuals who share common missions, values, beliefs, and identity.

Bitcoin is a Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as “any distinctive feature like a name, term, design, or symbol that identifies goods or services.” Bitcoin has all of these elements. Bitcoin has a distinct name, design, and symbol. It is distinct from FIAT currencies and other crypto currencies. It is also identified by its name and differentiated by its name. Bitcoin is therefore a brand.

Bitcoin also happens to be the strongest crypto brand. In a 2022 study by Achilleas Boukis, published in Review of Marketing Science, he found that Bitcoin had the highest unaided recall rate (87.5%) among the 32 participants. Participants were asked to name five crypto brands and Bitcoin was the most often named. 

In the same study, Boukis states “the purpose of the crypto brand emerges as a central aspect of their identity among two thirds of the interviewees… A genuine purpose is thought to instill meaning to its stakeholders and generate stronger emotional connection with the brand.” It is very clear from this quote that the crypto community is built around crypto coins and its brands. It is also very clear that Crypto investors believe in their coin’s mission and purpose. There is a very strong emotional connection between crypto investors and their coins. Because of this, it is very much so, that crypto and Bitcoin are brands. 

Just like how Coca-Cola is the most well known brand in the world and derives a lot of value from its branding, Bitcoin is the most well known crypto brand and derives a lot of value from its branding. Currently Bitcoin is valued at $100,000 and the second most valuable crypto is only valued at $3,120. This difference in price is partly due to brand equity.

Why Brand Equity Matters

In a 2019 paper by Tomer Strolight, he argues that the intrinsic value of Bitcoin is the cryptography and any excess value above that is purely brand equity. We build upon his argument, to show that the brand equity of Bitcoin has influenced its price and the brand equity will grow, as Internet usage increases and the Global South develops.

 As stated by Strolight, a strong brand brings many benefits to companies, including higher customer loyalty, pricing power, and market share. When applied to Bitcoin, it carries huge implications for the coin:

1. Brand equity shows consumer trust and loyalty – the more Bitcoin is known, the more it is trusted.
2. Brand equity creates a competitive advantage – the more Bitcoin is known, the more it stands out compared to other coins.
3. Brand equity creates pricing power – the more Bitcoin is known, the higher a price Bitcoin can ask for.
4. Brand equity influences the market – the more Bitcoin is known, more exposure it will have and the more holders it can have.
5. Brand equity increases valuation – the more Bitcoin is known, the more its price will increase, due to the above 4 points.

As stated above, the brand equity is one reason why Bitcoin’s price is so high compared to other coins. We also expect this trend to increase as more people learn of the Bitcoin brand. Therefore it would be wise to track this, hence our study.

What is the Bitcoin Brand?

In the book Primal Branding, Patrick Hanlon outline 7 elements that are needed to create a brand. Here, we will define the Bitcoin brand, using these 7 elements.

1. A creation story – Bitcoin starting in 2009 with Satoshi Nakamoto.
2. Values that unite – the Bitcoin community is united by its value in decentralization, freedom, and financial sovereignty.
3. Icons – Bitcoin has the ₿ symbol.
4. Rituals – Bitcoin rituals include HODL, discussing Bitcoin, and mining.
5. Pagans – Pagans are non-believers and pagans for the Bitcoin community are central banks, governments, shitcoin owners, and critics.
6. Sacred words – Bitcoin users have special words such as HODL, Sats, PoW, and decentralized ledger.
7. A leader – Satoshi Nakamoto would be Bitcoin’s leader.

There was never a branding guideline document made for Bitcoin, but the community created their own branding, which is much more impactful than any guideline ever could be. As long as the maxims of Bitcoin are attractive to people, people will join this brand. Therefore, as long as countries continue to develop and more people get Online, more people will be exposed to Bitcoin and more people will join the Bitcoin community.

Mechanism of our study

Our study uses Google search data, as estimated by SEMRush. We are counting each branded search query on Google as a brand recall. Brand recall is apart of brand equity, therefore a country with higher brand recall rates for Bitcoin would have higher Bitcoin brand equity.

Findings

Notes:

1. Google search data was obtained using SEMRush. Data range was for December 2024.
2. Classification of Global North and Global South was obtained from NORRAG.
3. Population data was obtained from Wikipedia.
4. Internet usage penetration was obtained from the World Bank.

Bitcoin Recall in Global North vs Global South

The Bitcoin recall rate was 3.6x higher in the Global North as compared to Global South. This suggests that Bitcoin brand equity and price can grow as much as 3.6x, when countries in the Global South develop to the same level as the Global North.

Some countries in the Global South are already leaps and bounds ahead of their peers in terms of Bitcoin adoption. Here are top countries that are outperforming the pack:

Brazil

With 2.2 million Bitcoin branded queries a month, it shows that Brazil is fanatical about Bitcoin, much more so than any other country in the Global South. With a Bitcoin Brand Recall per Capita rate of 16.7, it is the highest country in our rankings for the Global South and ranks 6th globally. 

Recently, Brazilian congressman introduced a new bill to create a Brazilian Bitcoin reserve. This would further the popularity and legitimacy of Bitcoin in Brazil.

Malta

Malta has 4,400 Bitcoin branded queries a month and is the second highest country in the Global South in our index. With only 360,00 inhabitants, Malta is very serious about Bitcoin and ranks 10th globally. “Keen to have the first-mover advantage, Malta was the first jurisdiction to enact a comprehensive legislative package aimed at creating a regulatory ecosystem in which the industry could operate and proliferate” says the International Bar Association. This created a haven for Bitcoin and the resulting popularity.

Turkey

With 550,000 searches a month for Bitcoin, Turkey has a very high interest rate for Bitcoin, given its 86% Internet penetration rate. The country is much more active in crypto than its neighbors and ranks 14th globally. Current anti-money laundering laws has reduced the anonymity of Bitcoin however. The new bill requires identification for transactions above $425.

Cyprus

“Cyprus has taken a progressive stance towards cryptocurrency. While it doesn’t have specific laws solely for cryptocurrencies, it leverages existing financial services legislation to regulate them,” says the Cyprus Mail, “This approach provides a framework for businesses operating in the crypto space.” With 5,400 searches a month for Bitcoin from a population of 691,000, this small island nation is very enthusiastic about Bitcoin. It ranks 18th in the global list.

Czech Republic

At number 21 globally, Czechia has almost 50,000 queries/month for Bitcoin and has a per capita brand recall rate of 6.8. The country has exempted taxation from crypto holdings over 3 years. The gains look good in Czechia!

Croatia

At 27 globally, Croatia has a very high Bitcoin recall rate at 5.5 queries per 1,000 inhabitants. The new VASP law, states The Recursive, would make Croatia “an ‘El Dorado’ for crypto businesses.”

South Africa

At number 40 on the list, South Africa’s national interest in Bitcoin is very high, globally, as a member of the global South, and for an African country. Being the first African country on the list, South Africa’s interest in Bitcoin leads the continent. With 90,500 brand recalls a month, South Africans are very interested in Bitcoin. 

UAE

The UAE is a leader in crypto policy and holdings. States Washington Times, “From July 2023 through June 2024, cryptocurrency transactions in the UAE surged to $34 billion, a 42% increase from the previous year, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Analysts say this boost reflects the wealthy Gulf enclave’s ability to balance innovation and investor protection.” No wonder why this country is number 38 on our list with a Brand Recall Rate of 3.3.

Bahamas

With the launch of DARE 2024 regulations, the Bahamas has became a leader in regulation of digital assets. This mentality has caused the country to rank 39 in our list, well ahead of its peers. With only 287,000 inhabitants, the country has an impressive 3.1 Recall per Capita rate.

Notes:

1. The Average Bitcoin Recall Rate in Global North and Global South metric was calculated by summing up the total branded search volumes of all Global North and Global South countries. We also created a metric called the Total Internet Users of a country by multiplying their Internet penetration rate with their total population. Then the Total Internet Users of all Global North and Global South countries were obtained by adding all values together. We then divided the Global North Bitcoin Brand Recall Rate by the Total Internet Users of Global North to figure out the average Bitcoin Brand Recall Rate for the Global North. We did the same for the Global South.

Internet usage rate

As illustrated in the above table, the average Internet penetration rate in the Global South is only 59%, whereas it is 92.7% in the Global North. The Bitcoin Popularity per Capita rate, adjusted for just Internet users, in the Global South is 2.3. When it is for the whole population, it is shockingly 1.3. 

Our expectation is that, as Internet usage in the Global South increases, more people will discover Bitcoin and join the Bitcoin community, similarly to how it is in the Global North. Doing this would increase the price of Bitcoin 1.7x.

Countries are already adopting policies to promote Internet usage and here are some examples:

• India – BharatNet aims to provide telecom to rural India. It is the world’s largest rural broadband network.
• Brazil – Internet Para Todos aims to provide Internet to rural areas. 
• Vietnam –  The National Digital Transformation Program aims to have 80% of households and 100% of communities online by 2030. This program also wants 50% of banks, 70% of consumer transactions, and 80% of public services to be online. 
• South Africa – SA Connect aims to give all South Africans with high speed Internet. 

Notes:

• We obtained the Average Internet Penetration Rate of the Global North and Global South by multiplying a country’s population with its Internet penetration rate to create a value called the Total Internet Users for that country. We then added up all Total Internet Users for the Global North and Global South. We then divided this number by the total population of Global North countries and Global South countries.
• The Bitcoin Recall Rate per Capita, raw metric was obtained by taking the total Bitcoin Recall Rate for all Global North and Global South countries. Then we divided it by the total population of the Global North or Global South.
• The Bitcoin Recall Rate per Capita, Internet users metric was obtained by dividing the Global North and Global South’s Bitcoin Recall Rate by the Total Internet Users of the Global North or Global South.

A Future of Convergence

The Global South is expected to converge with the Global North in terms of development. Patel, Sandefur, and Subramanian states in “The New Era of Unconditional Convergence,” that, since the mid-1990’s, developing nations have been expanding at a much faster pace than developed countries. They have been more economically and politically stable than ever before and are steering clear of the “middle-income trap.” 

With a future of convergence between the Global North and Global South, the price of Bitcoin is expected to increase as more countries develop and more individuals discover the Internet.

The Effect of Convergence

Convergence would result in an increase in Bitcoin’s valuation by 6,384%.

Bitcoin Brand Recall per Capita in USA Vs Next 9 Top Coins

The above table shows the Bitcoin brand recall rate for December 2024 in the USA for Bitcoin and the next 9 top alt-coins. Bitcoin has 4,8x more brand recall than the next alt-coin. It is very clear that Bitcoin has the highest brand equity among all crypto currencies. The first mover’s advantage has created a wide moat for Bitcoin and it is unlikely that any alt-coin can disrupt its position in the crypto market.

Critical Evaluation of our Study

• The Bitcoin recall rate only measures recall and does not take into account sentiment, trust, perception, or loyalty. These factors are vital for branding and a company’s brand equity.
  However, given the decentralized nature of Bitcoin and how it is simply cryptography, we believe that sentiment is more about shifts in society and are external to Bitcoin’s intrinsic value, which is a currency created by cryptography. The changing sentiment might be due to actions of a whale, a news story about Bitcoin’s new high or low price, or something else that is temporary. The math behind Bitcoin will always stay constant, therefore not taking shifting sentiment into account is okay, as the core value of Bitcoin is consistent.
• The Bitcoin brand recall rates use only Google data and does not include other search engines such as Bing or Duck Duck Go. Although this is a weakness of our study, given Google’s high penetration, we think our result is still valid. 
• Since SEMRush data is an approximation of Google search volumes, we do not have the actual Google search volumes. The actual branded queries per country might be different from what SEMRush is estimating. This is a very good critique but due to limited data sources, SEMRush is one of the few options we have and is well regarded for accuracy in the marketing and research field. SEMRush is also publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
• 76 countries were omitted from our study. These countries do not have SEMRush data. These countries would probably lower the Bitcoin recall rate of the Global South and further strengthen our argument, if they were included.

Criticism of Bitcoin

Bitcoin critics generally point out that Bitcoin is fueled by the Greater Fool theory, which states that the value of a coin is derived from someone else buying it at a higher price. This study dismisses that. By being a brand with set values, norms, and beliefs, Bitcoin is a brand that people can believe in, similar to how the value of the US Dollar is derived from the brand of the US Dollar and US Government. There is intrinsic value in Bitcoin and it is its branding. For people who dislike central banks, monetary policy, and governments, Bitcoin is the brand for them! Currently over 106,000,000 people find this brand attractive and there is no stop to Bitcoin, as governments devalue their currency more and more.

Stephen Diehl made some great arguments against Bitcoin, which I think should be address in any real study:

1. Bitcoin technology does not solve a real problem – in his blog post, Stephen argued that Bitcoin does not solve a real world problem. However this is wrong. The problem Bitcoin solves is a store of value that is not susceptible to devaluation. Many investors have found this a real problem with FIAT money and have purchased Bitcoin. This is what the Bitcoin Brand Equity Index measures.
2. Crypto is not real currencies – Stephen argues, that, beecause Bitcoin lacks a stable value, it is not real currency, and, because Bitcoin lacks a central bank who can execut monetary policy, it is not real money. He is correct. Bitcoin is not real currency like the US Dollar or Euro and lacks a central bank. It is a new technology based upon cryptography and is its own category of currency.
3. Private money has a history of disaster – while it is true that private money was a disaster in the past, these stories were due to private enterprises printing their own money. Bitcoin has no central authority and this history is not representative of the Bitcoin community.
4. Crypto are unregistered securities – It is true that crypto assets are unregistered securities with no cash flow. The difference between Bitcoin and a meme coin is that there is no company behind Bitcoin. There is no corporation to take advantage of new buyers, due to asymmetric information. This point does not apply to Bitcoin.

Scott Trench, CEO of BiggerPockets, made a good argument against Bitcoin that is worth mentioning as well:

1. Bitcoin is a currency and does not generate cashflow – This is very true. If you do believe in Bitcoin and want to use it to store your wealth, it is better to allocate a portion of your portfolio, that is classified as cash, for it. So let’s say you have a 70% equity, 20% bonds, and 10% cash allocation. You can allocate a third of the cash allocation to Bitcoin, a third to gold, and another third to US Dollars. That would be a proper use of Bitcoin as a store of wealth. Investing in real estate and businesses would be better investments than Bitcoin, because their value are inherent in the business or property, and because they generate cashflow. 

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Conclusion

It’s a good time to get into Bitcoin and HODL! As long as governments are inflating away the value of their FIAT currencies, Bitcoin will have value as a currency that is free from inflation. This is the intrinsic value of Bitcoin. This promise has been attractive to many in the Global North and as more people in the Global South reach living standards of the Global North, this feature would be attractive to them as well, which would cause them to join the Bitcoin community and drive up the price for a Bitcoin. The effect is much as 6300%. Critics of Bitcoin fail to realize that Bitcoin serves as a store of value, which is something many investors want in the age of FIAT currency. Therefore having Bitcoin as part of one’s cash portfolio in one’s investment portfolio is wise. We do not recommend alt-coins however, given their low brand equity.