Exchanges, wallets, protocols and marketplaces need different things from a brand. Four studios with live crypto work, and the kind of project each one fits.
By Renua team · October 20, 2026
Crypto brands have an unusual job. They have to look trustworthy to people who have been warned about crypto for years, and credible to a community that notices immediately when a project starts sounding like a bank.
Most of the industry still picks one side. Some brands borrow the look of a bank and lose the culture that made people care. Others lean so far into neon gradients and memes that nobody outside the group chat takes them seriously.
The work worth studying manages both. Coinbase set out to ease newcomers into crypto. PancakeSwap built a visual language that came straight out of internet culture.
We picked four studios with public, checkable Web3 work. The order is not a quality ranking. A centralized exchange and a DAO-governed protocol need very different partners.
Full disclosure: we’re Renua, and we’ve included ourselves. Much of our own work is in Web3, so we’ve tried to judge our entry by the same standard as the others, watch-out included.
The short answer
The top Web3 and crypto branding agencies in 2026 are Moniker, Bakken & Bæck, Clay and Renua. Moniker suits exchanges bringing crypto to a mainstream audience. Bakken & Bæck fits consumer wallets. Clay is strongest for DeFi and institutional crypto. Renua is a boutique studio whose Web3 work runs from layer-1 and layer-2 ecosystems to DEXs and NFT marketplaces, with brand, product and motion designed together.
Key Takeaways
- Crypto brands have two audiences at once: newcomers who need reassurance and a community that rewards authenticity.
- Exchanges and wallets usually lean toward clarity. Coinbase’s 2022 identity was built to make crypto feel simple and familiar.
- In a DAO, the community may have a say in the brand, so plan for public feedback from the start.
- Motion matters more than in most categories, because crypto markets never close.
- Renua’s Web3 work spans Binance, Polkadot, Optimism, Eclipse, PancakeSwap, LooksRare and Internet Computer.
The four studios at a glance
| Studio | Best suited for | Public Web3 proof point |
|---|---|---|
| Moniker | Exchanges going mainstream | Coinbase |
| Bakken & Bæck | Consumer wallets | Phantom |
| Clay | DeFi and institutional crypto | Sky (formerly MakerDAO), Grayscale |
| Renua | Ecosystems, DEXs and marketplaces needing brand, product and motion | PancakeSwap, LooksRare, Nobleblocks |
What makes Web3 branding different
A crypto brand faces most of the problems a fintech brand does, plus a few of its own.
Two audiences, one identity. The person opening a wallet for the first time wants to feel safe. The person who has been on-chain since 2017 wants to feel like the brand understands the culture. Fitting both into one identity is usually the hardest part of the brief.
The community is part of the brand team. In many projects, holders, builders and governance participants feel ownership over the brand, sometimes literally. A rebrand that ignores them can turn into a public argument on the governance forum.
Always-on markets need motion. Crypto doesn’t close at 5pm. Moniker built Coinbase’s identity around constant, purposeful movement for exactly that reason. Charts, tickers, token animations and launch campaigns mean a crypto brand spends much of its life in motion, so motion belongs in the identity from the first sketch.
The brand has to survive the cycle. A visual language designed at the peak of a bull run can look dated by the next downturn. The strongest crypto identities feel credible in a bear market as well as a bull run.
1. Moniker
Best for: exchanges and platforms bringing crypto to a mainstream audience.
In 2022, San Francisco studio Moniker designed a full identity for Coinbase, covering the logo, color, motion, a graphic layout system and a custom typeface. Moniker’s founder Brent Couchman wanted an identity simple and familiar enough to build trust and ease people into crypto, reaching well beyond the usual crypto audience.
Most of the design decisions come from that goal. The team evolved the existing app icon into a simple mark between a C and a circle. Wayfinding systems from public transport inspired the layout, positioning Coinbase as a route from traditional finance into crypto. And Coinbase Sans, the custom typeface, was built with 36 styles and support for more than 200 Latin-script languages.
The motion idea is the most crypto-specific part. Because the cryptoeconomy is always open, the identity is always moving: subtly in the product, where motion carries information, and more energetically in marketing.
Watch-out: Moniker’s Coinbase work is a mainstream play by design. If your brand depends on credibility with crypto-native users, make sure the studio’s instincts match that audience.
2. Bakken & Bæck
Best for: consumer wallets and crypto products aimed at everyday users.
Bakken & Bæck designed Phantom’s first-ever rebrand, launched in 2023. Phantom kept its recognizable purple and its ghost, but the ghost became sleeker and more dynamic, positioned as a trusted companion for navigating a multichain world. A custom typeface, also called Phantom, was created with F37 Foundry. The desktop and mobile wallets got a refreshed look, while the features and security stayed the same.
The studio has continued the work since. For Phantom Cash, a fiat-pegged money account inside the app, Bakken & Bæck developed a bolder, more expressive layer of the brand, with 3D illustrations, motion, a digital card and token, and branded moments in onboarding.
For a wallet, that two-level structure works well. The main brand stays steady, and individual products get room to be more expressive.
Watch-out: Bakken & Bæck works at the intersection of design and technology, and its process can be exploratory. For a fast campaign refresh, a more delivery-focused studio may fit better.
3. Clay
Best for: DeFi protocols and institutional crypto products where clarity and regulation matter.
Clay’s best-known Web3 project is one of the more complicated rebrands in DeFi: the transition of MakerDAO to Sky, and of the DAI stablecoin to USDS. Clay led brand strategy, a visual identity for a family of brands, and website and app design. According to Maker Growth’s Head of Strategy, website traffic rose 40% and social media engagement doubled afterward.
Clay also works on the institutional side. It redesigned Grayscale’s main website and launched a separate site for its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, working through complex regulatory requirements, and continues to support Grayscale on web projects.
Watch-out: Clay’s Web3 work leans toward large, established organizations like Grayscale and Sky. An early-stage protocol or community project may find its process heavier than it needs.
4. Renua
Best for: Web3 ecosystems, DEXs and marketplaces that need brand identity, product design and motion working as one system.
Renua is a product design and branding studio based in Switzerland and Estonia, and Web3 is where it has done much of its work. Its client list covers a wide part of the stack, including Binance, Polkadot, Optimism, Eclipse, Internet Computer, Layer3, Yield.xyz and SmartCredit. For Eclipse, Renua designed a mascot, brand identity and motion system, and for Optimism, campaign and visual system work.
Three projects have full case studies.
PancakeSwap
For PancakeSwap, Renua worked on brand identity, product design, motion and campaign design across the ecosystem. The visual language uses bold typography and modular compositions inspired by internet-native culture, with playful character systems and motion built for a digital-first audience. Campaign assets were designed to stretch from outdoor and social to launch communication and merchandise, and the wallet experience was explored with a focus on accessibility and mobile-first use.
LooksRare
LooksRare is an NFT marketplace, and the brief was a visual system that could handle trading, community engagement and product communication in a market that changes week to week. Renua designed typography, color and interface components that work across the marketplace and its campaigns, and focused the product on fast flows for NFT discovery, trading and collection management. The identity extends into motion, digital assets and apparel.
Nobleblocks
Nobleblocks is a blockchain platform for scientific research and publishing, a long way from the usual crypto aesthetic. Renua built a brand and interface system around readability, hierarchy and modular patterns for complex publishing workflows, so the blockchain infrastructure supports the research rather than distracting from it.
The three projects ask for very different tones. PancakeSwap needed playfulness, LooksRare needed speed for traders, and Nobleblocks needed the restraint of an academic tool.
Watch-out: Renua’s case studies show the work, but not public metrics such as trading volume or user growth after launch. Ask for results on calls rather than expecting them in the portfolio. It’s also a small team, so very large ecosystems may need more bench depth than one boutique studio can offer. Some clients’ Clutch reviews mention wanting more frequent meetings during early branding, so agree on a meeting rhythm at kickoff.
Building or rebranding a Web3 product? See Renua’s Web3 work or tell us what you’re building.
Should a crypto brand look like crypto?
Every Web3 branding brief eventually lands on this question, and the work above answers it in different ways.
Coinbase’s identity was designed with newcomers in mind. Moniker’s transit-inspired system and brightened version of the existing blue were meant to feel familiar to people who had never bought crypto. For an exchange whose growth depends on newcomers, that’s the right bet.
PancakeSwap went the other way. Its identity leans into characters, bold type and internet-native humor, because its users already live in that culture and expect a DEX to feel like part of it.
Most projects sit somewhere between the two. Our view is to build a core identity that would still look credible in a bear market, then let campaigns, mascots, launch drops and merch be much louder. People judge whether to trust you by the core, and they share the louder material.
How to choose a Web3 branding agency
Check they know your corner of the stack. Designing a centralized exchange, a self-custody wallet, an L2 ecosystem and an NFT marketplace are different jobs. Ask for work as close to your product as possible.
Ask how they work with a community. If your brand needs governance approval, a forum discussion or a token-holder vote, the studio has to plan for public feedback from the start.
Ask about motion and product. In crypto, the brand lives in tickers, charts, wallet screens and launch videos at least as much as in the logo. A studio that only delivers static guidelines leaves most of the work to someone else.
Ask how the brand will age. Request examples of work that’s more than two years old and still in use. If a three-year-old identity still looks right today, the studio probably knows how to design past a single market cycle.
Ask about legal and compliance. Exchanges, stablecoins and ETF products face real regulatory limits on what they can say and show. Clay’s Grayscale work is a reminder that institutional crypto brands are designed inside those limits.
FAQ
What does a Web3 or blockchain branding agency do?
It creates the brand strategy, visual identity, tone of voice and often the product and website for a crypto or blockchain company. The best ones also design motion, token assets and community materials, because that’s where Web3 brands spend most of their time.
How is crypto branding different from fintech branding?
Both have to earn trust with money. Crypto brands also have to win over an online community that values authenticity, and often work under decentralized governance, where token holders or councils can shape or approve the brand.
Do DAOs need community approval for a rebrand?
It depends on the governance rules. Some protocols fund and approve brand work through governance proposals, and many DAOs at least publish a request for comment on their governance forum before a rebrand.
Should a crypto project have a mascot?
It can help, especially for consumer and community-led projects. Phantom’s ghost and the characters around PancakeSwap give users something to recognize and share. A mascot works best on top of a solid core identity, and rarely holds up as a replacement for one.
How do crypto brands stay credible after a market downturn?
By separating the core identity from the hype layer. A steady core system, clear product design and honest communication tend to hold up across cycles, while campaign visuals can change with the mood of the market.
A brand for every cycle
The best crypto brands don’t feel tied to a single market cycle. They look as sensible in a quiet market as in a frenzy, and they speak to newcomers without embarrassing the people who were there first.
When you compare studios, look for three things: work on your kind of product, experience bringing a community along, and a habit of treating motion and product as part of the brand from the start.
Renua designs brands and products for Web3, fintech and AI companies. If you’re building in Web3 and want brand, product and motion designed as one system, see our work or get in touch.