Jordi Urbea, CEO of Ogilvy Spain, argued at the Ibiza Tech Forum 2026 that most crypto brands disappear because they cannot make anyone feel the difference, not because their technology is weak. Urbea, who has spent 25 years helping brands stand out, says sameness is the real killer in crypto marketing. Between 150 and 300 new coins launch every week, with roughly 10,700 remaining active, yet Bitcoin and Ethereum hold close to 75% of the total market value, leaving thousands of near-identical projects competing for a shrinking slice of attention.
Crypto Advertising Collapses Into One Template
In an expert council interview with BeInCrypto, Urbea argued that crypto advertising has collapsed into one template. "If you look at the crypto sector and all the advertising, the ads are exactly the same. You change the logo, and it's the same," he stated.
The numbers explain why sameness spreads so easily. Between 150 and 300 new coins launch every week, and roughly 10,700 remain active. Yet Bitcoin and Ethereum hold close to 75% of the total market value. Thousands of near-identical projects compete for a shrinking slice of attention, and in that crowd, a copied message vanishes on contact.
"It's very strange to find one company that says, 'This crypto is completely different.' The rest are just repeating, message by message. And people say it's boring, it's all the same," Urbea said.
Strong Projects Die From Communication Failure
For Urbea, the failure is rarely technical. "For many years I collaborated with many startups, and most of them disappeared because they couldn't explain the difference between one brand and another. There are people with amazing technology and amazing ideas, but they don't have the capacity to explain it," he stated.
Startup data backs him. CB Insights found the top reason companies fail is no market need, cited in about 42% of cases. Marketing and go-to-market problems account for a further large share. Running out of money tops some lists at 70%, yet that is the final symptom—the root cause usually sits upstream, in a value no one managed to communicate.
Crypto shows the pattern at an extreme scale. More than 53% of all tokens launched since 2021 have already failed, and most of those projects were not undone by broken code. They simply never gave the market a reason to remember them.
Imitation Erases Distinctive Brand Assets
Urbea believes imitation is the mechanism behind the sameness. Teams copy whatever seems to work for a rival. "In some cases people repeat the formulas that work for others. 'It goes well for that company, so I'll repeat it.' Follow the leader and repeat. But by the tenth message, your brand disappears, your message disappears, and you're a big ship lost in the night," he said.
Marketing science adds context here. Byron Sharp and the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute argue brands grow by being distinctive rather than merely different, because buyers choose fast and rarely study fine detail. Copying rivals erases the distinctive assets—the voice, colors, and language that let a brand register at all. Without them, recall collapses.
Distinctive Brands Command Higher Margins
Jordi Urbea has a direct remedy: stop borrowing formulas and build your own. "If you create your space, you create your language, you create your own way to work. That is my humble advice," he stated.
The payoff is measurable. Kantar analyzed 40,000 brands and found a strong link between relative uniqueness and the amount consumers are willing to pay. Distinctive brands command higher margins and lower price sensitivity. Research also shows that fresh, varied advertising lifts recall, while repetition fades fast.
For crypto founders, technology may open the door, but identity is what keeps a brand alive. As automation floods every channel with more content, Urbea's warning grows louder: in a market of copies, the only safe move is to be impossible to copy.
FAQ
What did Jordi Urbea say about why crypto brands fail?
Jordi Urbea, CEO of Ogilvy Spain, argued at the Ibiza Tech Forum 2026 that most crypto brands disappear because they cannot make anyone feel the difference, not because their technology is weak. He stated that sameness, not code, is the real killer in crypto marketing.
How many new crypto coins launch every week?
Between 150 and 300 new coins launch every week, with roughly 10,700 remaining active. Bitcoin and Ethereum hold close to 75% of the total market value, leaving thousands of near-identical projects competing for attention.
What percentage of crypto tokens launched since 2021 have failed?
More than 53% of all tokens launched since 2021 have already failed. According to Urbea and startup data from CB Insights, most of those projects were not undone by broken code but by an inability to communicate their value and differentiate themselves in the market.
