The Media-Narrative Contour of the Cryptoeconomy

This study examines the media-narrative dimension of the cryptoeconomy as a distinct contour through which value, trust, and risk are constructed amid the ongoing institutionalization of the digital assets market. The article argues that cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, decentralized finance, and tokenized instruments acquire economic significance not only through their technological attributes or legal status, but also via sustained public interpretations that set the boundaries for investment behavior and regulatory perception. The analysis unpacks the role of narratives concerning digital scarcity, payment infrastructure, real-world asset tokenization, and legal recognition. The paper demonstrates that media-narratives can reduce uncertainty, align expectations among crypto-market participants, and foster the growth of distributed infrastructure. However, when decoupled from the institutional viability of the corresponding assets, they become a source of speculative inertia, overvaluation of their market price, and systemic risk.