Crypto Doesn't Have a Discovery Problem, It Has a Trust Problem. Beluga Solves It.

Projects are still launching by the dozen, liquidity is back, and CT is louder than ever. But while the memes fly and market caps pump, a quiet truth hangs

Crypto doesn't have a discovery problem, it has a trust problem.

Projects are still launching by the dozen, liquidity is back, and CT is louder than ever. But while the memes fly and market caps pump, a quiet truth hangs over this cycle: the industry still struggles to reach real users. Not bots. Not insiders. Not anonymous whales farming airdrops. People. Curious, everyday users who want to participate, but don’t know where to start.

Beluga, whose investors include key execs from Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, and more, is going after that gap, and in Q1, it proved it knows where to aim.

The platform ended the quarter with some serious traction, with over 123K followers on X and 75K newsletter subscribers. Moreover, two of their clients, Plume Networks and SUI’s Walrus, had two of the best token launches of the year. But those numbers aren’t the story. The story is how Beluga is shifting the center of gravity from influencer-driven launches and Discord hype cycles to curated, data-driven discovery that actually respects the user’s time.

The big swing here isn’t the design or the language, it’s the approach. Beluga isn’t trying to “go viral.” It's building a platform that assumes people want clarity. The Top 50 List of tokens launching is a curated, no-paid-placement breakdown of the most compelling launches. Its Starterpack Learn and Earn campaigns with Bonk, Gemini, Aptos, and others are structured onboarding flows that actually teach users how to use the product, not just farm a reward.

And now, they’ve launched a public trading wallet — real positions, real performance, no smoke and mirrors. In a world where “transparency” often means selectively sharing a PnL screenshot, Beluga is putting skin in the game.

The vibe is different here. Most crypto projects speak to the Degen Industrial Complex — Beluga is talking to your cousin who bought $DOGE in 2021 and still has no idea what a bridge is. That’s not a dig. It’s the market. If crypto is going to onboard millions in the next few years, someone has to build infrastructure that isn’t just optimized for engagement farming.

Adding to that momentum is the recent appointment of Dan Yoo, former Coinbase VP and NerdWallet COO, as an advisor. He’s not some investor-in-name-only. He helped scale one of the most trusted fintech education platforms of the last decade. His move signals that Beluga isn’t content being a cool site for token news, it wants to become crypto’s default interface for mainstream users.

The irony is that Beluga doesn’t feel “mainstream.” It feels clean, intentional, even a little retro in its emphasis on quality over noise. And in a market that’s seen dozens of token discovery tools flame out under the weight of pay-to-play mechanics, that’s a welcome shift.

So, no, Beluga isn’t just growing. It’s actively challenging the way we onboard, educate, and launch in crypto. If the next generation of users is going to come from beyond the echo chamber, they’ll need tools built for them, not just for the timeline.

Right now, Beluga is one of the few projects building like that’s the goal.

Spencer Hulse is the Editorial Director for Grit Daily Group. He works alongside members of the platform's Leadership Network and covers numerous segments of the news.