Maybe it is the other way round. He didn't want to damage his professional reputation which could have happened if important and vocal members of the crypto com

Maybe it is the other way round. He didn't want to damage his professional reputation which could have happened if important and vocal members of the crypto community had declared that they thought the project ridiculous. Just like Carlo Pedersoli renamed himself Bud Spencer so as not to damage his good reputation as an olympian athlete with his movies.