Crypto Logo Download Guide: Formats Explained

Downloading a cryptocurrency logo sounds simple until you open the download options and face a list of file formats: SVG, PNG, WebP, JPEG, ICO. Each format exists for a reason, and choosing the wrong one means blurry logos on your website, bloated file sizes in your app, or broken favicons in your browser tab. This guide explains what each format does, when to use it, and how to get the best results for your specific use case.

SVG: The Gold Standard for Web

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. Unlike raster formats that store images as grids of colored pixels, SVG files describe images as mathematical shapes: curves, lines, and fills defined by coordinates and equations. This distinction has profound practical consequences.

An SVG file can be scaled to any size without losing quality. A Bitcoin logo SVG that looks sharp at 16 pixels will look equally sharp at 16,000 pixels. SVG files are also remarkably small, typically 1-15 KB compared to 50-200 KB for an equivalent high-resolution PNG.

Beyond size and scalability, SVG offers CSS and JavaScript manipulation. Because SVG elements are defined in XML, a dark mode toggle can change a logo's fill color through a single CSS rule, without needing a separate image file.

When to use SVG: Website logos, app icons, documentation, any context where the logo appears at variable sizes. SVG should be your first choice for web.

Limitations: Some older email clients do not render SVG. A small number of CMS platforms reject SVG uploads due to security concerns (SVGs can contain JavaScript).

PNG: Universal Compatibility

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is the most widely supported raster format on the web. It uses lossless compression and supports transparency, allowing logos to sit cleanly on any colored surface. PNG is the format to reach for when SVG is not supported: email newsletters, social media, presentations, and many mobile app frameworks.

The tradeoff is file size. A logo at 1024x1024 pixels might weigh 80-150 KB. At 2000x2000 pixels for print, sizes can reach 300 KB or more.

Recommended sizes for common use cases:

• Social media profile pictures: 512x512 or 1024x1024 pixels
• Exchange listings and token displays: 64x64 to 256x256 pixels
• Marketing materials: 1024x1024 to 2000x2000 pixels
• Thumbnail displays: 32x32 to 96x96 pixels

When to use PNG: Email content, social media uploads, presentations, any context where SVG is not supported and transparency is needed.

WebP: The Modern Compromise

WebP is a relatively modern image format developed by Google, first released in 2010 but achieving broad browser support only in the early 2020s. It offers lossy and lossless compression modes, transparency support, and animation capability, combining advantages of PNG, JPEG, and GIF in a single format.

The headline benefit of WebP is file size. A WebP image is typically 25 to 34 percent smaller than an equivalent PNG with no visible quality difference. For a cryptocurrency logo at 512x512 pixels, a PNG might weigh 60 KB while the same image as a WebP lossless file weighs 40-45 KB. At scale, across a page showing hundreds of token logos, this difference is substantial.

As of 2026, WebP is supported by all major browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and their mobile counterparts. The format has moved from experimental to mainstream, and there is little reason to avoid it for web use cases.

When to use WebP: Web applications where file size matters and you can rely on modern browser support. WebP is an excellent choice for token listing pages, portfolio dashboards, and any interface that displays many logos simultaneously.

Limitations: Some image editing tools and CMS platforms have inconsistent WebP support. Print workflows generally do not accept WebP. For maximum compatibility, pair WebP with PNG fallbacks.

JPEG: The Wrong Choice (Usually)

JPEG uses lossy compression that permanently discards data to reduce file size. For cryptocurrency logos, it is almost always the wrong choice. Lossy compression creates visible artifacts around sharp edges and high-contrast boundaries. A JPEG Bitcoin logo will show smudgy halos around the B and blurred edges on the circle. Critically, JPEG does not support transparency, producing an opaque background that limits placement options.

When to use JPEG: Only when the logo appears within a larger photograph or composite graphic that must be JPEG. Start from SVG or PNG and export to JPEG as the final step.

ICO: Favicons and Windows Icons

ICO is a container format designed for Windows icons and web favicons. An ICO file can contain multiple images at different sizes (typically 16x16, 32x32, and 48x48 pixels) in a single file, allowing the operating system or browser to select the appropriate size for each context.

For years, ICO was the required format for browser favicons, the small icons that appear in browser tabs, bookmarks, and history lists. Modern browsers now accept PNG and SVG favicons, but ICO remains the only format universally supported by all browsers, including legacy versions of Internet Explorer.

Common ICO sizes for favicons:

• 16x16: browser tab icon (standard)
• 32x32: browser tab icon (high-DPI displays)
• 48x48: Windows taskbar and shortcut icons

When to use ICO: Browser favicons when you need to support legacy browsers. For modern-only projects, an SVG favicon is preferable because it scales perfectly on all displays. If you support both old and new browsers, provide an ICO as a fallback alongside an SVG primary.

Use Case Quick Reference

Every context where you might need a cryptocurrency logo maps to a specific format recommendation:

Website or web app UI: Use SVG as the primary format. It scales perfectly, weighs almost nothing, and can be styled with CSS. Provide a PNG fallback for edge cases where SVG is not rendered.

Social media posts and profile pictures: Use PNG at 512x512 or 1024x1024 pixels. Social media platforms re-compress uploaded images, so starting with a lossless format ensures the best quality after their processing.

Browser favicon: Use SVG for modern browsers and ICO at 32x32 for legacy support. Most favicon generators can produce both from a single source image.

Print materials: Use SVG or high-resolution PNG at 2000 pixels or larger. SVG is preferred because it will render perfectly at any print size. If the print vendor requires raster files, export from SVG to PNG at the required DPI (typically 300).

Email newsletters: Use PNG. Most email clients do not render SVG, and many strip JavaScript and CSS that SVGs might contain. Keep file sizes reasonable (under 100 KB per image) to avoid being flagged by spam filters.

Mobile app development: Use SVG when your framework supports it (React Native with react-native-svg, Flutter with flutter_svg). Otherwise, use PNG at multiple resolutions (@1x, @2x, @3x).

Developer documentation: Use SVG embedded inline in HTML or markdown for automatic color scheme adaptation.

On-Demand Format Conversion

Many projects publish logos in only SVG and PNG. If you need another format, conversion is straightforward: ImageMagick or librsvg for SVG-to-PNG, cwebp for PNG-to-WebP.

For convenience, crypto-logo.com's API supports dynamic format conversion. Request any logo in any format by changing the file extension in the URL. Size parameters allow exact dimensions, eliminating client-side resizing.