Research Report on Learning Channels for Chinese Cryptocurrency Practitioners

Author: Winkrypto

1. Research Background Introduction

Since 2021, competition in the cryptocurrency industry has intensified. Winkrypto, as a market expert in the crypto field, bears the mission of being an industry builder.

From June 1 to June 30, 2022, Winkrypto launched a market research on "Reading/Interaction Habits" targeting the core group of the Chinese cryptocurrency industry. This research received positive feedback from industry professionals, collecting a total of 1,035 valid questionnaires.

The questionnaire consists of both qualitative and quantitative parts, divided into closed and open questions, covering options related to language, platform channels, media attention ranking, community participation, institutional focus, KOL attention, etc. The aim is to objectively depict the learning pathways and methods of the Chinese cryptocurrency community, thereby clarifying the changes and current status of the industry landscape and user behavior after the tightening of market self-regulation.

2. Overview of the Research Population

1. Residence of the Research Population

The majority of Chinese cryptocurrency practitioners are based domestically, accounting for 75.3%.

Within China, cryptocurrency practitioners are mainly distributed in Shanghai and Beijing; abroad, Singapore holds a relatively high proportion, consistent with our observations of the destinations of domestic cryptocurrency practitioners relocating.

2. Age of the Research Population

Most cryptocurrency practitioners are young, with 38.6% under 29 years old, and nearly 90% under 40 years old.

3. Companies and Occupations of the Research Population

This research covers various roles in the cryptocurrency industry chain, including project parties, investment institutions, media/self-media/KOLs, exchanges, and industry service organizations. In terms of occupations, it includes founders, business market personnel, technical staff, individual investors, researchers/investment managers, journalists/editors, etc., demonstrating broad representation.

4. Cryptocurrency Investment Amount of the Research Population

This questionnaire primarily targets the core group of industry professionals with longer working experience. In terms of cryptocurrency investment amounts, 66% of respondents invest over 100K USD. The characteristics of this research population are distinctly different from the overall audience of the Chinese cryptocurrency industry, representing the core practitioners of the industry. The features reflected should also differ, indirectly indicating the mainstream and authoritative nature of the opinions in this survey. It should be emphasized that this research summary only represents the characteristics of this specific group.

3. Report on Cryptocurrency Investment Learning Channels

1. Which language do you choose to obtain blockchain information daily?

In terms of language choice for obtaining blockchain information, the bilingual option (Chinese and English) accounts for 59%, indicating the borderless nature of the cryptocurrency industry and the mainstream influence of English information.

2. What channels do you commonly use to obtain blockchain information?

Note: The priority calculation method assigns scores based on ranking (e.g., first place in the questionnaire gets 5 points, with scores decreasing for lower rankings). Each questionnaire yields a total score, and the overall score from all questionnaires determines the priority, with higher scores indicating higher priority.

Currently, the priority for obtaining information from Twitter ranks first, while the commonly used domestic Chinese platform WeChat ranks third.

3. Which Chinese blockchain media/self-media do you frequently read?

Note: The priority calculation method assigns scores based on ranking (e.g., first place in the questionnaire gets 5 points, with scores decreasing for lower rankings). Each questionnaire yields a total score, and the overall score from all questionnaires determines the priority, with higher scores indicating higher priority.

In terms of preference for Chinese blockchain media/self-media, the top three are Chain News, Planet Daily, and Chain Catcher, with the newly established "Foresight News" entering the top four within less than six months, which is noteworthy.

4. Which English blockchain media do you frequently read?

Note: The priority calculation method assigns scores based on ranking (e.g., first place in the questionnaire gets 5 points, with scores decreasing for lower rankings). Each questionnaire yields a total score, and the overall score from all questionnaires determines the priority, with higher scores indicating higher priority.

In terms of preference for English blockchain media, Coindesk, Cointelegraph, and Messari rank in the top three, with the first two showing significant advantages.

5. Which communities do you mainly focus on/participate in for interaction?

Note: The above is a word frequency chart, based on all answers using the Word Cloud Generator* for frequency analysis, with high-frequency words prominently displayed.*

As shown in the word frequency chart, aside from channel-related terms, other high-frequency words are relatively few and have a low concentration. The main channels for community interaction are: WeChat, Telegram, Discord, Twitter; while the community topics are very dispersed, mainly involving media-type communities, official project communities, DAOs, etc. The frequency of terms related to previous pump-and-dump communities is not significant, mainly related to the independent judgment tendency of the research population.

6. Which domestic investment institutions do you pay attention to or follow their opinions?

Note: Mention rate is calculated by dividing the number of mentions of each institution in the research report by the total sample size.

The domestic investment institution mentioned most frequently is IOSG, with a mention rate of 21%, followed by Hashkey and FENBUSHI. The overall mention rate shows a significant gap compared to foreign investment institutions.

Nearly 30% of respondents indicated that they do not pay attention to domestic investment institutions, mainly focusing on the opinions of foreign investment institutions. From an industry influence perspective, foreign investment institutions hold a dominant position in the cryptocurrency industry.

7. Which foreign investment institutions do you pay attention to or follow their opinions?

Note: Mention rate is calculated by dividing the number of mentions of each institution in the research report by the total sample size.

The foreign investment institution mentioned most frequently is A16Z, with nearly 54% of the research population mentioning it, showing a clear advantage. Following that are Paradigm, Binance Labs, and Multicoin, each with a mention rate of around 20%.

8. Which KOLs do you pay attention to or follow their opinions?

Note: The above is a word frequency chart, based on all answers using the Word Cloud Generator* for frequency analysis, with high-frequency words prominently displayed.*

Note: The number of mentions indicates the total number of times each KOL was mentioned in the research report.

A total of 1,035 questionnaires were collected, mentioning 2,228 KOLs in total. The top 10 KOLs were mentioned 566 times, with the top two having a mention rate of around 10%, indicating a relatively low concentration. The tenth KOL was mentioned only 24 times, with a mention rate of 2%. The word frequency chart shows that the KOLs of interest are quite dispersed.

9. Which sectors are you currently focused on, and which KOLs in those sectors do you pay attention to?

Note: The mention rate calculation method divides the number of mentions of each sector in the research report by the total sample size.

In terms of mention rates for focused sectors, the top five are: NFT, DeFi, Infrastructure, Metaverse, DAO.

Based on the KOLs listed by the research population for each sector, due to the dispersion of the list, no concentration or frequency analysis is conducted. Instead, a categorized listing is provided for reference (can be searched for use).

4. Conclusion

1. Research Population: Based on the distribution and collection data of the questionnaires, this research primarily targets the core group in the cryptocurrency field, exhibiting characteristics of high-net-worth individuals, which differ from the overall characteristics of the cryptocurrency population. This must be particularly noted to avoid misleading interpretations. The behavioral analysis of high-net-worth core individuals has pioneering and demonstrative significance in communication studies, which is the original intention of choosing this core group for research, hoping to provide constructive insights for industry exploration.

2. Strengthening of English Channel Influence: From the proportion of English reading, the influence of foreign investment institutions, and the impact of English media, English information sources dominate the cryptocurrency industry.

3. Weakened Position of Traditional Blockchain Media: Currently, media/self-media ranks second among platform channels. From the original questionnaire, more cryptocurrency practitioners tend to directly follow the information release channels of project parties or communities like Telegram and Discord, tracing information back to its root to understand first-hand information and maintain an independent judgment tendency.

4. Fragmented Influence of Communities and KOLs: From the community participation situation and the KOLs followed by the research population, except for a few opinion leaders, the concentration of communities and followed KOLs is not high. Different sectors will further segment different KOLs, and the research population shows a strong tendency to maintain independent and objective opinions.

5. Acknowledgments

Since the launch of this questionnaire survey, it has received enthusiastic support and participation from industry peers. Whether it is providing feedback on the questionnaire design or taking precious time to participate in the construction, it reflects support for Winkrypto and enthusiasm for industry development. We thank industry peers for their continuous support and assistance to Winkrypto!

Due to the limited sample size and the organizer's experience, this activity inevitably has shortcomings. It is also a way to spark discussion, and we welcome peers to engage in dialogue and build together. We hope this research questionnaire can help clarify the industry landscape and provide some exploratory perspectives. Winkrypto will continue to bear its mission, striving to promote industry development with professional services and create real value for the cryptocurrency world.