Organizer: Fairy, ChianCatcher

Editor: TB, ChainCatcher

In the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency market, KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) are both transmitters of information and explorers of content entrepreneurship. They may go viral due to a single tweet or quietly cultivate their presence over a long period, driving the evolution of industry narratives.

What real challenges do KOLs face amidst the tug-of-war between traffic and trust, and the balance between value and monetization? Can newcomers still stand out in today's environment?

In this episode of "How Do Crypto KOLs Ride the Waves?", we invite several active crypto KOLs: AB Kuai.Dong, on-chain analyst Ai Yi, Mr. Blockchain, BroLeon from Australia, and EnHeng, to explore the true portrait of content creators in the crypto world from their beginnings, turning points, to challenges.

You can click to listen to the full replay: https://x.com/i/spaces/1kvKpyjkVMLGE

Question 1: What prompted you to become a KOL? Did you encounter any key turning points or bottlenecks during the process? How did you ultimately break through?

AB Kuai.Dong: I was active on Zhihu from 2019 to 2020, sharing blockchain-related content. At that time, the industry was in a bear market, and I had a relatively light workload. I was originally in the research department of an exchange, which had downsized from 800 to less than 100 employees, and there wasn't much work left for the remaining staff. A colleague successfully built a public account from scratch, which inspired me to start writing on Zhihu.

After writing for a little over a month, a few of my answers became popular on Zhihu, and my account's weight quickly increased, prompting me to take content creation seriously. However, after the "519" ban in 2021, my Zhihu account was suspended, which paused my content creation.

Later, I joined a media outlet, and the industry began to recover from 2020 until 2023, during which I focused on my main job and temporarily set aside content creation. It wasn't until last summer that I picked up my social media accounts again, mainly sharing thoughts and industry observations on X platform, marking a fresh start in this journey.

Ai Yi: I entered the space in 2018, working on Web3 products, and becoming a KOL was an unexpected opportunity. At that time, my boss wanted to create an account but couldn't get it off the ground, so before leaving, he transferred the account to me. As a product manager, my work was more internal, and I lacked a representative work to showcase, as well as opportunities to meet many peers, so I wanted to use this account as my business card to connect with more interesting people.

The real turning point came in November 2023 when I resumed account management. By December, some of my content was cited by the media, and I gained attention and interaction from "Sister One." That period coincided with a market recovery, and my account gained momentum quickly.

Mr. Blockchain: I first encountered Bitcoin in 2013, participated in the Ethereum ICO in 2014, and began writing crypto content on Facebook in 2016. In 2017, I started live streaming on YouTube, mainly introducing projects like Tron, Binance, and ICOs. From 2020, I shifted my focus to DeFi video content while also managing my own fund, concentrating on early-stage investments.

As an early user in the industry, I experienced several key cycles. During the bear market in 2018 and the wave of STO compliance, many projects were affected by regulation, and we had investments impacted as well. With tightening policies in China, many early users and trading platforms fell silent, and the market languished from 2019 to 2020.

It wasn't until 2020 that the DeFi explosion brought a turning point. Since then, I have been live streaming almost daily, continuously introducing projects and participating in them without pause.

BroLeon from Australia: I entered the crypto space in 2016-2017, initially creating a self-media account called "Pizza Hut" on WeChat, where I secured many quality ICO opportunities in Australia, helping domestic friends with investments and project research. After experiencing the bear market of 2018-2019, I briefly returned to traditional finance.

I became active as a KOL when BSC (Binance Smart Chain) emerged. As BSC gained traction, I started sharing DeFi-related opportunities in WeChat groups, and the community gradually expanded, reaching a peak of 30,000 to 40,000 members across hundreds of groups.

Later, as WeChat began to suspend accounts, I transitioned to Twitter, growing from 10,000 followers to 140,000 in over two years. Throughout this process, I didn't encounter significant bottlenecks, but the issue of "competition" did cause some concern—more and more newcomers and MCN (Multi-Channel Network) agencies entered the space, the update frequency increased, and the pressure grew. Eventually, I chose to return to my roots and share content that I genuinely found interesting in a more comfortable way.

EnHeng: I entered the space in 2022 and started on Twitter in 2023. At that time, I needed to publish articles for promotion due to work, but without followers, no one was reading. So, I began to accumulate followers and explore collaborations, which turned out well, and I gradually built my presence. My main source of income comes from trading, and I view KOL work as a supplement through advertising, while I continue to share regularly, keeping the overall pressure low.

Question 2: Some say that now is the springtime for KOL agencies. What is your view on KOL agencies? What do they mean for content creators?

AB Kuai.Dong: I don't believe we are still in the "springtime" for KOL agencies. When I was the market head in 2020, agencies in the industry had profit margins as high as 50%-80%, and some could even secure premium tokens from project parties, selling them for substantial profits after listing. But now, the competition is fierce, with at least a dozen agencies still active in the market, service fees are continuously driven down, with some charging as low as 10%, significantly compressing profit margins, relying on rebates and other methods to make up for profits.

Now, when a project officially announces financing, the Twitter DMs are immediately filled with messages from agencies. Although it seems like a "recovery" due to recent token launches, as more people enter the market, prices are dropping, and it may become a difficult path to profit, similar to VC.

Regarding the bottlenecks in content creation, it's less about the content itself and more about the concerns in expression. Since I have always been on the front lines of the industry, I have to be particularly careful when tweeting to avoid inadvertently offending peers. The greater the influence, the more such concerns and responsibilities there are.

Ai Yi: I only truly encountered agencies after becoming a KOL. KOL agencies are an inevitable product of the industry's development to a certain stage. Platforms like Bilibili, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu already have mature agency systems. As the crypto industry grows, agencies will also become more standardized and systematic.

Many resourceful KOLs are also starting their own agencies or acting as intermediaries. I believe this industry will continue to "intensify," but ultimately, it will form a pyramid structure with a concentration of top players.

For content creators, agencies can bridge information gaps. For example, if I am optimistic about a project and willing to support it early, I may not necessarily be able to contact the project party directly. In this case, an agency can help facilitate that connection. Additionally, even if I decline a collaboration invitation, I can still learn about the project, which allows me to discover more new projects. So, I think agencies play a positive role to some extent.

Mr. Blockchain: I believe the emergence of agencies reflects the gradual maturity of the Web3 industry. In this ecosystem, promotion becomes a necessity after project financing. Many startups often choose to outsource marketing rather than build their own teams. This is where agencies play a crucial role; they have established stable connections with KOLs and content creators, significantly reducing communication and execution costs.

The Web3 marketing market shows clear regional differences; for instance, the quotes from American KOLs may differ by several times from those of Asian KOLs. Similarly, a KOL's influence heavily depends on the quality of the community they operate, not just the number of followers. We have seen some smaller KOLs who, due to their high community engagement, can charge tens of thousands of dollars for a single piece of content.

I agree that agencies are an indispensable part of the Web3 ecosystem, but I don't believe the market will ultimately be left with only a few large agencies. As long as information asymmetry exists, the demand for promotion and advertising will continue, and agencies will have their place.

Moreover, AI has now deeply integrated into the content ecosystem. We have encountered European projects that use AI to manage thousands of social media accounts in bulk, making it difficult to distinguish between real and fake. In the future, many interactions may occur between AI and AI, posing new competition for human creators' influence.

BroLeon from Australia: I believe the existence of agencies is inevitable. Long ago, institutions and VCs approached me to act as an agency, but I declined because I believe that more specialized individuals will emerge in each niche.

Currently, there are many agencies in the market, but ultimately, there will be a survival of the fittest, leaving only a few winners. We are still in a "wild growth" phase. The crypto markets in the East and West are not fully integrated; the West does not understand the value of Eastern KOLs or how to collaborate, while Eastern KOLs often lack the time to attend meetings, build connections, or stay updated on project developments. These tasks indeed require professionals.

The professionalism of agencies is difficult for other roles to replace. However, this is just a transitional phase. In the future, project parties will realize that broad advertising strategies are gradually becoming ineffective, and the market is experiencing fatigue from "bombardment" style promotions. The next phase will require more comprehensive and multi-dimensional promotional methods, which will be a new test for agencies. Ultimately, only those with real strategies and execution capabilities will remain.

Additionally, new advertising models like Title are also worth noting. Although there was much controversy at first, it has recently attracted many mid-tier KOLs through methods like QR codes or sample giveaways. If this model continues to develop, it may replace some functions of traditional agencies.

EnHeng: I believe that in the future, some KOLs will definitely transition to working on projects or funds, and these roles will have a higher ecological position, provided they succeed.

As for KOL agencies, they may face issues of declining profits and shrinking average transaction values in the future. There are currently too many agencies in the market, each connecting with different types of projects; for example, some work with meme coins, while others handle institutional projects. However, as the market becomes increasingly transparent, prices are being driven down, leading to intense overall competition.

Question 3: What do you think about the barriers to "becoming a KOL"? Do newcomers still have opportunities to become KOLs today? Where will future opportunities for KOLs arise?

AB Kuai.Dong: I think the benefit of this industry is that every market cycle brings new market directions and topics. For example, the Binance Alpha craze in March this year led to the emergence of many new bloggers. They focus on niche areas, respond quickly, and provide accurate data, many of whom only started this year.

From early last year to the beginning of this year, I also participated in some KOL events and clearly felt the industry is continuously iterating. New projects drive the rise of new bloggers, which can put pressure on some older bloggers. However, many older bloggers gradually exit because they have made enough money, chosen to retire, or shifted their life focus.

Every wave of the market brings opportunities for newcomers; as older bloggers exit, newcomers rise. This is a natural market law. Especially in the rapidly changing crypto capital market, such cycles are very common.

Ai Yi: I believe there are no clear barriers to becoming a KOL; the lower limit is very low, and the upper limit is very high. You only need an account to get started. But what’s truly important is to think clearly about why you want to become a KOL before you start.

Many people get caught up in how to write content, how to format it, or what themes to choose, but I suggest treating your account as a product to plan. Different goals will determine your subsequent development path: if you want to treat KOL work as a career, you need to invest all your energy; if it’s just a hobby, sharing your views casually is also fine.

If you decide to take it seriously, you need to choose the right track. Everyone has different strengths, and differentiation is becoming increasingly important. For example, I focus on on-chain data analysis because I’m not good at expressing strong opinions and don’t have access to first-hand resources, but I can output content using data, which feels most natural to me.

Mr. Blockchain: My advice for newcomers is to create content that others haven’t done; this way, it’s easier to stand out and seize opportunities and airdrops. We started making YouTube videos because no one else was doing it.

From my past experience, the most profitable aspect isn’t paid promotions but participating in the early design and contributions of projects, especially during the DeFi wave. For instance, early KOLs in Europe and the U.S. who wrote DeFi content were invited into projects and received generous rewards.

However, quality projects have become scarcer now, and meme coins are highly volatile, so another important piece of advice is: never use leverage. Many people have lost a lot of money due to leverage in this wave.

Also, don’t regret selling too early or too late; the key is to survive steadily. The last reminder is that in the future, AI will intensify competition in this field, and everyone may manage multiple accounts to handle different situations, like a goalkeeper. You need to learn to manage risks to go far.

BroLeon from Australia: Regarding the development of KOLs and the paths for newcomers, I have seen many people successfully transition from Web2, such as starting from self-media and writing content on Kaito. Entering the KOL space is simple, but the upper limit is clear; the key is persistence and finding direction.

To move up, you need clear labels. For example, Ai Yi is an on-chain expert, and B is a gossip-style researcher, both combining personality and ability to form their own style. Once you reach the top, you need to establish your own investment logic and style to achieve the "Davis Double-Click": making good investments and providing accurate recommendations, resulting in a win-win for followers and reputation. However, reaching this point also means higher output frequency and content quality requirements, such as daily updates and community management. I used to manage communities effectively, but now I prefer to conserve energy and focus my time on more effective paths.

For me, the endpoint of being a KOL is not managing a fund. Fund management is stressful, and free investing is much easier. I am more optimistic about the "project incubation + KOL" model, such as being a project ambassador, which allows me to maintain influence while participating in the project's growth.

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