Animoca Brands Research Report: 5000 Followers = Ticket to Influence? A Data Perspective on the Marketing Status of Crypto KOLs
The proportion of verified accounts among cryptocurrency-related Twitter/X accounts is higher than that of regular Twitter/X users.Compiled by: ShenChao TechFlow
Summary
Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are important marketing channels, especially in the cryptocurrency field, where they play a critical bridging role between projects and users. To better understand the role of KOLs in cryptocurrency marketing, we analyzed Twitter/X accounts related to cryptocurrency and their "links in bios," aiming to identify the thresholds considered influential accounts and explore the preferences of cryptocurrency trading platforms in KOL marketing.
The first indicator of becoming a KOL is having a "verified account." Among cryptocurrency users, the proportion of verified accounts rapidly increases with the number of followers, stabilizing after reaching 1,000 followers. For verified accounts, the percentage of those with links in their bios sharply rises after reaching 5,000 followers, leveling off only after exceeding 50,000 followers. This indicates that 1,000 followers is a critical threshold for users considering leveraging their verified status to enhance their influence, while 5,000 followers seems to be the point at which they are recognized as influential.
The most common business links in cryptocurrency users' bios are trading platforms, concentrated between centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized platforms. Among centralized exchanges, the largest by trading volume also dominates the links in bios. These links are almost evenly split between tokenized links (representing direct value-sharing arrangements with KOLs) and regular links (indicating long-term KOL collaborations or voluntary associations). Tokenized links from centralized exchanges are particularly prevalent among Chinese KOLs, favoring users with over 20,000 followers and accounts existing for more than three years.
For decentralized trading platforms, links in users' bios focus on rapidly emerging projects, reflecting their need to capture on-chain user mindshare to drive growth. These links are entirely tokenized and primarily appear among English KOLs. Unlike centralized exchanges, decentralized platforms do not have specific preferences regarding follower count or account age, showing a more permissionless and inclusive approach to KOL marketing.
Introduction
Influencers or Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) play a significant role in consumer-facing marketing, with a market size reaching $21 billion in 2023. In the cryptocurrency industry, driven by mindshare, the influence of KOLs is even more pronounced as they can shape public perception and drive engagement.
To analyze the use of KOLs in the crypto space from a quantitative perspective, we studied 250,000 Twitter/X accounts active in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Our research specifically focused on verified accounts that include links to cryptocurrency trading platforms in their bios. Verified accounts require a paid subscription to unlock features such as reply boosters, long posts, and creator centers, which enhance their marketing potential. Therefore, verification can be seen as a marker for accounts seeking greater influence and aspiring to become KOLs.
The business network links in Twitter/X bios, commonly referred to as "links in bios," indicate the associations of accounts. In this analysis, we focused on links to trading platforms, such as those including "binance.com" or "hyperliquid.xyz," to optimize our sample. Trading platforms are the most common business in the bios of the sampled user group, typically using tokenized links to attribute new user conversions to specific sources. This makes it an effective filter for identifying accounts participating in marketing activities.
In addition to focusing on trading platforms, we also examined the typical characteristics of Twitter accounts involved in these marketing activities. Key features analyzed include follower count, account language, and account age. These metrics collectively provide meaningful insights into how crypto businesses leverage KOLs for marketing.
Verified Accounts: Comparison Between Crypto and Non-Crypto Sectors
The Importance of Verified Accounts in the Crypto Space
*: Crypto account data sourced from @UseUniversalX and @aveai_info
**: Regular account data sourced from @nytimes
Note: Verification indicates that the user is a premium or premium+ account, requiring an annual fee ranging from $80 to $160.
The proportion of verified accounts among cryptocurrency-related Twitter/X accounts is higher than that of regular Twitter/X users, highlighting the significance of verified accounts in the crypto space.
Verified accounts with fewer than 1,000 followers represent a growth phase and serve as a critical turning point. Once follower counts exceed 1,000, the proportion of verified accounts stabilizes and slowly grows from 30% to 50%. This may indicate that reaching 1,000 followers is a threshold for considering a paid subscription to further expand online influence, marking a key milestone toward becoming a KOL.
Verified accounts are more likely than regular accounts to include links in their bios. Once follower counts exceed 5,000, the proportion of verified accounts rapidly increases, indicating that links in bios create more value for verified accounts with over 5,000 followers.
Demographics of Crypto Verified Accounts
Demographics of verified accounts (percentage of accounts out of total, total = 131,387)
Focusing further on verified accounts in the crypto space, we collected a sample of over 130,000 accounts. Among them, 80% have fewer than 5,000 followers, and 4% have over 50,000 followers. In terms of language, 80% of accounts use English, while 7% use Chinese. The age distribution of accounts is relatively even, with 11% registered in the past year and 43% existing for over five years.
- The remainder of this report will focus on these crypto verified accounts.
Crypto Trading Platform Marketing: Links in Bios
Common business domains appearing in the bios of crypto verified accounts (percentage of all accounts)
Nine out of the ten most popular business links are cryptocurrency trading platforms, with the decentralized trading platform Axiom.trade ranking first. It is important to note that business links do not include self-promotional links, such as Instagram or OpenSea.
CEXs (centralized exchanges) and decentralized platforms share positions among the top nine, with OKX and Binance ranking second and third, respectively. This observation indicates that cryptocurrency trading platforms are the most concentrated group utilizing links in bios as a form of marketing.
Crypto Trading Platform Marketing: Links in Bios
Overview of trading platform links (number of accounts)
Among centralized exchanges (CEXs), OKX, Binance, and Bybit lead in frequency of appearance, with nearly equal numbers of tokenized links.
In addition to tokenized links, most CEXs also appear in the form of regular links. This aligns with the background of large CEXs hiring KOLs as brand ambassadors, who do not measure their contributions based on new users converted through tokenized links.
Among decentralized platforms, Axiom, BullX, and GMGN lead in frequency, with almost all decentralized platform links appearing in tokenized form.
Crypto Trading Platform Marketing: Tokenized Links
Overview of tokenized links from trading platforms (percentage of all accounts)
- If we consider the previously mentioned cryptocurrency trading platforms as the entire universe of tokenized link marketing, Axiom, BullX, and OKX are the top three participating platforms, collectively accounting for about 50% of the overall share.
Crypto Trading Platform Marketing: Tokenized Links
Tokenized links from trading platforms (number of accounts)
Decentralized platforms place more emphasis on tokenized links than centralized exchanges (CEXs). This difference may stem from the permissionless nature of decentralized platform links, while CEX tokenized links require authorization.
CEXs primarily target Chinese accounts, especially those with higher follower counts and longer account ages. In contrast, decentralized platforms prioritize English accounts, most of which exist within smaller-scale accounts.
Crypto Trading Platform Marketing: Tokenized Links
Tokenized trading platform links among verified accounts, categorized by follower groups (percentage of verified accounts)
Tokenized trading platform links among verified accounts, categorized by type (percentage of verified accounts)
Most accounts have fewer than 10,000 followers, with only a small portion of accounts using tokenized links.
The proportion of accounts using tokenized links rises with increasing follower counts, peaking at the 20,000-29,999 level. This suggests that 20,000 followers may be a threshold at which verified accounts are seen as valuable for tokenized link marketing.
Tokenized links are particularly prevalent among Chinese accounts, especially among those with 50,000 or more followers. In contrast, English accounts rarely adopt tokenized links proactively, regardless of their follower counts.
A key distinction between CEXs and decentralized platforms lies in their approach: decentralized platform links show little regard for account follower counts, while CEX links are more common among accounts with higher follower counts.
Crypto Trading Platform Marketing: Regular Links
Regular trading platform links among verified accounts, categorized by follower groups (number and percentage of verified accounts)
Regular trading platform links among verified accounts, categorized by type (percentage of verified accounts)
Verified accounts with 30,000 to 39,999 followers are most likely to use regular trading platform links, setting a higher threshold than tokenized links. This distinction may arise from regular links prioritizing brand promotion over direct user acquisition, requiring greater manual coordination from exchanges, thus necessitating attention to accounts with large follower counts.
Regarding language use and differences between trading platforms, the pattern closely aligns with that of tokenized links: regular links are primarily associated with centralized exchanges and show a clear preference for Chinese accounts.
Conclusion
The role of KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) in the cryptocurrency space is undeniable, serving as an important bridge between projects and their user bases. KOLs help users gain deeper insights into projects, discover new opportunities, and assist projects in effectively reaching target communities. The phenomenon of "links in bios" alongside self-service tokenized links reflects the dynamic interaction among these three parties.
This study aims to provide an overview of the KOL marketing strategies adopted by well-known cryptocurrency companies and projects on Twitter/X. Large centralized exchanges lead in the realm of "links in bios," utilizing both tokenized and non-tokenized models almost equally. Meanwhile, decentralized platforms can share a significant portion with top centralized exchanges in their early stages, relying entirely on tokenized links. For Twitter/X accounts, having 20,000 followers seems to be the threshold for participating in the "links in bios" ecosystem.
With the emergence of "InfoFi" in the crypto marketing space, we anticipate the development of more innovative methods to coordinate the interests of projects, users, and KOLs. Furthermore, innovations in social marketing can extend beyond the crypto space, potentially gaining mainstream attention in the broader digital marketing landscape.
Methodology
A random sample of 103,264 followers was drawn from the followers of @cz_binance and @binance as representatives of crypto accounts, and 60,594 followers from @nytimes were selected for comparison.
Platform: Crypto verified accounts were sampled by scanning the Twitter/X accounts of 15 trading platforms, including Binance, OKX, Bitget, Bybit, Gate.io, MEXC, Crypto.com, UniversalX, Pepeboost, GMGN, Ave.ai, Photon, and BullX. The sampling cap for each account was set at 50,000, capturing a total of 131,387 verified accounts.
Language: An account was classified as English if all text in its bio and username was in English. The remainder was classified as Chinese or other based on the non-English language used.
Tokenized links were identified through keywords in the links: Binance uses "join" or "register," OKX uses "join," Bybit uses "invite" or "partner," Bitget uses "partner," MEXC uses "invite," Gate.io uses "signup," Photon uses "@," BullX uses "/p/," Crypto.com, Axiom, and Hyperliquid use "@," UniversalX uses "invite," and Ave.ai, Pepeboost, and GMGN.AI use "ref."
