Want to Enter the Chinese Web3 Market? KOL & Media Strategies You Must Understand

China boasts one of the most active crypto user bases globally. Despite regulatory restrictions, the Chinese-speaking community remains highly enthusiastic about Web3 projects. It is estimated that the number of crypto users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan alone exceeds 21 million, and when including Chinese-speaking communities in Southeast Asia and North America, the total reachable crypto audience through Chinese-language content is at least 23.57 million. Such a vast Chinese-speaking audience means that any Web3 project aiming to expand its market cannot overlook the power of Chinese Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Chinese-language crypto media.


This guide, from the perspective of “how to enter the Chinese Web3 market,” provides a step-by-step introduction to selecting suitable Chinese KOLs, collaborating with them, and evaluating the effectiveness of these partnerships. It also discusses how to leverage Chinese crypto news media (e.g., ChainCatcher, Foresight News, PANews) to boost project visibility. The guide includes an introduction, detailed steps, case studies, a summary, and a concise FAQ to help Web3 projects effectively execute their market entry strategies in China.Want to learn more details? Schedule an online meeting with us!


Step 1: Understand the Chinese Web3 Community Ecosystem


Policy Environment and Market Landscape


Due to regulatory factors, mainland China banned Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and shut down domestic exchanges in 2017, with further crackdowns on crypto trading and mining in 2021. However, users have not disappeared but have “migrated” abroad. Many Chinese project teams, investors, and communities have relocated overseas, with Singapore and Hong Kong becoming key hubs. Meanwhile, a large number of mainland users continue to participate in the global crypto market via VPNs. For instance, despite the bans, crypto trading activities remain vibrant underground: between mid-2022 and mid-2023, an estimated $86.4 billion in crypto transactions occurred in mainland China. This volume even surpassed Hong Kong’s at the time, highlighting the significant engagement of mainland investors.


Broad Definition of the Chinese-Speaking Market


Expanding into the Chinese market does not solely mean targeting mainland users but also encompasses the global Chinese-speaking audience. This includes Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and other regions with significant Chinese populations, as well as Chinese communities in North America and Europe. Hong Kong, with its increasingly open policies, is seen as a bridgehead for connecting the global Chinese crypto market, while Taiwan, with its use of Traditional Chinese and relatively open market, is often used as a testing ground for overseas projects. In short, the Chinese-speaking market refers to the collective of crypto users who communicate in Chinese, not limited to mainland China. Get Web3 KOL and media posting resources for free!


Mainstream Community Platforms


Unlike global markets, commonly used social platforms in mainland China (e.g., WeChat, Weibo) face censorship restrictions. Since 2021, when Weibo banned numerous crypto influencers, the Chinese crypto community has accelerated its “migration” to international platforms like Twitter. Surveys show that approximately 85.4% of Chinese-speaking users primarily obtain crypto information through Twitter (X), far surpassing WeChat (65.2%) and various media websites (61.2%). This makes Twitter the preferred information channel for the Chinese crypto community, while Telegram has become the primary platform for community discussions, with many conversations shifting from WeChat/QQ groups to Telegram groups or Discord. While WeChat Moments and Weibo Super Topics still host some discussions, their influence has waned compared to international platforms. For Web3 projects, this means that expanding into the Chinese market requires operating on international platforms (e.g., Twitter, Telegram) while also leveraging local platforms (e.g., WeChat communities, WeChat public accounts) to reach a broader audience.


Step 2: Define Target Audience and Promotion Strategy


Before taking action, projects should clarify their market positioning and goals to select KOLs and media strategically. Key considerations include:


Target User Profile


Is your project targeting retail investors, tech enthusiasts, or NFT/GameFi players? Different groups are active on different platforms and have distinct interests. For example, DeFi projects should focus on professional investment communities, while NFT/gaming projects can target younger player communities.


Promotion Budget and Timeline


Evaluate your marketing resources, including budget size and promotion duration. Chinese KOL collaborations are typically paid, with top-tier KOLs often requiring immediate payment in stablecoins like USDT/USDC. Additionally, long-term, continuous collaborations yield better results than one-off posts. Budgets should therefore account for multiple promotional releases rather than a single exposure.


By addressing these points, projects can better understand “who to attract, where, and with what content.” This directly informs the next steps in KOL and media selection.


Step 3: Select Suitable Chinese KOLs


What Are KOLs?


KOLs, or Key Opinion Leaders, are individuals with significant followings and influence on social media. In the Chinese crypto space, KOLs may include crypto influencers on Weibo/Twitter, YouTubers, or well-known industry researchers. They attract followers by sharing market insights, project reviews, and other content, amplifying community sentiment.


KOL Types and Characteristics


When selecting KOLs, it’s important to understand their motivations and audience composition. Industry observers categorize KOLs into three types:

  • Speculative Type (approx. 90%): These KOLs chase trends, covering whatever is popular. They are keen on paid promotions and quick profits, often inflating their popularity by buying followers or collaborating with other KOLs to boost visibility. While their audience engagement may appear lively, actual conversion rates are often low, and some may even sell off project tokens immediately after posting.
  • Semi-Speculative Type (approx. 5%): These KOLs focus on specific niches, with relatively professional content and higher-quality followers. They are generally sincere but may accept paid promotions for high fees. Their credibility and audience loyalty fall between speculative and sincere types.
  • Sincere Type (approx. 5%): These KOLs build followings through consistent, professional content and rarely engage in data manipulation. They have deep expertise in niche areas and rarely accept paid promotions, prioritizing their audience’s interests when they do. Their endorsements often have significant market impact due to high audience trust.

Ideally, projects should prioritize sincere or semi-speculative KOLs with relevant expertise. While top-tier influencers may have large followings, if their audience consists mostly of speculative retail investors, projects are unlikely to gain loyal users. Evaluating a KOL’s value requires looking beyond follower count to assess follower quality and interaction authenticity.


Evaluating KOL Influence

When identifying candidate KOLs, refer to our previous guide on KOL selection metrics.


Step 4: Leverage Chinese Crypto News Media


In addition to individual KOL accounts, Chinese blockchain media platforms are crucial channels for market entry. These platforms typically have dedicated editorial teams and stable readerships, providing authoritative endorsements. Common Chinese crypto media include (but are not limited to):

Overview of Major Chinese Crypto Media: Simplified and Traditional Chinese Examples

  • Comprehensive Portals: Jinse Finance, established in 2017, is a veteran blockchain portal with millions of monthly active users, serving as an entry point for many Chinese users. Odaily (by 36Kr) covers industry news, in-depth reports, and events, with monthly website traffic of 0.5–1 million. Its content is often republished by mainstream portals, reaching a wide audience.
  • In-Depth Research Platforms: PANews and ChainCatcher, both founded around 2018, are known for professional research and global perspectives. PANews publishes authoritative industry analyses, with monthly visits of 200,000–400,000. ChainCatcher focuses on cutting-edge content and project research, attracting professional investors with approximately 300,000 monthly visits and high user retention. These platforms excel at providing insights, making them ideal for technical or innovative projects seeking reputation-building.
  • News and Market Updates: BlockBeats and Foresight News are known for 24/7 news and market reports, covering industry developments and trends. BlockBeats has an estimated 600,000–700,000 monthly visits, ranking among the top Chinese media by traffic. MarsBit, backed by IDG Capital, has 200,000–500,000 monthly active users and distributes content to Weibo and WeChat, ensuring broad reach. These platforms can quickly generate buzz, making them suitable for new projects needing news exposure.

For details on collaborating with Chinese media, view this free resource.


Step 5: Implement Localized Content and Community Operations


While collaborating with KOLs and media, don’t overlook building your own Chinese-language channels for long-term growth. Key actions include:

  • Build Official Chinese Communities: Consider creating official Telegram groups or Discord channels with Chinese sections, or even WeChat groups. Use media or KOL campaigns to funnel interested users into your communities. Early in the market entry, airdrop or giveaway campaigns can encourage users to join and provide feedback.
  • Provide Chinese Support: Ensure someone can respond to community inquiries and feedback in Chinese. Smooth communication directly impacts user retention. If your team lacks Chinese proficiency, hire a local community manager or moderator for daily operations. You can also establish official accounts on Weibo or WeChat for regular updates, enabling multi-channel engagement.
  • Create Localized Content: Translate your project’s whitepaper summary, product tutorials, etc., into Chinese, and adapt the tone to local cultural norms. For example, use popular local memes or analogies to explain technical concepts, fostering relatability. Content should address the pain points and scenarios relevant to Chinese users to build resonance. High-quality localized content not only supports marketing but also helps cultivate loyal users.


Step 6: Evaluate Collaboration Effectiveness and Optimize Continuously


After completing promotional activities, evaluate the effectiveness of various channels to refine future strategies. Common evaluation metrics include:

  • Traffic and Conversion: Monitor changes in website visits, app downloads, and registered users from Chinese-speaking regions during the campaign. If a KOL post drives significant clicks, use UTM parameters or unique invite codes to track contributions. More importantly, focus on conversion rates, such as how many click-throughs result in registrations or product engagement.
  • Community Growth: Track the growth in Chinese Telegram/Discord community membership and activity levels (e.g., message volume, active users). For media campaigns, check how many users join your official community post-publication. Genuinely interested users often join groups to seek more information.
  • Social Engagement: For KOL posts, look beyond view counts to comment quality. If real users are asking questions or discussing the project, it indicates audience interest. Conversely, generic or bot-like comments add little value.
  • Media Coverage Impact: Search for secondary coverage, such as reposts by other media or shares in WeChat Moments. Check for discussions on Baidu or Zhihu to gauge whether your project’s visibility in the Chinese internet has increased.
  • Brand Awareness: Conduct small surveys in Chinese communities to ask new users how they learned about your project. If many mention a specific KOL or media outlet, it confirms their contribution.

After evaluation, continuously optimize your strategy: Retain KOLs/media channels that attract high-quality users and deepen collaboration frequency; reduce investment in underperforming channels or adjust collaboration methods. Note that the Chinese market evolves rapidly, and a KOL popular in one quarter may lose relevance the next. Stay attuned to industry trends and user feedback to flexibly adjust your marketing mix.


Case Studies

Case Study 1: Decentralized Exchange Protocol Entering the Chinese-Speaking Market


A DeFi project aiming to attract Asian users initially had low visibility in China. After research, they partnered with three sincere-type KOLs: a technical blogger specializing in smart contract security, a macro-trend-focused research KOL, and a DeFi strategy trading KOL. The project provided these KOLs with exclusive test data and technical highlights, allowing them to create authentic review content rather than generic press releases. As a result, their posts gained significant retweets on Twitter, and the project’s community quality improved, attracting many tech enthusiasts. The number of token-holding addresses grew by 30% within a month post-campaign. This shows that targeting niche KOLs and giving them creative freedom can effectively attract high-quality users.


Case Study 2: Media Collaboration for Momentum


A public blockchain project sought to gain attention in the Chinese-speaking community during its mainnet launch. A month in advance, they engaged with top-tier media like Jinse Finance and PANews, providing testnet data and founder interviews. Several media outlets published in-depth reports and interviews simultaneously, sparking heated discussions in Chinese communities. The project’s Weibo topic garnered tens of millions of views that week. The buzz even led to a brief mention of blockchain technology on CCTV’s finance channel (though not naming the project directly). Ultimately, the project achieved high brand recognition in the Chinese community, with a surge in ecosystem partners and developers. This demonstrates that with compelling project highlights, authoritative media endorsements can create phenomenal exposure in the Chinese market, though such campaigns require meticulous planning and robust news hooks.


(The above cases are summaries of industry experiences to illustrate different strategies’ effects. Adapt them flexibly based on your project’s specifics.)


Summary


Entering the Chinese Web3 market is both an opportunity and a challenge. Success hinges on deeply understanding the local ecosystem and effectively integrating resources. This guide outlines a process from market understanding and strategy definition to KOL selection, media engagement, community operations, and performance evaluation.


The Chinese (broadly defined as Chinese-speaking) crypto community is unique globally: vibrant grassroots activity under regulatory constraints and a blend of international and local cultural dynamics. To succeed, Web3 projects must follow global crypto industry norms (e.g., emphasizing product value and community consensus) while addressing Chinese-speaking users’ communication habits and trust-building processes. Partnering with suitable KOLs and media can help lower trust barriers and integrate quickly into the Chinese community. However, retaining users and creating long-term value depend on the project itself—delivering products that solve real pain points and maintaining transparent operations. KOLs and media are amplifiers, but the project is the source of the message.


We hope this guide helps you avoid pitfalls and find your audience in the vast Chinese Web3 market. With strategic planning and meticulous execution, your project can thrive in the Chinese-speaking crypto world.


FAQs

Q1: What are the advantages of promoting through ChainPeak?

A: As an agency, we have bulk negotiation capabilities, offering prices far lower than direct project collaborations. Long-term partnerships can enjoy customized packages and annual discounts, saving over 30% in costs.


Q2: Which is more important, media coverage or KOL promotion?

A: Both have distinct strengths and should be used in combination. Media coverage provides authoritative endorsements, ideal for building a project’s credible image; KOL promotions leverage community trust for rapid reach. In practice, start with top-tier media to generate buzz, followed by KOL discussions to amplify engagement. Combining media momentum with KOL amplification maximizes visibility and trust, rather than relying on one alone.


Q3: How can projects with limited budgets conduct KOL marketing?

A: For limited budgets, focus on cost-effectiveness. Prioritize mid-tier or niche KOLs, whose fees (hundreds to thousands of RMB) are lower but whose audiences are highly targeted and engaged, often yielding better conversion rates.


Q4: How can projects avoid pitfalls in KOL promotion, such as fake followers?

A: To avoid pitfalls, conduct thorough due diligence before collaborating. Check the KOL’s follower quality and historical content for red flags, as outlined earlier.


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