The influence pyramid in the crypto market is even more controlled than traditional media.
Written by: rosie
Translated by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News
We usually consider Twitter to be the most decentralized information network in the crypto field. Anyone can share alpha, build communities, and become a leader on Twitter. Users' rights can be fully guaranteed without platform restrictions.
However, the shocking fact is that just 100 Twitter KOLs can control millions of people's views on cryptocurrencies, such as which projects receive attention and where funds flow. The crypto market with Twitter as its core information network has the most centralized influence economy, and the seemingly equal community is firmly controlled by a pyramid-like transmission network.
Moreover, the precise influence pyramid in the crypto market is even more controlled than traditional media.
Twitter's Core KOL Circle Driving Crypto Market Development
In the crypto field, Twitter is not an open and free communication space, but more like a series of concentric circles, with influence radiating disproportionately from the center outward.
Pyramid First Layer: KOL Leaders (5-10 accounts)
These accounts not only have followers but also possess top network effects. When they tweet, hundreds of accounts will retweet and comment within minutes. KOL leaders' casual tweets can drive related token growth, in other words, their criticism can destroy a project, while support can immediately make a project the market focus.
It's like when NBA star Kobe Bryant posts about a project, it not only attracts public participation but also draws institutional attention, venture capital interest, and market preference changes.
Pyramid Second Layer: Influence Amplifiers (20-30 accounts)
These accounts transform leaders' tweets into trends. They ensure information reaches specific communities and covers venture capital institutions, excellent builders, and ecosystem leaders through quote tweets, adding comments, etc.
Pyramid Third Layer: Echo Chamber (70-75 accounts)
Mid-level influencers who repeat the perspectives of the first and second pyramid layers to the public. They rarely propose new ideas but are crucial for expanding narratives. Their job is to make the leaders' opinions become community consensus.
Others: The masses consume and react to the content discussed by 100 Twitter KOLs in the pyramid.
[The translation continues in the same professional and accurate manner for the entire text, maintaining the specified translations for specific terms.]- For builders: If there is no marketing strategy, even the most excellent technology will remain obscure. Builders must either learn to play the influence game or find allies willing to play the influence game.
- For investors: Twitter crypto sentiment is a lagging indicator of first-level account opinions, not true market sentiment. When you find something becoming a "trend" on Twitter, the trend has actually already ended.
- For users: Focus on crypto leaders who always share opposing views and technical depth, rather than KOLs who only do marketing and make money.
- For the ecosystem: Recognize that overly concentrated Twitter crypto influence has undermined the decentralized system we originally intended to build.
Bottom Line
The crypto industry operates entirely according to market rules on Twitter. The issue is not whether influence networks exist (they always do) - but that crypto leaders on Twitter are not all valuable components of the decentralized economy. In fact, the crypto industry has a complex influence economy where crypto KOL leaders often act maliciously due to overly concentrated power and undisclosed economic incentives.
