From no-coin to Degen – Mapping cryptocurious journeys and implications for builders

Embedding Web3 must be done with the journeys of the crypto-curious in mind. While crypto has entered the mainstream conversation, penetration remains low – 20 million monthly active users on Ethereum, one of the most popular blockchains, compared to 5B Internet users. Understanding how to go from crypto-curious to crypto-converting isn’t just for water cooler talk, but has important implications for crypto founders and builders when it comes to winning over the majority.

Last month, we wrote the first column for CoinMarketCap on the crypto landscape in Southeast Asia, detailing findings on adoption rates, barriers to overcome for mainstream adoption, and more. As the conversations unfolded around the findings, another question emerged – “what makes individuals fall down the crypto rabbit hole?”

The journey, which we outlined in the first article, starts with The No-Coiner – someone who first becomes aware of crypto. As curiosity grows, perhaps just enough to start a crypto wallet, each individual eventually faces a crossroads – “Should I buy crypto?” If it’s positive, the next question follows – “Which crypto should I start with?”

Keen to find out the answers to this and its implications for builders, we launched a second round of surveys targeting 700+ individuals to understand 2 questions:

1. Who encouraged them to first buy crypto?
2. What was your first crypto purchase?

This is what we learned:

• More than half of respondents make their first crypto purchase for coins with smaller capital
• Stablecoins are the least popular route to entry – but this could change very soon
• Media and news channels remain the king when it comes to building confidence in the initial crypto purchase
• Family and friends also play an important role in getting someone on board with crypto
• While workplace adoption of crypto is still low, the crypto-native generation is already learning about crypto from workplace conversations

What was your first crypto purchase?

More than half of respondents made their first crypto purchase for smaller-cap coins

While the strict definition of altcoins is any crypto that is not Bitcoin, we separated Ethereum and stablecoins from the other altcoins to better understand consumer dynamics. From our survey, we learned that more than 1 in 2 individuals start their crypto journey with these cryptocurrencies with less capital. Through follow-up conversations with some of these people, we learned that purchase motives are twofold – speculative investments, and a means to an end.

On speculative investments, the perception is that cryptocurrencies with less capital have greater volatility, and thus potentially higher upside than cryptocurrencies with large companies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Some even colloquially call Bitcoin “the crypto for boomers.”

In addition, cryptocurrencies with less capital were bought as a means to an end – be it buying a Non-fungible Token (NFT) or playing a game.

“I bought AXS as my first crypto because I heard from some friends that they were playing Axie Infinity and one of the requirements to play the game was to have some AXS tokens to pay for in-game activities like breeding” – College Student

Stablecoins are the least popular route to entry – but this could change very soon

Notably, stablecoins are the least popular route to entry. The most common reason was the lack of utility. Stablecoins are most often used as a temporary store of value for active cryptocurrency traders, rather than a medium for transactions related to products and services. “I use stablecoins like USDC as a safe haven when I think prices are going to fall. When they fall, I use USDC to buy back crypto,” says an architect who is an active user of several Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols.

Nevertheless, this is a trend that could reverse quickly, as the use of stablecoins for transactions gradually increases. Most recently, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced its support for a purpose-built digital Singapore Dollar, outlining use cases such as government payments and skills development requirements. Powered by a credible source with a top-down approach (ie citizens must use digital SGD or they won’t be able to claim the benefits), it wouldn’t be surprising to see stablecoins be the de facto gateway to crypto in the near future.

Who encouraged you to make your first crypto purchase?

After understanding what people bought as their first cryptocurrency, we became curious as to who led them down the rabbit hole.

Media and news channels remain the king when it comes to building confidence in the initial crypto purchase

We learned that media and news outlets are still king when it comes to building trust in one’s first crypto purchase, with 27% of the surveyed population attributing their first crypto purchase. As sources of authority and credibility for a large portion of the population, the media and news publications play an important role in weeding out misinformation and providing a more objective voice in a noisy environment. As such, reading, listening and viewing content from media publications becomes a key driver in influencing crypto interest, and ultimately conversion. “I first bought Bitcoin when I heard about it on the news. After diving deeper, I understood more about what the blockchain is and how a distributed ledger prevents the corruption of financial records,” says a middle school teacher.

Family and friends also play an important role in getting someone on board with crypto

While the media remains influential, family and friends play a crucial role in reinforcing the narratives and guiding a person into crypto. With 25% of respondents attributing their first crypto purchase to influence from family and 21% to their friends, the importance of advocacy among existing crypto users is underscored. This is best characterized by a pilot who shared: “I was a skeptic for many years, although I had friends around me who bought crypto then. I had always thought it was just a big scam. But in November 2021, I decided to contact a friend who runs an introductory crypto course. One year later, I’m deep down the rabbit hole, learning more and more about what web3 has to offer, so I can expand my horizons in both technology and finance.”

This is echoed by another person who currently works as a privacy manager, “I jumped into the crypto space back in 2013 after hearing about it from a good friend at school. I was fascinated by the concept of mining for Bitcoin and have never stopped since.”

While workplace adoption of crypto is still low, the crypto-native generation is already learning about crypto from workplace conversations

Notably, workplace conversations are the least influential in the crypto conversion journey based on our survey. However, a split is beginning to emerge between the crypto-native generation (those born from 2000 onwards and recent entrants into the workforce), compared to crypto-immigrants (those born before 2000).

9% of crypto immigrants attribute their first crypto purchase to workplace interactions, compared to 17% of crypto natives. This could potentially indicate a growing interest in crypto among colleagues, or even the discussion of crypto entering the “work” fold as a growing number of companies consider the implications of web3, crypto and other distributed ledger technologies. A software engineer who falls into the crypto-native category said:

“I got into crypto when it was still possible to mine Ethereum, over an off-topic discussion in my software engineering team. My colleagues and I wanted to assess the feasibility of setting up mining rigs with off-the-shelf and off-the-shelf software.”

Implications for Builders – Authority, Social Proof, Scarcity

These findings have important implications for crypto founders and builders looking to include more non-crypto owners in the fold, and can be summarized in three principles:

1. Authority – Ask any web3 entrepreneur how they think about distribution and “social media” will likely be the number one answer. But as our research has shown, while social media has a role to play (often in shaping public opinion), the leap from “crypto curious” to “crypto conversion” is often dependent on authoritative, reliable sources such as media and news outlets. Entrepreneurs should not overlook the importance of building authority and credibility for themselves and their companies, including media and news. Research has shown that establishing credibility and authority before trying to influence has led to increased effectiveness – in a medical setting, patient compliance with advice from doctors and therapists increased by 34% when the professionals posted their degrees, awards and certifications on the wall.

2. Social proof – In all clichés there is a grain of truth, including the cliché “monkey see, monkey do”. The role family, relatives and friends play in influencing individuals to buy crypto is undisputed – together they make up almost half of the surveyed population. Founders can think of ways to engineer “safety in numbers”—a concept that has been proven since the 1980s when researchers asked for more door-to-door donations after showing residents a list of other residents from the neighborhood who already had donated. What is key is finding the right set of “influencers” that the individual trusts and has an existing connection with.

3. Scarcity – “That which is rare, unusual, or diminishing in availability gives value to objects, or even relations,” says Robert Cialdini, the father of modern persuasion research. While the concept is no stranger to the crypto scene (exclusive airdrops, low-access NFT collections, and limited-time challenges), scarcity must be a combination of rare and valuable. While rarity can be engineered through a variety of techniques, value must first be established or it will not be desirable. A pencil I have on my desk may be one of its kind in the world, but if its value is not understood and recognized, it remains priceless

To conclude, the path consumers take towards crypto adoption provides interesting insights into their motivations and behavior (eg, cryptocurrencies with smaller values ​​for speculation or as a means to an end), as well as sources of influence. Through an understanding of these, founders can thoughtfully establish authority, construct social proof, and create scarcity as they bring crypto to the masses.

This is a guest post from CoinMarketCap by Qin An Looi, principal at Saison Capital, and has been edited for style. The original article was published here.

What is Saison Capital

Saison Capital (saisoncapital.com) is an early-stage venture capital fund (pre-seed to series B) with a focus on emerging markets. We support ambitious founders who solve big problems in Web3, fintech and embedded finance. Everyone on our team comes from an operating background, and we’re not afraid to roll up our sleeves to support our founders. We are backed by Credit Saison, a Tokyo-listed $30B AUM consumer finance company with comprehensive financial services across Asia.

Where to find Saison Capital:

Website | Twitter | LinkedIn |

What is CoinMarketCap:

CoinMarketCap is the world’s most referenced price tracking website for digital assets in the rapidly growing cryptocurrency space. Its mission is to make crypto discoverable and effective globally by empowering retail users with unbiased, high-quality and accurate information to draw their own informed conclusions.

Where to find CoinMarketCap:

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