There is a wide range of interested parties when it comes to cryptocurrencies. The multitude of audiences observed in regard to digital currencies ranges from retail traders and casual investors, to professional day traders pursuing the markets as a way to earn a living. With upwards of 300 million cryptocurrency users across the globe, we set out to try and understand the key differences between hardcore Connoisseurs and the amateur Dabblers within the crypto community.

Methodology

To improve our understanding of the differences between casual retail traders and hardcore crypto enthusiasts, we compared two distinct audiences. The first we created by compiling a community of those following at least one of the major coins or trading platforms (such as Bitcoin, Coinbase, Dogecoin, Ethereum and Binance), as well as engaging with at least one or more altcoins (including Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, Litecoin, Terra, Kraken and Gemini) - this audience represented the hardcore Crypto Connoisseurs. The second audience comprised individuals engaging with at least one of the major coins or trading platforms, but not following an altcoin - this audience represented the amateur Crypto Dabblers.

Analysis

Age emerged as a contributing factor when considering who is more likely to dabble in crypto rather than be a hardcore trader. We found tribes of young males, trendy youth and uni students all had a strong affinity towards crypto ‘dabbling’. These contemporary individuals represent cryptos adoption with the ‘on-trend’ lifestyle in younger generations. Music, fashion and gaming are all key points of interest for this ‘dabbling’ community, indicating a real affiliation to contemporary culture.

Whilst Crypto Dabblers are generally associated with young, new-wave culture, our study indicates that hardcore traders are far more likely to be from older generations with more traditional cultural interests and professions. High fashion, theatre and fine dining emerged as some of the largest secondary interests within the Hardcore Crypto community, with senior business professionals such as ‘directors’ and ‘executives’ also indexing highly, which suggests that those investing in crypto have both experience and expensive taste. This discovery indicates a strong correlation between affluence and crypto engagement amongst older generations and further highlights crypto’s far-reaching potential beyond youth culture.

Conclusion

Regardless of crypto experience, what can clearly be said for both groups is that crypto has now moved beyond a technologist-specific interest. The tribes that surfaced throughout our analysis represented a variety of audiences, very few of which were tech-centric. There are two reasons for this: (i) younger generations are innately tech-savvy and tech-trusting, meaning they harbour less scepticism towards crypto to begin with; but more importantly, (ii) crypto has received a real cultural and social stamp of approval over the past year, thanks to a number of high-profile celebrity endorsements and general institutional adoption of crypto.

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