Binance is the preferred cryptocurrency exchange for Chinese speakers, and social media platform X is the source of most of the information they use to make investment decisions, Hong Kong-based publication TechFlow found in a detailed survey.
Respondents were 76.1% male, and 57.4% were between the ages of 26 and 35. Slightly over a quarter of respondents were younger than that, while users over 55 accounted for only 0.45%. Respondents with three to five years’ experience on the crypto market were the most common, at 34.76%. They were followed by those with one to three years (30.94%) and five to eight years (21.29%). Only 6.19% had more than eight years of experience.
The Chinese crypto community prefers Binance
Binance holds a dominant position among Chinese-speaking crypto holders. Respondents indicated that 96.72% of them use the exchange, and 63.15% keep their main assets on the exchange.
OKX was the second-most favored, with 83.53% of respondents having used it and 25.3% holding their assets on it, followed by Gate.io with 39.95% (4% keeping assets on it) and Bitget with 37.49% (2.91% keeping assets there). The survey noted:
“Most respondents (69.61%) said that their preferences for a certain exchange would not be affected by regulatory factors, which also indicated that investors were gradually becoming less sensitive to the regulatory behavior of various governments.”
X was the main source of information for the Chinese-speaking crypto community, with 87.17% turning to the social media platform. Crypto media came in second with 69.88%, followed by WeChat and Telegram with less than half of respondents citing them.
The Chinese crypto market is lively
Just over a quarter of survey respondents were engaged in “full-time coin speculation.” About half of the respondents (49.41%) held more than half of their assets in crypto. Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), BNB (BNB) and Pepe (PEPE) were the coins respondents made the most money on.
Many respondents looked to the supernatural for support:
“40.04% of investors interviewed said that they had metaphysical behaviors such as praying for the blessing of the God of Wealth.”
Related: China’s crypto ban fails to stop scams as Shaanxi police arrest 4 suspects
Although cryptocurrencies are banned in China, users can trade them on exchanges there and place up to $50,000 per year on exchanges in Hong Kong. Reuters cites Chainalysis data to show that $86.4 billion “in raw transactions” took place on the crypto market in China between July 2022 and June 2023.
The TechFlow survey was conducted between May 22 and June 30, and its results were published on Aug. 19. There were 2,053 respondents.
Magazine: How Chinese traders and miners get around China’s crypto ban