When will we realize why the cryptocurrency industry doesn’t pay attention to cities below the third tier?

Preface

Many people complained on social media channels: the market is not good now, big Vs are silent on Weibo, they have been poisoned by Bitcoin, it is time to turn back, and everyone has left. Those who make money want to make more, those who lose money want to get their capital back, and those who make no money or lose money want to lose time.

After the prosperity, some gamblers and complaining women remained. In fact, everyone is very busy and has no time to listen to complaints.

Strange Stories

Even if there are 100 million people in China who know Bitcoin, there are still 1.2 billion people who don't know Bitcoin. At least from this perspective, the development potential of virtual currency is still very large. Therefore, we have always been self-righteous and think that the virtual currency circle is now in a cold winter, which is naturally not entirely true. The reason why many people say that the virtual currency market is in a cold winter is more because it is a way of saying that as a practitioner, you can't make money in this circle.

From the perspective of the entire industry, Bitcoin industry practitioners are concentrated in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, with the majority in Beijing. Digital currency followers and participants are also concentrated in these cities, and large or small digital currency gatherings are also held in the above cities. Since 2015, the digital currency industry has entered the so-called "winter period". It is not difficult to see that in addition to the decrease in users in the middle reaches of the industry such as websites, apps, and platforms, the activity of various communities has also declined significantly. Upstream industries such as mining farms and mining pools have gradually developed from retail investors to large-scale centralized ones. The development of downstream links such as payment and financial management is not ideal, and domestic payment companies have disappeared this year.

From the Baidu demand map of Bitcoin (keyword), mining and price are still the focus of attention. What is different from the past is that Bitcoin's "development prospects" and "Chinese websites" have become secondary focus factors, indicating that domestic players are gradually getting rid of the embarrassment of Bitcoin being only hyped, but are eager to have a suitable channel for themselves to see more information about Bitcoin, and the first-hand information of popular and representative virtual currencies such as Bitcoin is on foreign websites. In terms of specific details, the functional websites and resources that these followers or participants really need are mining machines, mining-related, market monitoring, trading platforms, and Chinese media channels. Virtual currency or Bitcoin payment, which has been hotly mentioned since 2014, did not appear in the demand map. Aside from the fact that payment is a sensitive word in China, it shows to a certain extent that payment is not the focus of attention at this stage. It is nonsense to talk about virtual currency payment under inappropriate circumstances.

(Baidu Index)

From the Baidu Index search of virtual currency (keyword), Henan and Shandong have emerged as the new forces. From January 2015 to now, the searches of people in Henan and Shandong ranked fifth and sixth respectively. In September, the searches of Henan and Shandong ranked second and third respectively. As provinces with large populations and mainly composed of third-tier and lower cities, the attention and participants of virtual currency in Henan and Shandong are constantly increasing. However, since many companies in the virtual currency circle are entrenched in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the focus of the companies themselves in developing users is not in these third-tier and lower cities. These people do not really understand Bitcoin or virtual currency, so they are more likely to be deceived by pyramid schemes, frauds and other fake virtual currency, resulting in abnormal development of the market. It is undeniable that the market potential of these provinces and cities is huge, and for virtual currency companies, there is no better development.

Although Taobao and other e-commerce websites have blocked searches for keywords related to Bitcoin, it can be seen from the Taobao index that over the past year, more than 95% of people in third-tier and lower cities use Taobao to search for Bitcoin. We can try to think carefully about why more than 95% of people who use Taobao to search for Bitcoin virtual currency keywords are from third-tier and lower cities? Because of geographical restrictions and information lag, these people think that Bitcoin or virtual currency is a commodity, and they only know that it can be bought and sold and can make money. But they don’t know where to trade, whether mining requires a shovel, or where to buy a wallet. They also try hard to understand and participate in the virtual currency market, which has a high threshold and high education, but many companies do stand up straight, put on a high profile, shout innovation slogans, hold industry conferences in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, give speeches at universities again and again, and form elite clubs one after another. This industry is not always winter, but spring has arrived, and many people are still wearing cotton jackets.

(Taobao Index)

experience

  During the "winter", many companies died without a fight, while many teams gained financing with persistence and faith and started another round of development. The author is also a practitioner in this industry. I worked hard with the team and got some investment, but I didn't make any money. I also want to make money, and I have to do my job well and I don't regret it.