Reaching real participants for a Web3 attitudes study

A research team partnered with CleverX to understand perceptions and attitudes toward decentralized autonomous organizations, a community-run type of online organization common in crypto. The goal was 30-minute one-on-one video interviews with people who genuinely take part in or have real experience with them, a hard-to-find, crypto-native audience.

• These participants are a small, self-selecting niche within an already niche crypto audience.
• Experience had to be real, meaning actual participation, not just having heard of the term.
• The audience skews younger and is spread across many communities rather than one channel.
• A modest incentive meant the recruit had to lean on genuine interest in the topic, not just payment.

CleverX targeted the crypto and Web3 part of its panel and screened for real involvement.

• Eligibility centered on crypto and Web3 enthusiasts with genuine hands-on participation.
• The screen filtered for people who could speak to participation, perceptions, and attitudes.
• Age targeting matched the younger make-up of these active communities.
• Interviews ran 30 minutes over video.

• Interviews completed with genuinely experienced participants, reached through the panel.
• Panel-based targeting reached a crypto-native audience without chasing scattered communities.
• The topic-interest angle kept participation strong despite a modest incentive.

• For niche communities, an existing, well-profiled panel beats trying to recruit cold from scattered channels.
• Screening for real participation, not just awareness, is what keeps a niche sample credible.
• Genuine interest in the topic can carry recruitment where a small incentive alone would not.