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Small Crypto Publishers: 5 Strategic Pathways to Compete When Tier-1 Controls 82% of Traffic

November 23, 2025
as tier-1 publishers capture 82% of Asia’s traffic, how can we as small crypto news publishers gain traffic?

The consolidation data is stark: 18 publishers control 82% of Asia's crypto-native traffic. For small publishers, this creates an obvious question: Is growth even possible? The answer, based on Outset's Q2 2025 data, is yes—but it requires abandoning the playbooks that worked five years ago.

The publishers that are growing within this concentrated market share a common insight: they're not competing with tier-1 on tier-1's terms. They're not trying to out-aggregate CoinReaders or out-speed CoinPost. Instead, they're exploiting five structural gaps in the consolidated market. Here's how.

1. Specialization Over Aggregation: Own a Vertical, Not the News Cycle

The tier-1 trap: Large publishers must cover everything. CoinReaders, CoinPost, and The BlockBeats maintain audience size by addressing broad crypto audiences—trading, regulation, DeFi, Layer-2s, tokens, and institutional news. This breadth is their strength and their vulnerability. They cannot be deeply expert in everything.

Your advantage: Pick a vertical and become the authoritative source. The Outset data shows that tier-2 and tier-3 outlets are surviving—and some are growing—by specializing. The report notes: "Outlets covering topics such as AI-driven tokens, local regulation, DeFi innovation, and early-stage community projects" maintain viable positions despite lower traffic.

How to execute this:

  • Vertical options for 2025: AI + blockchain integration (a major Q2 2025 content driver), real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, local regulation and compliance, DeFi infrastructure, Web3 gaming/play-to-earn, specific blockchain ecosystems (Solana, Polygon, etc.), institutional crypto adoption, or cross-border payment corridors.

  • Go deep, not broad: Instead of covering 50 topics weekly, cover 5 topics with expertise. If you choose AI + crypto, your audience should trust you more than generalist outlets for every AI-crypto intersection. When TechFlow Post covers "analytical deep reads," it maintains 5m 51s session duration—far above the 1-2 minute average. Depth drives engagement.

  • Build SEO authority around your vertical: Tier-1 publishers rank for high-volume keywords (e.g., "Bitcoin price"). You won't beat them there. But tier-2 outlets like ChainCatcher succeed by owning medium-volume, high-intent keywords within their niche. If you specialize in "DeFi protocol security," you should rank #1 or #2 for 50-100 related search terms that tier-1 outlets ignore.

  • Become the vertical's news hub: When a major development happens in your niche, you should be the first source your target audience checks. Develop source relationships, set alerts, and publish faster than generalists. Speed within a vertical is achievable; speed across all crypto is not.

Real example from the data: Smaller outlets survive by covering "local regulation, DeFi innovation, and early-stage community projects." These are verticals that tier-1 publishers cover episodically but not systematically.

2. Community Trust Over Algorithmic Visibility: Build Direct Traffic (It's Not Just For Tier-1)

The counter-intuitive finding: Direct traffic—the 54% figure dominating tier-1 success—is not exclusively a function of scale. Yes, CoinReaders has 58.5% direct traffic because it's established. But smaller outlets can build direct traffic through community engagement without having 10 million monthly visitors.

The mechanism: Direct traffic results from habit formation. Readers bookmark your site, return weekly, share your URL with colleagues, or search for you by name. You build this by:

  • Publishing consistently and predictably: Your audience knows when you publish. Tuesday and Friday at 8 AM. Every Thursday, deep-dive. Consistency is underrated in crypto media. Outset's survey noted: "The ones growing now are the ones investing in language SEO and stable content cadence." Cadence matters.

  • Being the fastest source in your niche: If you cover "DeFi protocol audits," your audience should know you publish analysis within 4 hours of a major audit drop. Tier-1 outlets are generalists; they can't match speed in every category. You can.

  • Building community around your voice: Southeast Asian editors emphasized: "Readers are fed up with AI content—what they want is the identity, attitude, and personality of the writer." Create a recognizable editorial voice. Have a founder/editor with personality. Host community discussions. Run Discord or Telegram channels. Make readers feel like they're part of something, not just consuming content.

  • Email as your moat: While social media algorithms remain opaque, email is controllable. Build an email list (even 5,000 subscribers can drive significant traffic). Every major article goes to your email subscribers first. Email traffic is direct traffic—it's not subject to algorithm changes. This is why newsletter-to-site conversion is so valuable.

  • Leverage WhatsApp and local messaging apps: In Southeast Asia, Telegram and WhatsApp are critical for community engagement. Tier-1 outlets often underinvest in messaging-app communities because they're not easily measured. You can build direct traffic through Telegram channels where members know to check your site for full analysis.

Real example from data: Coinness (South Korea) maintains high engagement (72.96% direct traffic) not through aggressive acquisition, but through consistent community engagement and discussion-driven reporting. Its direct traffic is loyalty-driven, not scale-driven.

3. Language and Regional Proximity: Own Your Geographic or Linguistic Niche

The consolidation vulnerability: Asia's crypto media is increasingly English-dominated at tier-1. While CoinReaders, CoinPost, and others maintain local language editions, smaller publishers can own local language verticals more completely.

Why this works: Outset's survey captured this directly: "International media aren't popular locally—community channels and native news platforms deliver updates faster and in the right language." Language preference isn't just about translation; it reflects community values, local context, and cultural proximity.

How to exploit this:

  • Deep local language optimization: If you're publishing in Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, or even regional Chinese dialects, you have an advantage over tier-1 publishers who translate content or maintain secondary language teams. Hire native speakers who understand local crypto culture, not just language.

  • Local regulatory coverage: Each country has different crypto regulations. Tax treatment differs. Stablecoin frameworks differ. Gaming and NFT regulations differ. Tier-1 outlets cover this, but a publisher focused on "Thailand crypto regulation" will rank higher and be trusted more than a regional aggregator.

  • Geographic audience building: Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines still have immature crypto media ecosystems. These are not consolidated markets like South Korea and Japan. A publisher focused on "Vietnam's top 50 crypto projects" or "Thailand's DeFi ecosystem" can own traffic in ways that are harder in mature markets.

  • Cross-border coverage: Tier-1 outlets focus on major markets. But regional publishers can cover cross-border dynamics that multinational teams miss. "Remittances to the Philippines via crypto" or "Vietnam's play-to-earn talent pool" are stories that regional experts can do better than generalists.

Real data point: Siam Blockchain (Thailand) and Blog Tien Ao (Vietnam) maintain positions as tier-2 publishers despite lower overall traffic, because they own their geographic/linguistic niches. Tier-1 outlets haven't fully captured these markets.

4. Early-Stage and Niche Community Coverage: Be the First Source for Emerging Trends

The reality: By the time a trend reaches CoinPost or CoinReaders, it's already mainstream. But emerging trends, early-stage projects, and niche communities need coverage before tier-1 picks them up. Smaller publishers can own this space.

How to execute:

  • Track emerging protocols before they're mainstream: Smaller publishers have an advantage in covering protocols, tokens, and chains during their early phases. When Linea or Polygon got launched, tier-1 outlets eventually covered them. But smaller outlets could have been tracking them from the beginning. Early coverage builds audience loyalty among early adopters.

  • Cover specific blockchain communities deeply: Solana, Polkadot, Cosmos, and smaller chains each have communities. Tier-1 covers these. But a publisher that covers "Solana's developer ecosystem" more deeply than any tier-1 outlet can capture niche audience loyalty. There's traffic in specificity.

  • Early-stage project coverage: VC-backed early-stage projects need media coverage. While tier-1 outlets worry about credibility and avoid smaller projects, smaller publishers can build relationships with founders and emerging teams. This creates a "first look" advantage.

  • Emerging investment trends: When "AI + crypto" became a theme in Q2 2025, it was a content driver. Smaller publishers that tracked AI-crypto integration before it was obvious gained an advantage. Find the next obvious-in-hindsight trend before it's obvious.

The model: Tier-2 outlet CoinCarp succeeds partly through early-stage coverage that tier-1 outlets don't prioritize. Tier-1 focuses on major tokens; tier-2 can focus on emerging ones.

5. AI Discoverability: Optimize for the Discovery Mechanism Tier-1 Hasn't Fully Captured

The finding: AI referral traffic currently represents 0.58% of total traffic, but some publishers are seeing 27-68% of referral traffic from AI sources. This is the least saturated discovery mechanism in Asia's crypto media. Smaller publishers can gain a disproportionate advantage by optimizing for AI now, before tier-1 fully captures this channel.

How to optimize for AI discovery:

  • Structured data and metadata: AI tools extract information more reliably from well-structured data. Use schema.org markup. Create clear data hierarchies. If you cover a token, provide: token name, ticker, blockchain, launch date, current price, market cap, developer team, key features, risks. AI tools will pull this more reliably than from unstructured narrative text.

  • FAQ and Q&A format: AI tools favor question-answer formats. Structure articles as FAQ when possible. "What is MakerDAO?" "How does it differ from Aave?" "What are the risks?" This format ranks higher in AI summaries than narrative prose.

  • Clear, hierarchical headings: Use H2, H3, H4 consistently. AI tools parse hierarchical structure. A well-structured article with clear headings will be extracted and cited more reliably than equally good prose without structure.

  • Semantic clarity: Use consistent terminology. Don't say "blockchain" one time and "distributed ledger" another. AI tools improve with semantic consistency.

  • API and data feeds: Create machine-readable data feeds. If you maintain a database of emerging projects or protocols, publish it as an API. AI tools and aggregators will pull from your API, creating inbound links and traffic.

Real example: 528BTC (China) gets 27.05% of referral traffic from AI aggregators. This is because it structured content for AI discoverability. CoinEdition (Indonesia) sees 14.26% AI referral traffic through similar optimization.

Why smaller publishers have advantage: Tier-1 publishers are optimizing for traditional SEO and social algorithms, with AI optimization as secondary. Smaller publishers can make AI optimization primary now, before tier-1 fully captures this channel. This creates first-mover advantage in an emerging discovery mechanism.

The Combinatorial Advantage: How These Pathways Interact

These five pathways are not mutually exclusive. The highest-growth publishers combine multiple approaches:

  • Specialize in a vertical (pathway 1) + Build community to create direct traffic (pathway 2) + Optimize for local language/geography (pathway 3) + Cover emerging projects in your vertical before tier-1 does (pathway 4) + Structure content for AI discoverability (pathway 5).

For example, a publisher specializing in "Southeast Asia's DeFi ecosystem" would:

  1. Cover only DeFi projects launching or operating in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia
  2. Build an engaged community through Telegram and email
  3. Publish in Vietnamese and English with the local regulatory context
  4. Track emerging DeFi protocols before they're mainstream
  5. Structure all articles for AI extraction with clear metadata

This publisher would not compete with CoinPost on traffic. But within the "Southeast Asia DeFi" niche, they could become the authoritative source, driving sustainable direct traffic and community loyalty.

The Brutal Truth: Scale Will Remain Concentrated

It's important to acknowledge what the data shows: tier-1 will likely remain concentrated at 80%+ of traffic. You are not building the next CoinReaders or CoinPost. The question is not whether you can reach tier-1 scale, but whether you can build a sustainable, profitable niche within the consolidated market.

The good news: Tiers exist for a reason. Tier-2 publishers (19 outlets) collectively drive 12.20 million visits. Tier-3 publishers (83 outlets) drive 6.38 million visits. These traffic levels support full-time editorial teams, freelancers, and sustainable business models. You don't need to be tier-1 to be viable.

The path: Choose specialization over generalization. Build community over chasing algorithms. Own geography/language/vertical that tier-1 hasn't fully captured. Move faster in your niche than tier-1 can in theirs. Optimize for emerging discovery mechanisms before tier-1 does.

The publishers that will grow in 2025 and beyond are not those competing with tier-1 on tier-1's terms. They are those defining new competitive spaces where tier-1's scale becomes irrelevant because they're playing a different game entirely.

Your game is not "win the crypto news cycle." Your game is "become the authoritative source my target community trusts more than anyone else."

When you play that game, tier-1's 82% becomes irrelevant.

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