KOL
KOL (key opinion leader) is the crypto industry's term for an influencer, usually on X or Telegram, whose posts or "calls" move token prices; projects pay KOLs in cash or tokens to promote them.[1] Memecoin tracking tools label such accounts' wallets "KOL wallets" for others to follow.[2]
How it works[edit]
Paid posts
On 1 September 2025 ZachXBT published a leaked spreadsheet of more than 200 influencers contacted for one token campaign: about 160 accepted, quoted fees ranged from hundreds of dollars to five figures per post, payments went to Solana wallets, and fewer than five labelled their posts as ads.[1] The US Federal Trade Commission requires influencers to clearly disclose material connections in posts.[1]
Allocations
KOLs also receive tokens. Kaito, a platform that ranks crypto influencers by attention, airdropped tokens at its 20 February 2025 launch; Cointelegraph reported that Ansem sold all of a $230,000 allocation and Anthony Sassano all of $185,000.[3]
Wallet following
Platforms such as GMGN highlight KOL wallets and offer one-click tools to copy their trades, which makes KOL buying itself a signal in the trenches; see Copy trading.[2]
Regulation[edit]
On 3 October 2022 the SEC charged Kim Kardashian with violating the anti-touting provision of securities law by not disclosing a $250,000 payment for an Instagram post about EMAX tokens; she paid about $1.26 million without admitting or denying the findings and agreed not to promote crypto asset securities for three years.[4] SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal said investors "are entitled to know whether the publicity of a security is unbiased".[4] See Celebrity memecoins.
Criticism[edit]
ZachXBT accused Murad, promoter of the Memecoin supercycle thesis, of making bold predictions "while controlling the supply" of coins he promoted; in July 2025 Cointelegraph reported that wallets labelled as his held over $70 million in memecoins. Murad did not respond to Cointelegraph.[5]
Timeline[edit]
- 2022-10-03: SEC charges Kim Kardashian over an undisclosed paid crypto post[4]
- 2025-02-20: Kaito airdrops tokens to influencers[3]
- 2025-09-01: ZachXBT publishes leaked KOL rate sheet[1]
See also[edit]
- Glossary of trenching terms
- Liquidity pool
- Mint authority
- Sniping
- Bundling
- Community takeover
- Bonding curve
- Rug pull
References[edit]
- ^ ZachXBT says over 100 crypto influencers accepted promo deals without disclosing paid ads, The Block, 2025-09-01
- ^ Resisting Manipulative Bots in Meme Coin Copy Trading: A Multi-Agent Approach with Chain-of-Thought Reasoning, arXiv (WWW '26), 2026-01-13
- ^ Kaito token rises 50% post-airdrop, Cointelegraph, 2025-02
- ^ SEC Charges Kim Kardashian for Unlawfully Touting Crypto Security, US SEC, 2022-10-03
- ^ Influencer who coined 'memecoin supercycle' sits on $68M profit, data suggests, Cointelegraph, 2025-07-28