Crypto Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) shape Web3 narratives and retail investment behaviour. In volatile, high-risk markets, their credibility becomes a key determinant of their influence on followers. Yet prior research has focused on lifestyle influencers or generic financial commentary, leaving crypto KOLs' understandings of motivation, credibility, and responsibility underexplored. Drawing on interviews with 13 KOLs and self-determination theory (SDT), we examine how psychological needs are negotiated alongside monetisation and community expectations. Whereas prior work treats finfluencer credibility as a set of static credentials, our findings reveal it to be a self-determined, ethically enacted practice. We identify four community-recognised markers of credibility: self-regulation, bounded epistemic competence, accountability, and reflexive self-correction. This reframes credibility as socio-technical performance, extending SDT into high-risk crypto ecosystems. Methodologically, we employ a hybrid human-LLM thematic analysis. The study surfaces implications for designing credibility signals that prioritise transparency over hype.

翻译：加密货币关键意见领袖（KOLs）塑造着Web3叙事与散户投资行为。在波动剧烈的高风险市场中，其可信度成为影响追随者的关键决定因素。然而既有研究多聚焦生活方式类意见领袖或泛金融评论，对加密货币KOL的动机、可信度及责任认知的探讨尚不充分。本研究通过对13位KOL的访谈，结合自我决定理论（SDT），探究心理需求如何与变现压力及社群期望相互协调。既有研究将金融意见领袖的可信度视为静态资质集合，而本研究发现其本质上是自我驱动、通过伦理实践构建的动态过程。我们识别出四种社群认可的可信度标识：自我约束、有限认知能力、问责意识及反思性自我修正。这将可信度重新定义为社会技术表演，从而将SDT理论拓展至高风险加密货币生态系统。方法论上，我们采用人机协作的混合式主题分析法。本研究为设计强调透明度而非炒作的可信度信号提供了实践启示。