A crypto partnership email template works when the opener matches the partner type and lands with the right role: a BD lead at an exchange, DeFi protocol or market maker, a founder or product lead at a wallet, an editor or the founder at a media outlet. NAUT tracks 4,778 current contacts across those 5 partner types as of 13 November 2026, and founder or CEO titles are the largest role group in all 5, while BD, partnerships, ecosystem and growth titles reach 28 of 215 exchange teams and 163 of 1,227 DeFi protocol teams.
How this was built: on 13 November 2026, NAUT read every live company row tagged as an exchange, wallet, DeFi protocol, market maker or media outlet, then every person currently listed at those rows. Titles were sorted into role groups by their words (BD covers business development, partnerships, ecosystem, growth and strategic titles; founder covers founder, CEO and president). A person whose title matches 2 groups counts in both, and a team tagged with 2 types (a wallet run by an exchange, for one) counts in both, so the 4,778 is a sum of the 5 type totals and the role groups do not add up to it. Sector tags are a lead, so the exchange tag also catches a few traditional venues; those stay out of the named examples. Every figure is NAUT's coverage of the market on that date.
How do you write a crypto partnership email template that gets a reply?
This is how to write a partnership email to a crypto project: name 1 concrete proposal in the first 2 lines and send it to 1 person whose title owns that decision. The 5 openers below share 4 parts:
- A subject line that names both teams and the ask, so the reader knows what it is before opening it.
- 1 proof point: a user count, a volume figure, a round and its lead. Pick the one this partner cares about.
- 1 proposal, small enough to say yes to: a call, a pilot, a co-marketing slot.
- A way out: ask who owns it if the reader does not. A forwarded email from a colleague still gets read.
- Pick the partner typeExchange, wallet, DeFi protocol, market maker or media. Each one has its own opener below.
- Find the roleBD titles first where a team lists one: 43 at 28 exchange teams, 214 at 163 DeFi protocol teams.
- Fall back to the founderFounder or CEO titles are the largest group in all 5 types, 1,112 of them at DeFi protocols.
- Check the channelEmail is on file for 33 of 698 exchange contacts, so plan a Telegram or LinkedIn copy of the same note.
- Send 1, then wait1 person per team. A note sent to 3 people at 1 team reads as a blast.
Who should a crypto partnership email go to at each partner type?
The BD title where one exists, and the founder or CEO everywhere else. The table counts NAUT's current contacts by partner type and role group, read on 13 November 2026.
| Type | Teams | With a contact | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange | 215 | 144 | 698 |
| Wallet | 166 | 124 | 508 |
| DeFi | 1,227 | 858 | 3,238 |
| Market maker | 40 | 34 | 165 |
| Media | 163 | 74 | 169 |
BD titles and founder or CEO titles, as people (teams):
| Type | BD | Founder/CEO |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange | 43 (28) | 185 (101) |
| Wallet | 24 (19) | 168 (94) |
| DeFi | 214 (163) | 1,112 (628) |
| Market maker | 13 (10) | 37 (20) |
| Media | 7 (6) | 68 (45) |
3 things stand out for a BD lead:
- At exchanges, a BD title makes the top 8. Head of BD is the 6th most common title at exchange teams on NAUT, held by 18 people. Listing titles are rare: 6 people at 3 exchange teams.
- Market makers list more trading titles than marketing ones. 11 trading, liquidity, sales or OTC titles sit at 6 market maker teams, against 6 marketing titles.
- Media is the thinnest. 74 of 163 media teams list anyone, and editorial titles (editor, reporter, writer, content) number 9 at 6 teams.
Crypto partnership email template: 5 openers by partner type
Each opener is a first email, written as a short crypto partnership proposal. Swap the bracketed parts, keep it under 120 words, and send it to the role named above it. The same text works as a Telegram or LinkedIn note when NAUT holds no email for that person.
1. Exchange: send to the BD lead
Send to: a BD, partnerships or ecosystem title (43 people at 28 of 215 exchange teams), then the founder or CEO (185 people at 101 teams). Large exchanges such as Binance and OKX list people across many desks, so read each title before you pick 1.
Subject: [Your project] x [Exchange]: [the proposal in 6 words]
Hi [first name], I lead partnerships at [your project]. We [proof point: active users, monthly volume, or the round you closed and who led it]. I think [Exchange]'s [specific product, such as its launch program, earn product or wallet] is a fit because [1 reason tied to something they shipped this quarter]. The proposal: [1 concrete thing, such as a joint campaign for your users or a listing review]. Open to a 20-minute call next week? If listings sit with someone else on your team, their name helps just as much.
2. Wallet: send to the founder or the product lead
Send to: the founder or CEO (168 people at 94 of 166 wallet teams). For an integration, a product or CTO title (29 people at 20 teams) is the person who scopes the work. Phantom has a team page on NAUT, and OKX runs a separate wallet product beside its exchange.
Subject: [Your project] in [Wallet]: [the integration in 6 words]
Hi [first name], I'm [name] from [your project]. Our users [what they do onchain, with 1 number], and [X share] of them already hold [Wallet]. We'd like to [the integration: a swap route, a dApp listing, a signing flow] and can ship our side by [date]. Could I send a 1-page spec, or is there a better person on your product team for this?
3. DeFi protocol: send to BD, or to marketing for co-marketing
Send to: a BD, partnerships, ecosystem or growth title (214 people at 163 of 1,227 DeFi protocol teams). For a co-marketing ask, a marketing or community title (214 people at 149 teams). The founder or CEO group is the largest, at 1,112 people across 628 teams. 1inch, a DEX aggregator and liquidity protocol, has a team page on NAUT.
Subject: [Your protocol] x [Protocol]: [shared users or shared liquidity]
Hi [first name], I run BD at [your protocol]. We [proof point: TVL, volume or integrations live], and [the overlap: our users hold your token, or our pools route through you]. Proposal: [1 concrete thing, such as an integration, a liquidity incentive or a joint campaign], with [what you bring to it]. Worth 20 minutes this week or next?
4. Market maker: send to BD, then the founder
Send to: a BD title (13 people at 10 of 40 market maker teams), then the founder or CEO (37 people at 20 teams). Team pages to start from include Amber Group, GSR, Flowdesk and Wintermute.
Subject: [Your project] liquidity: [token status and timing]
Hi [first name], I'm [name], [title] at [your project]. We [token status: live on which venues, or launching on what date] and are speaking with market makers for [the scope: venues, pairs, the period]. Our numbers: [1 or 2 facts: volume, holders, the round and its lead]. Could you share how [Firm] structures an engagement for a team at our stage, and who on your side should get the details?
5. Media: send to the editor for a story, the founder for a paid deal
Send to: an editorial title (9 people at 6 of 163 media teams) for a story pitch, and the founder or CEO (68 people at 45 teams) or a BD title (7 people at 6 teams) for a sponsorship or event deal. Team pages to start from include Cointelegraph, whose row sits under investors because it runs an accelerator, The Block and BTC Inc.
Subject: [The news in 8 words], [date] embargo available
Hi [first name], [Your project] is [the news: a round with its lead, a launch, a first-of-its-kind number] on [date]. I can share [what you have: data, a founder interview, the announcement under embargo] ahead of time. For a paid partnership instead, swap the first line for the event or audience you want to reach and ask who handles partnerships.
Which channel holds the contact if there is no email on file?
Telegram or LinkedIn, at every partner type. NAUT's data shows an email on file for a small share of each group, so send the same opener as a Telegram or LinkedIn message where that is the channel NAUT holds.
| Type | Contacts | Telegram | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange | 698 | 33 | 367 | 497 |
| Wallet | 508 | 20 | 313 | 393 |
| DeFi protocol | 3,238 | 194 | 2,028 | 2,039 |
| Market maker | 165 | 5 | 76 | 133 |
| Media | 169 | 18 | 88 | 100 |
LinkedIn is the most common channel on file at exchanges, wallets, market makers and media, and DeFi protocol contacts hold Telegram and LinkedIn in near equal numbers (2,028 and 2,039). For web3 partnership outreach, the email is still the right draft to write first: it forces the subject line and the 1 proposal, and both carry over to a chat message.
Related reading on NAUT: Cold email templates for investors: 5 for 557 crypto funds and How to find decision makers in a company: 5 steps for crypto.
Can you pull this data through the NAUT API?
Yes: GET https://api.naut.so/v1/people?q=head+of+bd with your key as $NAUT_KEY searches people by title words, and GET https://api.naut.so/v1/projects/binance returns 1 company with its team, each at 5 credits a call (docs, pricing). Each person record carries jobTitle and the flags hasEmail, hasTelegram and hasLinkedin, so you can see which channel to use before you spend a reveal. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn unlock on any paid NAUT plan: start a 7-day trial.
Crypto partnership email template FAQ
How do I write a first email to propose a partnership to a crypto team?
Put both team names and the ask in the subject, give 1 proof point and 1 small proposal in under 120 words, and send it to 1 person whose title owns the decision. On NAUT's data from 13 November 2026, that is a BD title at 28 of 215 exchange teams and 163 of 1,227 DeFi protocol teams, and a founder or CEO elsewhere.
Who should I email at a crypto exchange about a partnership?
A BD, partnerships or ecosystem title first: NAUT lists 43 of them at 28 exchange teams as of 13 November 2026, and 18 people hold the title head of BD. Where an exchange lists none, write to the founder or CEO, a group of 185 people at 101 exchange teams.
Who do I contact at a crypto market maker?
Start with a BD title (13 people at 10 of 40 market maker teams on NAUT as of 13 November 2026), then the founder or CEO (37 people at 20 teams). Say your token status, venues and timing in the first email.
Where can I find the right partnership contact at a crypto exchange, wallet or market maker?
NAUT lists 698 current contacts at exchange teams, 508 at wallet teams and 165 at market maker teams as of 13 November 2026, each with a title, and its company pages and the GET https://api.naut.so/v1/people?q= search return them by role. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn unlock on any paid NAUT plan: start a 7-day trial.
Should I send a crypto BD email or a Telegram message?
Write the crypto BD email first, then send it on the channel NAUT holds: as of 13 November 2026, email is on file for 33 of 698 exchange contacts, while Telegram is on file for 367 and LinkedIn for 497.
Sources
- NAUT's own database, read on 13 November 2026: live company rows tagged exchange, wallet, DeFi protocol, market maker or media; the people currently listed at each; their job titles; and whether an email, Telegram handle or LinkedIn profile is on file.
- 12 teams from the sample were checked against their own X account and a second page. 10 matched NAUT's handle and website, among them Binance, OKX, Phantom, 1inch and Amber Group. 2 had moved to a new handle or domain and are left out of this article. The other 6 teams named here (GSR, Flowdesk, Wintermute, Cointelegraph, The Block and BTC Inc) are named from NAUT's record alone.