Start 7-day trial
All articles

Head of research crypto: 28 at 28 teams, each on LinkedIn or X

By NAUT Research · · 6 min read

28 Head of research research leads at 28 crypto project teams on NAUT, read 13 November 2026. Logos: Derive, Sean Dawson, Celestia, Aptos, Alexander Spiegelman, Ethena, Injective, The Graph.

To find a head of research at a crypto team to share data or reports with, open the team's page on NAUT, open the person filed with the research title, then confirm that title on 1 outside source before you write. NAUT tracks 28 head of research crypto contacts at 28 project teams, read on 13 November 2026, and each of the 28 has a LinkedIn profile or an X handle on file (21 LinkedIn, 21 X).

Data note. Every count was read from NAUT's own database on 13 November 2026, read-only. A person counts when their record and their company are live, the company is a NAUT project or platform, and the current title says head of research, research lead, lead researcher or chief research officer; "former" and "ex-" titles are left out. 55 records matched a research title. 19 sit at investment firms and are out, 6 at project teams hold titles the filter set aside (research scientist, R&D, strategy, a CTO and 2 director-level research titles), and 1 team had 2 matches, so the list keeps 1 per team. That left 29 records at 29 teams. 12 of those 29 had their title checked against sources outside NAUT: 3 matched (2 on the team's own page, 1 on an outside profile of the person), 1 is out because a March 2026 press piece calls ARO Network's research lead its CEO, and 8 were not matched on a page the check could quote. The other 17 were not checked. 29 minus the 1 dropped leaves the 28 people at 28 teams in this article. NAUT Research wrote it.

How do you find a crypto head of research?

You find a crypto head of research in 3 steps: the team page, the person page, then 1 outside source.

  • The team page says who. Every project page on NAUT lists the people filed under it with their titles. The research seat carries different names: 4 of the 28 are chief research officers, and 7 hold a founder or co-founder title next to the research one.
  • The person page says how. It shows which channels NAUT has on file. All 28 have LinkedIn or X, 14 have both, and 17 have Telegram.
  • An outside source says whether it is still true. Research titles move with the person. Of the 12 records checked outside NAUT, 3 matched, 1 was dropped and 8 found no page to quote.
Find a crypto head of research in 3 steps
  1. Open the team pageSearch the project on NAUT and read the titles on its team list, as on Derive.
  2. Open the person pageEach of the 28 has LinkedIn or X on file, and 17 have Telegram.
  3. Confirm the titleCheck 1 source outside NAUT, such as the team's own about page.

Head of research crypto lookup worked on Derive

Here is the same lookup on 1 team, Derive, which NAUT describes as an options automated market maker.

  1. Team page. The Derive page on NAUT lists Sean Dawson with the title Head of Research.
  2. Person page. NAUT has LinkedIn, X and Telegram on file for him, so you can read his posts on X before you write, then pick the channel.
  3. Outside check. The team section of Derive's own about page lists "Sean Dawson, Head of Research", checked on 13 November 2026.

Which head of research crypto contacts does NAUT hold?

The list below holds all 28, ranked by the number of channels NAUT has on file for each person (LinkedIn, X, Telegram), most first, then by team name. Titles are NAUT's record. The outside check found the title on a page and quoted it for 3 people: Sean Dawson on Derive's about page, Diego Kingston on Aligned's team page (which reads Co-Founder, Head of Research), and Christian Killer of Acurast on a University of Zurich profile. It ran but found no page it could quote with that title for 8: Lombard, Inversion, Reya Network, Succinct, DAPPOS, EdgeX Exchange, LISA and Nockchain. It did not reach the other 17. Anyone listed can ask NAUT to remove their page at https://naut.so/legal/data-deletion.

11 of the 28 have all 3 channels on file. Research leads at Block Scholes, which NAUT describes as a crypto analytics platform, and at K33HQ and 21Shares sit beside protocol research leads at Celestia, Succinct and Aptos, so match the pitch to the kind of research the team does.

How many crypto research leads can you reach, and on which channel?

LinkedIn and X tie for the channel NAUT holds most often for these 28 research leads, at 21 each, with Telegram at 17.

Crypto research leads by channel NAUT has on file, of 28
  1. LinkedIn21
  2. X handle21
  3. Telegram17
  4. X and LinkedIn both14
  5. All 3 channels11

Split by the title NAUT holds, the head of research title is the most common:

Title on NAUT People LinkedIn X
Head of research 20 18 14
Chief research officer 4 1 4
Research lead 4 2 3

Research lead here also covers 1 lead researcher and 1 research leader. None of the 28 has zero channels on file, so every person in the list has at least 1 public route.

What a BD lead, founder or investor does with a research lead

  • BD lead selling data or reports. A crypto research lead is a natural first reader for a data feed or an outside report. Start with the 11 who have all 3 channels on file, and lead with the data that fits their team, as with an options venue like Derive.
  • Founder raising. A web3 research lead at a team in your sector can say whether your numbers hold up. 14 of the 28 carry both X and LinkedIn, so read their posts before you ask.
  • Investor sourcing. A chief research officer such as John Adler at Celestia knows the technical case for a protocol. Run step 3 first: 17 of the 28 titles were not checked for this article.
How a BD lead can work this list
  1. Pick the kind of researchMarket research at Block Scholes or protocol research at Succinct.
  2. Pick the channel11 of the 28 have LinkedIn, X and Telegram on file.
  3. Confirm, then writeCheck the title on 1 outside source, as on Derive's about page, then send 1 data point they can use.

Related reading on NAUT: How to find decision makers in a company: 5 steps for crypto and Find crypto founder LinkedIn pages: 3 steps, 3,815 on file.

Can you pull this data through the NAUT API?

Yes: a people search with GET https://api.naut.so/v1/people?q=head%20of%20research and the header Authorization: Bearer $NAUT_KEY returns people whose name, handle or title matches, 5 credits a call, and GET https://api.naut.so/v1/projects/derive returns 1 team with its people for another 5. The calls and plans are on the API docs and the pricing page. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn unlock on any paid NAUT plan, so start a 7-day trial to reach them.

Head of research crypto FAQ

How do you find a crypto head of research?

Open the team's page on NAUT, open the person listed with a head of research or research lead title, then confirm that title on 1 outside source. NAUT holds 28 such records at 28 project teams, read on 13 November 2026.

Where can I find crypto research leads and their contact channels?

NAUT lists 28 head of research, research lead and chief research officer contacts at 28 project teams, with 21 LinkedIn profiles, 21 X handles and 17 Telegram handles on file, read on 13 November 2026. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn unlock on any paid NAUT plan, so start a 7-day trial to reach them.

Is the research title on NAUT always current?

Titles change, so check before you pitch. NAUT shortlisted 29 research records, and 12 of them were checked against outside sources on 13 November 2026: 3 matched, 1 was dropped because a press piece names a different role, and 8 found no page to quote. The 28 left are the list in this article.

Who is the head of research at Derive?

NAUT lists Sean Dawson as Head of Research at Derive, and Derive's own about page names him in that role, as checked on 13 November 2026.

Sources

Browse all articles