LinkedIn outreach crypto deal makers can trust starts with a checked profile, 1 opener matched to the goal of the message, and 1 follow-up on a second channel. NAUT tracks 5,586 live founder and CEO rows, and on 13 November 2026 NAUT held a LinkedIn URL for 3,847 of them, 1,088 of whom have no X handle on NAUT's record.
Data note. Every count here was read from NAUT's own database on 13 November 2026, read-only. A founder or CEO row is a live person row whose stored job title contains founder or CEO, so a CMO with a co-founder title counts and a founder who now carries another title does not. The earlier NAUT article on finding these pages counted 3,815 on file; the counts below are the newer read. The 5 rules about LinkedIn invitations were each checked against LinkedIn's own help page on invitation limits. The 12 people in the table were not checked outside NAUT, which is why step 1 of the flow below is the profile check.
How do you message a crypto founder on LinkedIn?
How to message a crypto founder on LinkedIn comes down to 3 moves. Check the profile first, then send a connection invitation with 1 short note written for 1 goal, then follow up once on a different channel. The profile check is the 3-step routine from Find crypto founder LinkedIn pages: 3 steps, 3,815 on file: read the company's own site, open the company's People tab on NAUT, then search the full name plus the company name.
The check matters more on LinkedIn than on any other channel, because LinkedIn keeps score of how people answer you. Its help page says "All LinkedIn members (Basic and Premium) are subject to invitation limits and restrictions." It also lists the case where "Many of your invitations have been ignored, left pending, or marked as spam by the recipients." An invitation sent to a stale profile, or to a founder who left the company, is the kind most likely to sit pending.
- Check the profileRun the 3-step check: company site, the People tab on NAUT, then name plus company in a search engine.
- Read the company pageTake 1 fact from the NAUT project page, such as Blum running its order book as a Telegram mini-app.
- Pick the openerMatch 1 of the 5 openers below to your goal: partnership, vendor pitch, investor, intro request or event.
- Send 1 invitation1 note, 1 ask, no attachment, sent by hand.
- Follow up onceAfter 7 days, move to X or Telegram if NAUT holds one: 2,759 of the 3,847 have X, 1,995 have Telegram.
Which founders have a LinkedIn page on NAUT?
NAUT's data shows 3,847 of its 5,586 founder and CEO rows carry a LinkedIn URL, and 3,501 of those 3,847 sit at a live project company with a published NAUT page. The channel overlap decides how you follow up (shares are of the 3,847, read 13 November 2026; "no X" means no X handle on NAUT's record):
| Rows | Count | Share | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,847 | 100% | The invitation goes here | |
| LinkedIn + X | 2,759 | 72% | Follow up by X DM |
| LinkedIn + Telegram | 1,995 | 52% | Follow up on Telegram |
| LinkedIn, no X | 1,088 | 28% | LinkedIn carries the whole first touch |
The 3 overlap rows come out of the same 3,847, so 1 person can sit in the X row and the Telegram row together.
The 12 rows below are founder and CEO rows with a LinkedIn URL at well-known project pages on NAUT, 1 person per project. Each title is the one NAUT stores today, and the X column shows whether NAUT holds an X handle for the person.
| # | Founder | Title on NAUT | X | Opener |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Star Xu,  OKX |
Founder | Yes | 1, partnership |
| 2 |  Gleb Kostarev,  Blum |
Co-Founder & CEO | Yes | 1, partnership |
| 3 |  Jackson Palmer,  Dogecoin |
Co-Founder | Yes | Check the seat first |
| 4 |  Nicolas Kokkalis,  Pi Network |
CEO, Founder | Yes | 1, partnership |
| 5 |  Vitalik Buterin,  Ethereum |
Co-founder | Yes | 5, event |
| 6 |  Raj Gokal,  Solana |
Co-founder, COO | Yes | 1, partnership |
| 7 |  Yuki Kamimoto,  CoinDesk |
CEO of CoinDesk Japan |
Yes | 2, vendor pitch |
| 8 | Jun Zhu,  Catizen |
Co-Founder | No | 2, vendor pitch |
| 9 | Mahamadou Cissé,  Pixelverse |
Co-Founder & CMO | No | 2, vendor pitch |
| 10 |  Bobby Ong,  Coingecko |
CEO | Yes | 1, partnership |
| 11 |  Pavel Durov,  TON |
Founder | Yes | 5, event |
| 12 |  Devin Finzer,  OpenSea |
Co-founder & CEO | Yes | 1, partnership |
Anyone listed can ask NAUT to remove their page at https://naut.so/legal/data-deletion.
2 rows show why the profile check comes first. Dogecoin's own NAUT description calls it community-driven with Dogecoin Foundation oversight, so a co-founder title there does not tell you who runs anything today. Yuki Kamimoto's stored title is CEO of CoinDesk Japan, so a pitch meant for CoinDesk as a whole should name the Japan business. Jun Zhu at Catizen and Mahamadou Cissé at Pixelverse are 2 of the 1,088 with no X handle on NAUT's record, so LinkedIn is where the first touch lands.
Which 5 openers work for LinkedIn outreach crypto deals?
Each opener below is a LinkedIn message template that fits in a short connection note, carries 1 fact from the NAUT project page, and asks for 1 thing. Swap the brackets for the founder's details.
| # | Goal | Fact needed | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Partnership or integration | What the product does | A 15-minute call |
| 2 | Selling a service | Sector and stage | Permission to send 1 page |
| 3 | Investing in the company | The last round on NAUT | A deck or a call |
| 4 | Asking for an intro | A shared backer or sector | 1 name, or a no |
| 5 | Meeting at an event | The event and your reason | 20 minutes there |
Opener 1: partnership or integration
Hi [first name], I read that [project] [1 fact from its NAUT page]. We [what you build] for [2 similar teams]. Is a 15-minute call worth it to see whether an integration fits?
Worked on Blum: the fact is that Blum runs an order-book exchange as a mini-app inside Telegram, which is a precise hook for any team that builds wallets, liquidity or Telegram tooling. Gleb Kostarev holds the Co-Founder & CEO title on NAUT.
Opener 2: selling a service
Hi [first name], [project] is a [sector] team at [stage]. We [service] for teams at that stage, most recently [1 named client]. Can I send you 1 page on how it would work for [project]?
Worked on Catizen: NAUT describes it as a play-to-earn game on Telegram, so a game studio vendor or a user acquisition agency has a clear line in. Jun Zhu has no X handle on NAUT's record, so this note does the whole first touch.
Opener 3: investing in the company
Hi [first name], I invest in [sector] at [fund]. I saw [project]'s [round] on [date] and I am looking at [what you look for]. Are you raising again in the next 6 months, and would you share a deck?
Read the company's funding rounds on its NAUT page before you send this one, so the round you name is the round they closed.
Opener 4: asking for an intro
Hi [first name], we are both backed by [shared backer] / both building in [sector]. I am trying to reach [person] at [company] about [1 line]. Would you be open to an intro, or point me elsewhere if it does not fit?
This opener works between founders. Give the reader an easy no, and keep the ask to 1 name.
Opener 5: meeting at an event
Hi [first name], I will be at [event] on [dates]. I run [what you do] and I want to ask you about [1 specific topic tied to the project]. Do you have 20 minutes there?
Founders of the largest networks, such as Vitalik Buterin at Ethereum or Pavel Durov at TON, get far more invitations than they can read, so an event with a date is the most concrete reason to accept yours.
What is the LinkedIn outreach crypto follow-up rule?
Send 1 invitation with 1 note, then wait 7 days, then follow up once on a different channel NAUT holds for that person, and never withdraw and resend. The 7 days is NAUT's working rule. The reasons come from LinkedIn's own help page:
- Withdrawing locks you out. LinkedIn says that after you withdraw an invitation, you cannot resend one to the same person for up to 3 weeks.
- Pending and ignored invitations count against you. LinkedIn may restrict an account that sends many invitations in a short time, or whose invitations are ignored, left pending or marked as spam.
- Automation is a risk to the account. "If you send an excessive number of invitations and we suspect the use of an automation tool, we may suspend or restrict your account."
- A restriction waits itself out. "Most restrictions will automatically be removed within one week." LinkedIn also says its support cannot lift an invitation restriction on request.
The second channel is where NAUT helps. 2,759 of the 3,847 founder and CEO rows with LinkedIn also have X on file and 1,995 have Telegram, so most of the follow-ups can leave LinkedIn and stop adding to your pending count.
What this tells a crypto BD team
- Use LinkedIn for the 1,088 founders with no X handle on NAUT's record first: for them an X DM is off the table.
- Treat crypto BD outreach on LinkedIn as hand work. LinkedIn names automation tools as a reason to suspend or restrict an account.
- Keep the note to 1 fact and 1 ask, so a busy founder can answer in 1 line.
- Follow up off LinkedIn. With X on file for 2,759 of the 3,847, the second touch rarely needs a second invitation.
Related reading on NAUT: Find crypto founder LinkedIn pages: 3 steps, 3,815 on file.
Can you pull this data through the NAUT API?
Yes. GET https://api.naut.so/v1/people?q=founder with an Authorization: Bearer $NAUT_KEY header searches people by title at 5 credits a call, and each record carries jobTitle, company and the hasLinkedin, hasTelegram and hasEmail flags, so you can split a founder list into the channel groups above. The LinkedIn URL itself comes from GET https://api.naut.so/v1/people/{id}?include=private, at 10 credits the first time for a person and 5 after that, a permanent unlock; the docs are at https://naut.so/docs/api and plans at https://naut.so/pricing. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn unlock on any paid NAUT plan, so you can start a 7-day trial and read them.
LinkedIn outreach crypto FAQ
How do I message a crypto founder on LinkedIn?
Check the profile in 3 steps (company site, the People tab on NAUT, then a name plus company search), then send 1 invitation with a short note that carries 1 fact and 1 ask. On 13 November 2026 NAUT held a LinkedIn URL for 3,847 of its 5,586 founder and CEO rows.
Where can I find crypto founders and their LinkedIn pages?
NAUT lists founders on each project page's People tab and on their own person pages, and on 13 November 2026 it held a LinkedIn URL for 3,847 founder and CEO rows, 3,501 of them at live project companies with a published page. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn unlock on any paid NAUT plan, so you can start a 7-day trial and read them.
How often should I follow up on LinkedIn?
Once, 7 days after the invitation, and on another channel when NAUT holds one: 2,759 of the 3,847 founder and CEO rows with LinkedIn on NAUT also have X and 1,995 have Telegram. LinkedIn's help page says a withdrawn invitation cannot be resent to the same person for up to 3 weeks.
Can LinkedIn restrict my account for cold outreach?
Yes. LinkedIn's help page says invitations that are ignored, left pending or marked as spam can lead to a restriction, that suspected automation can lead to a suspension, and that most restrictions lift on their own within 1 week.
How many crypto founders have no X handle but a LinkedIn page?
NAUT's data read 13 November 2026 shows 1,088 of the 3,847 founder and CEO rows with a LinkedIn URL have no X handle on NAUT's record, so LinkedIn carries the first touch for them.
Sources
- NAUT database, founder and CEO rows and their stored channels, read 13 November 2026.
- LinkedIn Help, invitation limits and restrictions: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a551012