CryptoCurrency
Nikita Bier causes collapse of crypto InfoFi
Nikita Bier, head of product at X, has announced that API access to “InfoFi” apps has been revoked.
The move takes aim at “apps that reward users for posting on X,” which, Bier says, have contributed to “a tremendous amount of AI slop and reply spam on the platform.”
He also offered to “assist in transitioning [affected developers’] business to Threads and Bluesky.”
Read more: Was X shadow ban holding the price of BTC back?
Kaito, by far the best known InfoFi project, immediately dropped 20% on the news. Kaito’s users earn “yaps” by posting crypto-themed content.
Shortly after Bier’s post, Kaito founder Yu Hu announced that its Yaps program would be sunset.
“After discussions with X, it’s agreed that a fully permissionless distribution system is no longer viable, nor aligned with the needs of high-quality brands, serious content creators, or X as a platform,” he said.
The post describes a pivot to Kaito Studio, which “will be much closer to a tier-based traditional marketing platform.”
Another InfoFi project, Cookie DAO, also plans to end its similar Snaps product.
The “tough and abrupt decision,” it claims, is “necessary to preserve the integrity of Cookie’s data layer and products.”
The project’s token, COOKIE, is down 15% since Bier’s announcement.
The market cap of the wider InfoFi category, around $367 million, dropped more than 10%, per CoinGecko data.
Gm CT, gn bots
The decision comes two days after Bier’s claim that Crypto Twitter was “fixed.”
The crypto community had become increasingly critical of the X algorithm’s perceived throttling of crypto content, amid surging bot activity.
Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT recently drew attention to the “rabbithole” of “accounts inorganically spam[ming] slop replies under posts 24/7.” He has praised the latest move, claiming “Nikita saved CT.”
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