Founder Yu Hu confirmed on social media that Kaito will gradually phase out its Yaps feature and its incentive leaderboard mechanism. At the same time, the all-new Kaito Studio will be launched as a tiered collaborative marketing platform.
This adjustment comes directly in response to X platform’s recent tightening of developer API policies for "information finance" applications. X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, publicly stated that applications rewarding users for posting on the platform will no longer be permitted.
As of January 16, Gate data shows that the KAITO token price has dropped approximately 19.7% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $0.538.
01 Background of the Event
The policy shift on the X platform served as the immediate catalyst for this industry shake-up. X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, announced changes to the developer API policy, stating that applications rewarding users for posting on X would no longer be allowed.
Bier explained that such incentives had led to "a large volume of low-quality AI-generated content and spam replies" on the platform. X has already revoked API access for affected applications.
This policy change immediately impacted InfoFi projects that rely on X platform data to distribute rewards. InfoFi projects convert financial information and user engagement into monetary incentives, with Kaito being one of the most prominent examples in the space.
02 The End of the Yaps Era
In an official statement, Kaito founder Yu Hu made it clear that, after discussions with the X platform, the team realized that "a completely permissionless distributed system is no longer feasible."
Yaps and its incentive leaderboard, as core features in Kaito’s early days, allowed users to earn KAITO tokens by posting content and engaging with others. This model once effectively boosted platform activity and content production.
However, over time, the drawbacks of this open incentive mechanism became apparent. Yu Hu pointed out that it "no longer meets the needs of high-quality brands, serious content creators, or the X platform itself."
03 Kaito Studio’s New Blueprint
Kaito Studio will transition into a tiered marketing platform, moving closer to traditional brand-creator collaboration models. In this new system, brands will selectively partner with creators based on established standards and clearly defined project scopes.
The platform will span multiple social channels, including X, YouTube, and TikTok, and its business scope will expand from cryptocurrency to broader areas such as finance and AI.
KAITO tokens will continue to play a role within Kaito Studio, with more details to be announced in subsequent stages. The team also emphasized that this adjustment will not affect other products and services such as Kaito Pro, Kaito API, Kaito Launchpad, and the upcoming Kaito Markets.
04 Market Response and Price Volatility
The market reacted swiftly and noticeably to this news. As of January 16, the KAITO token price had dropped approximately 19.7% in the past 24 hours, now standing at $0.538.
According to the price trend, KAITO fell from a recent high of $0.7011 to $0.5671, a decline of nearly 20%. Trading volume surged, reaching $160,990,000 in 24 hours—a significant increase over usual levels.
Beyond the token price drop, the floor price of Kaito Genesis NFTs (known as Yapybaras) also plummeted by more than 50%, falling to 0.21 ETH.
The entire InfoFi sector took a hit: COOKIE dropped over 14%, LOUD fell 16%, and ARBUS declined about 9%. The sector’s total market cap fell 11.5% in a single day.
05 Industry Impact and Future Outlook
This event highlights the crypto social sector’s heavy reliance on a single Web2 platform. The core mechanisms of InfoFi projects are closely tied to X platform’s API policies and user incentive rules.
Kaito’s transformation could set a new standard for the industry. Shifting from an open, permissionless incentive model to a more structured, tiered brand collaboration approach may signal a maturing direction for the InfoFi sector.
Industry observers believe that while this transition may cause short-term market volatility, in the long run it could encourage projects to build more sustainable business models and reduce dependence on any single platform.
06 Guidance for Gate Users
For KAITO holders and traders on the Gate platform, this transition means it’s time to reassess the asset’s value proposition.
In the short term, the token price may continue to face downward pressure. Team-linked addresses transferred 5 million KAITO (worth around $5 million) to Binance prior to the announcement, possibly for sale—an action that has sparked concerns about "insider selling."
From a medium- to long-term perspective, the success of Kaito Studio will depend on its ability to attract high-quality brands and creators, as well as the utility design of the KAITO token within the new system. Investors should closely monitor future feature releases and partnership announcements from Kaito Studio.
Looking Ahead
As of January 16, the latest KAITO price on Gate stands at $0.538, with a market cap of around $130 million. This price is down more than 80% from its all-time high of $2.88.
As Kaito Studio’s detailed roadmap and partnerships are gradually revealed, the market’s view on this transformation will become clearer. For now, the entire crypto sector is watching closely to see how this shift from open incentives to structured collaborations will reshape the future landscape of information finance.
