CEO Kaito Confirms Yaps Shutdown: Response to X's Ban on Paid InfoFi Apps

In a significant development for the crypto ecosystem, Kaito—a leading analytics platform in the decentralized information sector—announced the discontinuation of its flagship product Yaps after X (formerly Twitter) revised its moderation policies toward applications that provide financial incentives to users. Kaito CEO Yu Hu confirmed that decision as a direct response to platform policy changes, marking a turning point in the evolution of InfoFi (short for Information Finance), a growing industry where users are rewarded for their contributions of informative content. The market impact was immediate, with the $KAITO token dropping approximately 17% following the announcement.

Nikita Bier and Policy Turning Point: Ban on Incentive Apps

X Head of Product Nikita Bier recently announced a reformulation of the platform’s policy banning applications from offering financial rewards for user posting activities. The main justification from Bier centered on the escalation of spam content generated by artificial intelligence, which has degraded the quality of organic conversations on the platform. In his official statement, Bier confirmed that programmatic access has been fully revoked for affected developers and applications, closing the door to further integration of incentive-based business models.

This move by X reflects broader considerations among social media platforms regarding balancing economic innovation with content quality control. Bier offered migration alternatives for affected developers, mentioning platforms like Threads and Bluesky as potential options to continue experimenting with decentralized paid models.

Community Impact: Yapper Blocked and Token Corrects 17%

The consequences of X’s policy change materialized within hours. According to ZachXBT, a prominent blockchain researcher known for identifying market anomalies, the Kaito Yapper community— which had gathered around 157,000 active members on X—was fully blocked from the platform as part of the strict policy enforcement. The closure of this community removed a primary channel for user engagement and fueled negative sentiment in the market.

Market reactions reflected this uncertainty. The $KAITO token, which previously served as a growth driver for the Kaito ecosystem, experienced a sharp correction of 17% in trading value. This decline followed the sequence of Yaps’ closure and community blockade, indicating investor sensitivity to regulatory and operational environment changes.

Kaito Studio: Strategic Reorientation Toward Traditional Marketing

In response to the shifting landscape, Yu Hu, as Kaito’s CEO, announced an ambitious pivot strategy. The replacement for Yaps will be Kaito Studio, a platform adopting a much more traditional and centralized creator marketing approach. Unlike the previous decentralized payment model that incentivized thousands of users with large follower bases—especially from the active Korean community—Kaito Studio will focus on selective, structured brand-creator partnerships.

This new platform will include industry-standard features such as in-depth analytics, cross-platform content distribution (beyond X to YouTube and TikTok), and a more integrated marketing infrastructure. The CEO emphasized that the $KAITO token will continue to play a strategic role in the new Studio model, although implementation details will be announced gradually.

Kaito also clarified that this transition is limited to the Yaps product and the incentive leaderboard system. Other product lines—including Kaito Pro, API, Launchpad, and the developing Markets product—will continue to operate without disruption, ensuring continuity for corporate and institutional users.

InfoFi at the Crossroads of Regulation: The Future of Information Finance Industry

The Kaito incident raises more fundamental questions about the long-term viability of new abbreviations like InfoFi within the increasingly strict social media platform landscape. Information Finance as a concept presents an intriguing premise: rewarding high-quality informative content creators through decentralized market mechanisms. However, its execution has proven vulnerable to exploitation—both through AI-based spam and non-compliance with parent platform policies.

X’s decision to ban incentivized paid models indicates that major platforms no longer see the complementarity between micro-content economies and their quality standards. Other InfoFi developers now face tough choices: adapt to more permissive alternative platforms, fundamentally change their business models, or shut down operations. Kaito’s journey from Yaps to Kaito Studio exemplifies one response to this dilemma, but the success of its revised model remains an open question in the market.