Kaito Latest Updates: Yaps Incentive Leaderboard Removed, New Kaito Studio Debuts

Founder Yu Hu confirmed on social media that Kaito will gradually phase out the Yaps feature and its incentive leaderboard mechanism. Meanwhile, the new Kaito Studio will be launched as a layered co-marketing platform.

The direct background for this adjustment is the recent tightening of developer API policies by the X platform regarding “information finance” applications. X product lead Nikita Bier publicly stated that applications rewarding users for posting on the platform will no longer be allowed.

As of January 16, Gate data shows that the KAITO token price has dropped approximately 19.7% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $0.538.

01 Background of the Event

The policy adjustment by the X platform is the immediate trigger for this industry upheaval. Platform product lead Nikita Bier announced revisions to the developer API policy, prohibiting applications that reward users for posting on X.

Bier explained that such incentives led to the proliferation of “large amounts of low-quality AI-generated content and spam replies” on the platform. X has revoked API access for affected applications.

This policy change immediately impacted InfoFi projects that rely on X platform data for reward distribution. InfoFi converts financial information and user interactions into monetary rewards, with Kaito being one of the representative projects in this field.

02 The End of the Yaps Era

Kaito founder Yu Hu explicitly stated in an announcement that, after communication with the X platform, the team recognizes that “a fully permissionless distributed system is no longer feasible.”

Yaps and its incentive leaderboard, as core early features of Kaito, allowed users to earn KAITO tokens through content posting and interaction. This model once effectively boosted platform activity and content creation.

However, over time, this no-barrier incentive mechanism also revealed its drawbacks. Yu Hu pointed out that it “no longer meets the needs of high-quality brands, serious content creators, or the X platform itself.”

03 The New Blueprint for Kaito Studio

Kaito Studio will transform into a layered marketing platform, more akin to traditional brand and creator collaboration models. In this new system, brands will selectively collaborate with creators based on established standards and clear project scopes.

This platform will cover multiple social channels such as X, YouTube, TikTok, and expand from cryptocurrency to broader fields like finance and AI.

The KAITO token will continue to play a role within Kaito Studio, with more details to be announced in subsequent phases. The team also emphasizes 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 Reaction and Price Fluctuations

Market reactions to this news have been swift and significant. As of January 16, the KAITO token price has fallen about 19.7% in the past 24 hours, currently at $0.538.

Looking at the price trend, KAITO dropped from a recent high of $0.7011 to $0.5671, a decline of nearly 20%. Trading volume surged notably, reaching $160,990,000 within 24 hours, a substantial increase from usual.

In addition to the price decline, the floor price of Kaito Genesis NFTs (referred to as Yapybaras) also plummeted over 50%, down to 0.21 ETH.

The entire InfoFi sector was affected: COOKIE dropped over 14%, LOUD declined 16%, and ARBUS fell about 9%. The total market cap of this sector decreased by 11.5% in one day.

05 Industry Impact and Future Outlook

This incident highlights the dependency of the crypto social layer on a single Web2 platform. The core mechanism of InfoFi projects is closely tied to X platform’s API policies and user reward rules.

Kaito’s transformation could set a new standard for the industry. Moving from an open, permissionless incentive model to a more structured, layered brand collaboration approach may represent a mature direction for the InfoFi field.

Industry analysts believe that although this transition may cause short-term market volatility, in the long run, it could encourage projects to build more sustainable business models and reduce reliance on a single platform.

06 Guidance for Gate Users

For KAITO holders and traders on the Gate platform, this transition means reassessing the asset’s value support.

In the short term, the token price may continue to face pressure. The team-related address transferred 5 million KAITO (worth about $5 million) to Binance before the announcement, possibly for sale, which has raised market concerns about “front-running.”

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 subsequent feature releases and partnership announcements from Kaito Studio.

Future Outlook

As of January 16, the latest price of KAITO on the Gate platform is $0.538, with a market cap of approximately $130 million. This is over 80% below its all-time high of $2.88.

As Kaito Studio’s detailed roadmap and partnerships are gradually announced, market sentiment towards this transformation will become clearer. Currently, the entire crypto industry is closely watching how this shift from open incentives to structured collaborations will reshape the future landscape of information finance.