Elon Musk’s X Cracks Down on Crypto Posting Rewards

Elon Musk’s X has stopped crypto initiatives from paying customers to put up content material in alternate for tokens, as product chief Nikita Bier mentioned these reward apps have prompted an excessive amount of spam and low-quality AI posts.

X has now eliminated their API entry, which means bots and customers can now not earn cash simply by posting. After the announcement, the KAITO token dropped about 15%, falling from round $0.70 to $0.57.

KaitoAI founder Yu Hu mentioned the corporate will shut down its “Yaps” rewards and leaderboard system. Kaito is now shifting to a brand new mannequin referred to as Kaito Studio, which can concentrate on higher-quality creators and higher model partnerships as an alternative of mass reward applications.

We’re revising our developer API insurance policies:

We’ll now not enable apps that reward customers for posting on X (aka “infofi”). This has led to an incredible quantity of AI slop & reply spam on the platform.

Now we have revoked API entry from these apps, so your X expertise ought to…

— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) January 15, 2026

Hu defined that Yaps was meant to reward folks pretty based mostly on their contributions. Over time, Kaito added stricter guidelines and filters to scale back spam. Nevertheless, spam nonetheless elevated on X as a result of different initiatives had weaker guidelines, and X’s algorithm adjustments allowed low-quality posts to unfold.

Kaito Shifts to Focused Creator Rewards

Many cryptocurrency initiatives utilized Kaito to advertise their tokens and appeal to customers, significantly in South Korea. Nevertheless, Hu mentioned the cryptocurrency trade is evolving. As an alternative of huge airdrops and open reward techniques, initiatives now choose focused incentives that reward particular actions.

Kaito Studio will use a tier system the place manufacturers work with chosen creators based mostly on knowledge and relevance. It’s going to additionally broaden to different platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and later into non-crypto industries.

Hu confirmed that Kaito’s different merchandise, akin to Kaito Professional, API, Launchpad, and Markets, won’t be affected. The KAITO token will nonetheless be used within the new system.

The transfer prompted combined reactions within the crypto neighborhood. Some consultants blamed AI spam campaigns for the issue, whereas others praised X for cleansing up faux engagement and enhancing content material high quality.

Associated Articles:

Finest Pockets – Diversify Your Crypto Portfolio

• Simple to Use, Function-Pushed Crypto Pockets
• Get Early Entry to Upcoming Token ICOs
• Multi-Chain, Multi-Pockets, Non-Custodial
• Now On App Retailer, Google Play
• Stake To Earn Native Token $BEST
• 250,000+ Month-to-month Energetic Customers