X's profound decision, officially ending the InfoFi incentive model

Last month in mid-month, a product policy change by one of X’s official platforms delivered an unexpectedly strong shock to the cryptocurrency community. The platform began to gradually revoke API access rights for the InfoFi app, causing multiple applications that relied on “posting rewards” to face immediate operational difficulties. Following this decision, related tokens recorded significant declines, with KAITO currently at $0.39 (24-hour change: -5.94%) and COOKIE at $0.03 (24-hour change: -3.38%), and the market chain reaction continues.

The community’s overall summary is extremely simple — “The era of earning rewards with words is over.” However, behind this statement lies a deeper agenda of reclaiming platform sovereignty, reconstructing the content ecosystem, and a more meaningful shift in industry layout.

Platform Warning: Why Excluding InfoFi Was Unavoidable

X’s decision was expressed in a form that allowed no ambiguity. The product manager publicly stated on the platform that future API connections for applications that “provide rewards for user X posts” would not be permitted. The basis for this policy shift is that such applications had become a direct major cause of AI spam and content pollution.

On the surface, this appears to be a normal adjustment of platform governance. But looking deeper, what X intended was not merely to improve content quality but to fundamentally “recover control.”

The structural problem with InfoFi lies in the fact that external tokens and points directly drive user posting and interaction behaviors. In this model, content production eventually transforms into “reward-earning tasks,” and the platform’s content order is controlled by third-party incentive designers. As a result, the information feed itself becomes dominated by an external economic system.

X’s decision is meaningful — AI spam content is a consequence, and the real issue is a structural problem where “the platform’s content distribution logic is controlled by external incentives.” Based on this understanding, X chose to completely exclude InfoFi without room for modification.

Chain Reaction of KAITO and COOKIE, Project Transformation Strategies

The API blockade immediately triggered chain reactions on related projects.

After discussions with X’s official, Cookie DAO announced the official closure of the Snaps platform and the termination of creator incentive activities. Importantly, the team emphasized that this was not merely passive loss-cutting but cited “compliance maintenance of data layers and core products” as the reason. This reflects a high level of uncertainty about the sustainability of the InfoFi model.

Meanwhile, Kaito took a more proactive transformation approach. The company announced the suspension of incentive ranking functions with Yaps and simultaneously launched a new Kaito Studio, explicitly distancing itself from the “completely open and permissionless incentive distribution” model. The new model approaches a more traditional marketing platform form, expanding across multiple channels such as X, YouTube, and TikTok.

The clear trend emerging from both reactions is that once the platform layer tightens the boundaries between interface and incentives, the InfoFi project faces two options. One is to revert to data and tool attributes and break free from platform dependence. The other is to fundamentally rebuild the business logic and shift toward more traditional marketing methods.

Content Sovereignty: The True Challenge of InfoFi

On the surface, “the end of the era of earning with words” appears to be just a policy change. But in essence, it signifies a return of content sovereignty to the platform.

Dependence on APIs and open incentive pathways that target posts and replies for settlement have become increasingly difficult to sustain. Moving to alternative platforms like Threads and Bluesky is more of a temporary buffer and does not solve the fundamental problem.

What is truly meaningful is the clear stance of the platform to control content production rights. The signal from X is quite clear — while content quantification and influence pricing will continue, the methodology of “direct and indiscriminate incentive distribution” relying on APIs is no longer acceptable.

For future survival, InfoFi must find its irreplaceable value without threatening the platform’s content production rights. This is the more serious industrial challenge behind the API exclusion.