- X revoked API access for apps that reward users for posting, known as InfoFi, citing spam and low-quality AI replies.
- Major InfoFi projects such as Kaito and Cookie DAO announced they will end their reward programs.
- Kaito token fell about 20% and COOKIE dropped about 15% after the announcement.
- The InfoFi category’s market cap, roughly $367 million, fell more than 10%, according to CoinGecko.
- Supporters of the move say it addresses bot-driven reply spam on Crypto Twitter; critics warned of disruption to InfoFi businesses.
X product head Nikita Bier on Jan. 15, 2026, said the company is changing developer API rules and has revoked access for apps that pay users to post on the platform; Bier posted the announcement on X (formerly Twitter) here. The company said the action targets apps that reward posting because they produce excessive low-quality AI replies and reply spam.
Bier wrote, “We are revising our developer API policies: We will no longer allow apps that reward users for posting on X (aka “infofi”). This has led to a tremendous amount of AI slop & reply spam on the platform. We have revoked API access from these apps, so your X experience should…” The term InfoFi refers to apps that reward users for posting content on X.
Following the announcement, Kaito — a leading InfoFi project whose token is tracked on CoinGecko — dropped about 20%, and its founder, Yu Hu, said the project will sunset its Yaps rewards program; see Hu’s post here. Kaito said it will shift toward a tiered marketing product called Kaito Studio; CoinGecko’s listing for Kaito is available here.
Another project, Cookie DAO, announced it will end its Snaps rewards product, calling the move a “tough and abrupt decision,” and saying it is “necessary to preserve the integrity of Cookie’s data layer and products.” The COOKIE token fell about 15%; its CoinGecko page is here.
CoinGecko reports the broader InfoFi category has a market cap near $367 million and fell by more than 10% after the API change; see the category data here.
The change follows an earlier Bier post claiming Crypto Twitter was “fixed”; that post is archived here. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT highlighted persistent reply spam and praised the policy update, calling it “Nikita saved CT.” See his posts here and here.
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