A Clean Valuation Analysis After the X API Shock
Crypto valuation is messy, but moments like this strip projects down to their core.
KAITO recently took a hit after X (Twitter) shut down API access for InfoFi and reward for promoting apps and web3 projects, directly affecting how Kaito sourced data and rewarded users. The price reaction was sharp, but the more important question is not price.
It’s value.
What KAITO Actually Is.
KAITO is not DeFi.
It is not a yield protocol.
It does not custody funds.
✅ It is a utility / app token tied to an AI-powered information platform that aggregates crypto data, narratives, and attention.
Its value depends on usage, relevance, and token necessity, not TVL.
That’s why TVL = $0 (source from defilLama) is correct, even though users stake tokens.
About Staking (12.78M Staked)
Yes, users have staked about 12.78M $KAITO,
but in context:
Circulating supply ≈ 241M
That’s roughly 5% staked
This is utility staking, not economic staking.
The capital is locked for access, rewards, or alignment, not deployed to generate yield or secure a financial system.
So staking slightly reduces circulating supply, but it does not create a valuation floor.
The X API Decision: Why It Hurt So Much
Kaito’s earlier InfoFi model relied heavily on X data to:
✅track engagement
✅rank contributors
✅distribute rewards
When X closed its API to these apps, that broke the core demand loop.
Before: Usage 👉 engagement data 👉 rewards 👉 token demand
After: No data 👉 no verified rewards 👉 no forced token demand
This wasn’t just bad news.
It exposed a structural risk:
Kaito’s token utility depended on a centralized Web2 platform it did not control.
Markets repriced that risk immediately.
The Core Valuation Problem
Using your own framework, the decisive question is simple:
If usage doubles, does the token benefit?
Right now, the answer is not mechanically.
Revenue exists off-chain. The product may still be useful. But token demand is optional, not enforced through fees, burns, or mandatory staking.
That places $KAITO in the category of:
Growth optionality tokens, not cash-flow or capital-backed assets.
What Still Works in Kaito’s Favor
Real product solving real information problems
AI + data narrative remains strong
Paying users and enterprise interest exist
Team is pivoting away from X dependency
What Weakens the Valuation
No TVL or capital moat
Weak value capture for token holders
Low staking ratio
Heavy reliance on future execution
Narrative damage from the API shutdown
Bottom Line
$KAITO is not dead, but it is repriced correctly as a higher-risk asset.
Its future valuation depends almost entirely on whether the team can:
Prove strong, growing product usage
Redesign token utility to capture value directly
Remove dependency on centralized data gates
Until then, $KAITO remains a speculative bet on execution, not a fundamentals anchor.
Price moves fast in crypto. Value moves only when incentives are redesigned.
What's your thought on this?
