The crypto community is changing: from grassroots celebrations to institutional narratives, retail enthusiasm is cooling down

NonFungibleDegen · 2026-01-17T10:08:11+00:00

Recently, the crypto Twitter community has been undergoing changes, with an increase in low-quality content, a decline in grassroots interaction fun, and the market being dominated by stablecoins and institutional voices, leading to a decrease in retail investor enthusiasm. The X platform has actively responded by revoking API permissions for spam content, demonstrating its concern for the content ecosystem.

NonFungibleDegen

2026-01-17 10:08:11

Abstract generation in progress

[Chain Wen] Recently, there is a phenomenon worth paying attention to — the crypto Twitter circle is quietly changing.

Pioneer in smart contracts Nic Carter pointed out that the current combination of platforms like Kaito that incentivize posting and AI is generating大量低质内容, the fun of grassroots competition that existed in earlier years is gradually fading. What is replacing it? The narrative dominated by stablecoins and financial infrastructure has taken over the market, and the voices of institutions and VCs are growing louder. Ordinary retail investors no longer feel the opportunity for “fair participation and potential to turn things around,” and their enthusiasm for involvement naturally declines.

The recommendation mechanism of the X platform itself is also exacerbating this issue. Features like “Recommended for you” that aim to reduce niche content actually make it difficult for creators to reach their niche communities, leading to increasing difficulty for professional crypto content to gain exposure.

Fortunately, the X platform responded quickly by revoking the API permissions of the InfoFi app to reduce spam content. Nic Carter supported this prompt action, indicating that the platform recognizes the problem within the content ecosystem.

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WhaleInTraining

· 01-17 10:38

Forget it, now Twitter is basically the world of VCs and big influencers. Small investors have no chance anymore. --- Kaito's bunch of stuff really polluted the scene, with low-quality content flooding everywhere. --- Feels like X's latest move came too late; the ecosystem has already collapsed. --- That feeling of "I can also get rich" is gone, the sense of participation is completely gone. --- Once the recommendation algorithm was tweaked, the small circles got even smaller, which ended up hurting creators. --- That kind of wild, carefree joy from the early days is gone; now it's all institutional narratives. --- Small investors retreat, institutions move in—is this fate, or is there really no other way? --- InfoFi being banned was a bit late; garbage content has already destroyed the community atmosphere.

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MerkleMaid

· 01-17 10:33

Huh? Now even Twitter has fallen, retail investors' voices are getting smaller and smaller. --- If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have let VC in to stir up trouble. --- Basically, the big money guys changed the game rules, and we players are being pushed out. --- Garbage posts generated by AI are everywhere, and real signals are drowned out... Feeling uncomfortable. --- Institutional narrative won, our era is over. --- That's the real rug, in a spiritual sense. --- Twitter's algorithm changed, small accounts have no way out anymore, really. --- Kaito's incentive methods have been boring for a long time, just spam bots. --- It feels like the ecosystem has become more like traditional finance, then what's the point of playing Web3?

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AirdropAutomaton

· 01-17 10:30

Honestly, the crypto scene has really changed over the past few years. Now, scrolling through Twitter is full of promotional posts from institutions, and retail investors' voices are getting smaller and smaller. Whatever happened to the grassroots enthusiasm? It's been wiped out by AI-generated content and incentive mechanisms. Now, it's the domain of big players and VCs. X's recommendation algorithm is truly incredible. Niche content is even harder to get noticed, which is quite ironic. Basically, this game is turning into a new power struggle—just a different guise, but the same old story.

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MEVHunterLucky

· 01-17 10:16

Oh no, isn't this exactly what I complain about every day? Now even Nic can't stand it anymore. --- Kaito's bunch of robot comments really drove me away; I haven't been browsing for a long time. --- Wait, is the cooling enthusiasm of retail investors a bad thing for us? On the contrary, it’s more peaceful. --- X’s recommendation algorithm is indeed outrageous; niche content simply can't survive. --- With institutions' narrative so strong, how can we play with them? --- Revoking API permissions is a bit too harsh, but it’s definitely necessary. --- From entertainment to financing narratives, the soul of crypto is gradually being hollowed out. --- It’s actually a good thing that retail investors are staying calm; fewer chives means higher efficiency for us to harvest. --- Speaking of which, those days of "posting to earn money" are gone forever. --- The problem isn’t with Kaito; fundamentally, it’s still a market cycle issue.

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