InfoFi Unleashed: How Social Chatter Is Reshaping Crypto Markets
Introduction: From Musk to Memecoins – The Information Velocity Era
On December 20, 2020, a single-word post from Elon Musk—“Doge”—sent the crypto market into a frenzy. According to CoinGecko price data, Dogecoin surged 20% within 30 minutes. This event was a precursor to a more intense phenomenon. Fast forward to the 2024 memecoin supercycle, where tokens like Dogwifhat and Book of Meme recorded overnight pumps exceeding 500% following viral X campaigns and Telegram raids, as tracked by DexScreener data. However, these dramatic gains were often fleeting; many of the same tokens later retraced 80% to 99%.
These episodes starkly illustrate a dominant force in modern cryptocurrency: online conversations can move markets with unprecedented speed. Yet, they also reveal a critical and persistent problem. While information is the most powerful catalyst in crypto, traders are increasingly struggling to separate credible, insightful voices from the noise of engagement farmers and algorithmic manipulation. This tension—between the speed of information and the scarcity of trust—is giving rise to a new structural concept known as Information Finance, or InfoFi.
The Signal Problem and the Credibility Vacuum
The core challenge in today’s crypto information ecosystem is not a lack of data, but an overabundance of noise. In an interview with BeInCrypto, Youngsun Shin, Head of Product at Flipster, framed the evolution of this landscape. He noted that while the sheer velocity of information once provided a trading edge, the advantage today comes from the ability to recognize credible signals amidst the chaos. Traders are now inundated with automated bot comments, strategic keyword farming, and artificial engagement loops specifically designed to obscure meaningful insight and manipulate perception.
Shin posits that the current digital attention economy is fundamentally hampered by credibility issues stemming from inflated metrics and shallow engagement. For him, InfoFi emerges as a necessary structure designed to address these systemic problems by shifting incentives. Instead of rewarding the loudest voices or those with the broadest—and often purchased—reach, InfoFi aims to reward contributors who hold genuine mindshare and offer substantive value.
“InfoFi reframes influence around authenticity and contribution,” Shin explained to BeInCrypto. “It identifies the voices who actually participate, share insight, and move conversations forward, and gives them a fair way to be recognized and rewarded.”
This philosophical shift suggests that platforms can add immense value by grounding social signals in verifiable on-chain or on-platform activity. This creates a foundation of trust, allowing traders to more easily identify which insights originate from informed sources with skin in the game, rather than from anonymous accounts designed solely for market manipulation.
The Trader-Creator Convergence: Bridging Talk and Action
The theoretical framework of InfoFi is being translated into practice through strategic industry partnerships. Flipster’s collaboration with the intelligence platform Kaito serves as a prime example. Shin stated that this partnership was born from observing a longstanding disconnect between those who actively discuss crypto and those who substantively participate in its markets.
“As the ecosystem evolves, we see opportunities to bring information discovery and trading behavior closer together, giving traders a clearer view of which insights come from knowledgeable, credible sources,” he said.
The mechanics of this collaboration involve layering different types of data to create a more holistic picture of influence. Kaito’s intelligence layer specializes in mapping the vast landscape of crypto conversations across social platforms. It algorithmically identifies which topics are gaining momentum, which specific voices are driving substantive discussions, and where collective attention is flowing. Flipster complements this by providing a layer of verifiable user activity that serves as proof of real-world participation. The exchange has visibility into who is actively trading, who is successfully referring new users, and who engages with its platform products consistently over time.
“By combining these layers, we elevate creators whose influence is earned through contribution, not purchased through reach. It creates an environment where meaningful voices stand out naturally,” Shin added.
This dynamic is operationalized through features like Flipster’s Creator Leaderboard. Critically, this leaderboard is intentionally designed to weigh credibility toward verifiable usage rather than raw engagement metrics like likes or retweets. As a result, contributors who actively engage with the ecosystem by trading, exploring new products, and offering grounded perspectives naturally gain more visibility and influence within the platform’s community.
“When you look at the leaderboard today, the top voices are overwhelmingly real users with verifiable activity,” Shin outlined. “That’s because usage-based boosts significantly outweigh superficial engagement metrics. Bots and spam accounts simply don’t survive under that structure. […] The incentive structure naturally filters out low-trust behavior and reinforces voices that add meaningful insight.”
This convergence also reflects a broader shift in the identity of a modern crypto participant. Shin observed that traders now influence markets as much through the ideas they share and the discussions they shape as through the positions they execute.
“The modern trader isn’t defined solely by execution,” Shin noted. “They influence the ecosystem through the ideas they share and the discussions they shape. Social footprints and trading footprints are converging.”
What Comes Next for InfoFi: An Integrated Reputation Layer
The current applications of InfoFi principles are just the beginning. Youngsun Shin’s vision for the future is more ambitious than a single leaderboard feature; it points toward integrated reputation layers that combine multiple data streams into a coherent and portable digital identity for users.
“Long term, we imagine an integrated layer where trading reputation, social impact, and user credibility live side by side,” he explained. “A world where influence is earned, and where communities can rely on transparent, data-backed signals to understand who shapes the conversation.”
In the near term, Flipster’s focus remains on strengthening the core mechanisms for surfacing credibility: refining algorithms to better identify real voices, implementing more sophisticated methods for reducing informational noise, and ensuring that contributors with genuine insight consistently achieve visibility.
Beyond these immediate goals lies the opportunity to deepen the alignment between social signals and tangible trading behavior. The ultimate aim is to build toward a future where market insight, on-chain or on-exchange participation, and historical performance are understood within a single, structured context. This would provide a much-needed clarity in a market often driven by speculation and misinformation.
Conclusion: Formalizing Instinct in a Noisy Market
The concept of InfoFi is still in its early stages of development. It remains to be seen whether it will evolve into standard market infrastructure or remain an experimental layer adopted by niche platforms. However, initiatives from teams like Flipster and Kaito demonstrate a clear industry trend: platforms are beginning to formalize patterns that traders have understood instinctively for years.
The dramatic pumps following Elon Musk’s tweet or coordinated Telegram raids prove that meaningful conversations have tangible market-moving power. The subsequent 99% retracements underscore the perils of acting on unvetted information. InfoFi represents a structured attempt to bridge this gap—to ensure that the people driving valuable conversations are visible and that their credibility is demonstrable.
For crypto readers and participants navigating this landscape, the key takeaway is to watch how platforms continue to develop these credibility-signaling tools. The value is shifting from those who can shout the loudest to those who can contribute meaningfully and verifiably. As InfoFi matures, it promises to bring a new level of sophistication and trust to how we understand influence in the ever-volatile world of cryptocurrency.
Disclaimer: In compliance with the Trust Project guidelines, this opinion article presents the author’s perspective and may not necessarily reflect the views of BeInCrypto. BeInCrypto remains committed to transparent reporting and upholding the highest standards of journalism. Readers are advised to verify information independently and consult with a professional before making decisions based on this content.