What Is Kaito?
Kaito is an AI-powered crypto intelligence platform organized around a concept it calls "information finance," or InfoFi. The core idea is that attention and information are scarce, valuable resources, and that they can be measured, ranked, and in some cases traded. Kaito uses AI to index and search a large volume of crypto data, from social posts and governance forums to research, news, and podcasts, and to track "mindshare," a measure of how much of the online conversation a given project, person, or topic commands relative to its peers.
- Overview - Table of Contents
- What Is Kaito?
- Getting Started With Kaito
- How To Get A Kaito Wallet?
- Kaito Resources
- How To Buy Kaito?
- Latest Kaito News
Kaito was founded in 2022 by Yu Hu, a former Citadel hedge fund manager, and the company operated for several years as a research and analytics business before launching its token. It has been associated with well-known investors reported to include Dragonfly, Sequoia Capital China, and Jane Street. It is worth separating two things when evaluating Kaito: the platform, which is a real product with an established user base, and the KAITO token, whose value depends heavily on a new and unproven attention economy.
The platform is built from several products. Kaito Pro is a vertical search and research engine for crypto that aggregates thousands of sources into a single interface. Kaito Studio is a newer offering aimed at creators, and Capital Launchpad is positioned around data-driven capital formation for projects. Kaito Yaps was an early flagship feature that tokenized "attention" by scoring and rewarding quality social posts, but the company wound down its incentivized Yaps leaderboards in January 2026 after the social platform X restricted API access for apps that pay users to post. That episode is a useful reminder that attention-based products can depend on third-party platforms outside Kaito's control.
One of Kaito's most discussed initiatives is Attention Markets, launched in partnership with the prediction-market platform Polymarket. These markets let people wager on shifts in mindshare and sentiment, for example how much of the conversation a topic will command by a future date, using Kaito's data as the underlying feed. Early pilot markets drew meaningful volume, and both companies have signaled plans to expand the format. This is a genuine and novel collaboration, though attention as a tradable asset is a young idea, and how durable or liquid these markets become over time is still an open question.
The KAITO token is an ERC-20 token issued on Base, Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2, with a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens and roughly 240 million in circulation. It is used for functions such as staking and platform rewards. Because it lives on Base, it inherits the proof-of-stake security of the underlying Ethereum ecosystem rather than running its own chain. Buyers should always confirm the official contract address before transacting, since AI and attention themes attract a large number of imitation tokens.
What distinguishes Kaito is that it pairs a working, widely used data platform with an ambitious thesis about financializing attention. That thesis is also the main risk. Tokenized attention and InfoFi are experimental, the token launched near a high valuation in early 2025 and has since fallen substantially, and much of its long-term value assumes the attention economy becomes a lasting on-chain market rather than a passing narrative. Prospective holders should weigh the strength of the underlying product against how speculative and unproven the surrounding tokenomics remain.
Getting Started With Kaito
You can engage with Kaito as a user of its intelligence platform, as a KAITO token holder, or as a participant in its attention-based markets.
- Step 1: Learn the ecosystem. Visit kaito.ai to understand how Kaito approaches AI-driven crypto intelligence and the InfoFi concept, and how the KAITO token is used.
- Step 2: Set up a wallet. Because KAITO is an ERC-20 token on Base, you can use an Ethereum-style wallet such as MetaMask configured for the Base network.
- Step 3: Acquire KAITO. Buy KAITO on an exchange that lists it, or swap for it on a decentralized exchange, confirming the official Base contract address first.
- Step 4: Explore the platform. Try Kaito's research and mindshare tools, keeping in mind that the token's value rests on a novel and still-unproven attention economy.
How to Get a Kaito Wallet?
KAITO is an ERC-20 token on the Base network, so standard Ethereum-style wallets that support Base can hold it. Confirm you are on the correct network before transferring.
MetaMask
MetaMask is a widely used browser and mobile wallet for EVM networks. You can configure it for the Base network and add KAITO using its official contract address to manage the token and connect to applications.
Hardware Wallets
For larger holdings, a hardware wallet such as Ledger can be paired with an EVM-compatible interface to keep private keys offline while holding KAITO on Base.
Coinbase Wallet
Because KAITO is issued on Base, Coinbase's self-custody Coinbase Wallet is a natural fit for holding the token and interacting with Base applications. Verify network and contract details before transferring.
Kaito Resources
How to Buy Kaito?
KAITO is available on centralized and decentralized exchanges. Because it is a Base-based ERC-20 token, take care to use the Base network and the correct contract when transferring.
Centralized Exchanges
KAITO is listed on a range of centralized exchanges, typically against stablecoins such as USDT. After buying, you can withdraw KAITO to a wallet you control using the Base network.
Decentralized Exchanges
KAITO can also be swapped on decentralized exchanges on Base. Connect a compatible wallet, then trade for KAITO, and always verify the official contract address before swapping to avoid imitation tokens.
Latest Kaito News
Kaito has continued to develop its platform since the KAITO token launched in early 2025, sunsetting its incentivized Yaps leaderboards in January 2026, leaning into products like Kaito Pro and Kaito Studio, and expanding its Attention Markets collaboration with Polymarket. Its market capitalization has sat in the range of 200 million US dollars in mid-2026, well below the valuation implied around its launch.
For anyone evaluating Kaito, the key context is the contrast between a real, actively used intelligence platform and a token whose value leans on an experimental attention economy. The InfoFi thesis is genuinely novel, and the Polymarket partnership shows the idea gaining some traction, but tokenized attention is unproven, dependent in part on outside platforms, and speculative. Treat KAITO as an early-stage, higher-risk bet on that thesis rather than an established asset.