KAITO

Most recent update: [Feb 26, 2025]

What is KAITO? 

KAITO is the native utility token that powers the Kaito AI ecosystem, an advanced Web3 information platform designed to tackle the fragmentation of data in the cryptocurrency space. Kaito AI leverages artificial intelligence to aggregate and analyze vast amounts of unstructured crypto-related data, indexing thousands of premium sources such as social media platforms, governance forums, and market research outlets. This allows the platform to provide users, whether traders, investors, or researchers, with real-time, actionable insights, helping them make smarter decisions based on clear, organized information.

The KAITO token is central to how the ecosystem functions. It acts as the main currency for transactions, allowing users to unlock premium analytics, take part in governance, and interact with creators. Beyond its practical uses, KAITO encourages active participation, helping to build a strong, engaged community. Looking forward, Kaito’s roadmap includes plans to enhance its analytics and introduce decentralized social features. These updates will be shaped by community input, giving users a direct impact on the platform’s growth. With a focus on forming new partnerships and improving AI technology, KAITO is working to become a key player in the future of Web3’s information landscape.

Who is Behind KAITO?

Kaito AI and its native token were founded in 2022 by Yu Hu, a former quantitative trader at Citadel and Deutsche Bank, with a degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge. The development team comprises professionals with backgrounds in hedge funds, machine learning, and blockchain technology.  This multidisciplinary group set out to build a platform that could synthesize fragmented Web3 data into actionable insights, leveraging AI to empower its users.

Kaito's growth accelerated through strategic funding milestones. In February 2023, the company raised $5.3 million in a seed funding round led by Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital China, Jane Street, and Mirana Ventures. This capital was allocated to team expansion and product development, refining its AI search engine that integrates large language models (LLMs) with real-time data from diverse sources. By June 2023, Kaito secured an additional $5.5 million in a Series A funding round and elevated its valuation to $87.5 million.

By February 2025, Kaito reached a critical juncture with the launch of the KAITO token, a utility asset designed to power its ecosystem. Accompanying the token’s release was a comprehensive whitepaper detailing its governance mechanisms, payment functionalities, and incentive structures. Days later, on February 20, 2025, KAITO debuted on major exchanges like Binance and OKX, marking its transition into the public market.

How does it work? 

Kaito AI is a Web3 intelligence hub and InfoFi network that aggregates decentralized data using AI, with its native KAITO token powering the ecosystem. It offers various functions to streamline decentralized information discovery. First, its MetaSearch engine scours social media, governance forums, and niche research, structuring insights into actionable reports on tokens, trends, and projects. To access MetaSearch’s premium features, users spend KAITO tokens, which act as the currency for unlocking advanced analytics.

Another tool offered by Kaito AI, Sentiment Tracking AI, analyzes market mood shifts across various platforms, identifying key trends such as increasing optimism in DeFi or fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in NFTs. Paired with Smart Alerts, users receive real-time notifications on governance votes, price movements, or trending discussions. Customizing high-priority alerts or accessing historical sentiment data requires KAITO tokens.

The platform organizes its tools into Customized Dashboards, enabling users to track key metrics like Token Mindshare and the Catalyst Calendar. By staking KAITO tokens, users can further personalize these dashboards, prioritize niche data streams, or gain early access to beta features. Kaito’s Audio Library condenses exclusive podcasts and conference talks into TLDR summaries, rewarding content creators with KAITO for valuable recordings. Community engagement is encouraged through Kaito Yap, where users earn KAITO for sharing insights, analyzing markets, or identifying trends. For enterprises, Kaito’s API offers programmatic access to curated datasets, with businesses paying in KAITO for integration into their platforms.

Governance on the platform is driven by KAITO tokens. Holders vote on upgrades, such as new AI models or feature rollouts. Tokens can be staked to earn rewards from network fees or allocated to liquidity pools, fostering growth tied to the ecosystem. By embedding KAITO into every layer—from data access and alerts to governance and rewards—the token becomes indispensable. It transforms fragmented Web3 information into a structured, user-owned knowledge economy.

The KAITO Token and Tokenomics 

The total supply of KAITO is capped at 1 billion tokens. Of the total token supply, 32.2% is dedicated to ecosystem and network growth, 25% goes to core contributors for building and sustaining the platform, and 8.3% is allocated to early investors. The foundation and initial community claims each receive 10%, while 5% is set aside for liquidity incentives to encourage staking and market stability. The rest is distributed across initiatives aimed at driving adoption, innovation, and long-term ecosystem sustainability. As of February 26, 2025, the market capitalization of KAITO stands at US $573 million.

Security 

Kaito AI prioritizes security by deploying its smart contracts on the Base blockchain, an Ethereum Layer-2 solution developed by Coinbase. Base benefits from Ethereum's strong security infrastructure, using its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to validate transactions and safeguard the network. In PoS, validators enhance security by staking their tokens, which helps protect against malicious attacks. While specific details about Kaito's smart contract development are not publicly disclosed, it's common practice for Ethereum-based projects to utilize Solidity as the programming language and to implement security measures such as TLS 1.3 for data transmission and AES-256 encryption for data storage. Additionally, many projects adopt OpenZeppelin's audited code libraries to ensure smart contract reliability and often undergo third-party security audits to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

Drawbacks and risks 

Kaito AI faces several challenges that could impact its reliability and adoption. First, the platform’s AI-driven insights depend heavily on the accuracy of publicly available data, which is vulnerable to human biases, misinformation, or deliberate manipulation. If the AI processes flawed or misleading inputs, it could generate unreliable analyses, leading users to make poor decisions.

Additionally, Kaito’s reliance on social data from platforms like X introduces risks tied to influencer dominance. If key opinion leaders monopolize attention or manipulate the platform’s “KOL influence rating” model, Kaito could inadvertently amplify biased narratives or become a tool for “paid promotion” schemes, eroding trust in its neutrality over time.

Second, Kaito’s subscription model poses a financial barrier. At 0.25 ETH (approximately $833) per month for individual users—and higher costs for teams—the pricing may exclude smaller investors or casual traders, limiting accessibility despite its advanced tools.

Third, the platform’s complexity creates usability risks. Its interface, designed to handle vast data streams and multifaceted features like sentiment tracking or narrative mindshare analysis, may overwhelm newcomers, resulting in a steep learning curve. While users may adapt over time, initial frustration could deter potential adopters from fully leveraging the platform’s capabilities.

Due Diligence  

Before listing KAITO on the VirgoCX Platform, VirgoCX performed due diligence on KAITO and determined that KAITO is unlikely to be a security or derivative under Canadian securities legislation. VirgoCX’s analysis includes reviewing publicly available information on the following:  

• The creation, governance, and location of KAITO and/or its primary development team; 
• The supply, demand, maturity and liquidity of KAITO; and 
• Legal and regulatory risks associated with KAITO.  

Statutory Rights under Securities Legislation 

VirgoCX is offering Crypto Contracts on crypto assets in reliance on a prospectus exemption contained in the exemptive relief decision Re VirgoCX Inc. dated May 30th 2024 (the Decision). Please be aware that the statutory rights in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario) and, if applicable, similar statutory rights under the securities legislation of each other province and territory in Canada do not apply in respect of the Crypto Fact Sheet to the extent a Crypto Contract is distributed under the prospectus relief in the Decision. 

Further Reading 

To learn more about the technology behind KAITO, check out these in-depth resources here: 

• The official site of KAITO
• Coinmarketcap’s overview of KAITO
• Coingecko’s tokenomics overview of KAITO
• Coinbase’s overview of KAITO, along with the relevant news and blogs related to KAITO.