When Conversation Becomes Capital: Flipster’s Head of Product on How InfoFi Is Rewiring Crypto Markets

On Dec. 20, 2020, Elon Musk posted one word: “Doge.” Dogecoin surged 20% in 30 minutes, according to CoinGecko price data. Fast forward to 2024’s meme coin supercycle, Dogwifhat and Book of Meme each recorded overnight pumps exceeding 500% after viral X campaigns and Telegram raids, per DexScreener data. However, many of those same tokens later retraced 80% to 99%.

These episodes illustrate how online conversations have long influenced crypto markets, but they also reveal a persistent problem. Information moves crypto markets faster than ever, but traders struggle to separate credible voices from engagement farmers gaming the algorithm.

Industry observers increasingly point to this tension as the foundation of Information Finance (InfoFi). This concept tries to bring structure to an environment where information travels quickly but trust struggles to keep pace.

BeInCrypto recently spoke with Flipster’s Head of Product, Youngsun Shin, to explore how InfoFi might reshape participation, why credibility is becoming a core currency, and how builders are trying to surface real voices in an ecosystem where anyone can go viral.

The Signal Problem and the Credibility Vacuum

We began the discussion by examining the broader picture of the information stream in the crypto industry. Shin noted that while information velocity once created an edge, the advantage today comes from recognizing credible signals. Traders are inundated with bot comments, keyword farming, and engagement loops that obscure meaningful insight.

He sees the current attention economy suffers from credibility issues created by inflated metrics and shallow engagement. For him, InfoFi emerges as a structure that addresses these problems by rewarding contributors who hold real mindshare rather than those who rely on reach or paid amplification.

“InfoFi reframes influence around authenticity and contribution. It identifies the voices who actually participate, share insight, and move conversations forward, and gives them a fair way to be recognized and rewarded,” Shin explained to BeInCrypto.

He believes platforms can help by grounding social signals in verifiable activity, allowing traders to identify insights that come from informed sources.

The Trader-Creator Convergence

This is where Flipster’s collaboration with Kaito enters the picture. Shin said the partnership arose from a longstanding disconnect between those who talk about crypto and those who actually participate in it. 

“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.

Kaito’s intelligence layer maps the conversations among crypto market participants. It identifies which topics gain momentum, which voices drive discussions, and where attention flows. Meanwhile, Flipster provides verifiable user activity that indicates real participation. The exchange sees who trades, who refers new users, and who engages with the platform consistently.

“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,” he added.

The dynamic comes together in the Creator Leaderboard, intentionally weighing credibility toward usage rather than raw engagement. As a result, contributors who actively engage with the platform by trading, exploring products, and offering grounded perspectives naturally gain more visibility.

“When you look at the leaderboard today, the top voices are overwhelmingly real users with verifiable activity. 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,” Shin outlined.

The partnership also reflects a broader shift in how traders define themselves. Shin observed that modern traders influence markets through the ideas they share as much as the positions they take.

“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

Shin’s vision for where this goes next is more ambitious than a single leaderboard. He’s thinking about integrated reputation layers that combine multiple data streams into a coherent identity.

“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 is focused on strengthening how credibility is surfaced: identifying real voices, reducing noise, and ensuring that contributors with genuine insight are visible. Beyond that, he sees opportunities to deepen alignment between social signals and trading behavior, building toward a future where insight, participation, and performance are understood in a single, structured context.

Indeed, the InfoFi concept is still early, and only time will tell whether it becomes standard infrastructure or remains an experimental layer. Even so, teams like Flipster and Kaito show how platforms are beginning to formalize patterns that traders have felt instinctively for years: meaningful conversations shape markets, and the people driving those conversations deserve to be visible.