Is the 'Mouth-Rugging' Economy Still Sustainable? Beyond the Noise in Crypto Marketing

The Echo Chamber of Empty Hype

I used to believe that if you amplified enough voices, truth would emerge. Now I know better.

In the past year, I’ve tracked dozens of projects launching on platforms like Kaito and InfoFi — all promising “viral growth” through incentive-driven content. But here’s what no one talks about: most of these ‘engaged’ users vanish after claiming their free token airdrop.

The numbers don’t lie. Loudio’s conversion rate? 1.5% in Phase 1. For context: Google Ads converts at 4.3%. That’s not inefficiency — it’s a systemic failure.

What Is Actually Being Sold?

We’ve confused noise for momentum.

When a project pays $10k/month to influencers just to say “check out our memecoin,” what are they really buying? Attention? Credibility? No — they’re buying temporary visibility, like lighting a firework in a storm.

One founder told me bluntly: “We don’t care if people love us — we just want them talking.” That’s not marketing. That’s emotional extortion.

But let me be clear: rewards aren’t evil. It’s when rewards replace substance that things break down.

The Real Problem Isn’t Tools — It’s Signals

Think of your project as an instrument, and marketing as an amplifier. If your instrument is out of tune (bad product), even the loudest speaker won’t fix it. As @leonabboud said: “No amount of volume can hide bad music.”

Too many teams are using Kaito or Clout Pro like megaphones for broken guitars. They pay for attention but ignore the fundamentals: utility, narrative clarity, team integrity.

And yet… some are changing course. Kaito recently updated its algorithm to prioritize quality over quantity. Posts with no insight now get zero traction — even if they mention rewards or rankings. That shift isn’t accidental. It’s recognition that true virality comes from meaning, not money.

The Rise of Conversion-Driven Platforms

Today’s winners aren’t those offering the biggest reward pools, too often they’re the ones aligning incentives with real behavior: double-sided loyalty; long-term engagement; decision-making based on belief, not bounty chasing.

Virtuals is one example: close to 35% of Genesis participants bought more tokens on secondary markets — which suggests something deeper than transactional greed was at play.

Similarly, Kaito now tracks retention post-TGE and fee generation from agent accounts — metrics far more meaningful than follower counts or likes per post.