80% of Crypto Is Bots: Why X (Twitter) Might Never Fix the Spam Problem

X Head of Product Nikita Bier says no technology exists to fix the spam replies plaguing crypto accounts, claiming 80% of crypto activity is driven by bots.

The statement comes amid complaints that the platform is a “horrible website,” and concessions that it remains the least-worst channel for open communication.

X’s Bier Draws a Line on Crypto Spam

Bier’s admission marks a shift in tone from X’s earlier confidence in fighting spam through technical measures.

“The financial incentive to spam on X will decline enormously over the next 30 days and soon be negative,” X’s Nikira Beir said in March.

Over the past year, the platform reportedly purged 1.7 million bot accounts, revoked API access from InfoFi apps that incentivized posting, and rolled out a dislike button to suppress low-quality replies.

However, Bier now argues those tools have limits. He said the only viable path forward is enabling 2nd-degree reply restrictions, a feature X has been testing with Premium+ subscribers.

“There is no technology in the world that could ever fix the spam replies of a crypto account — because 80% of crypto is simply bots. The only path out is to enable 2nd-degree reply restrictions,” wrote Bier in a Sunday post.

The setting expands who can reply to a post beyond just direct followers to include followers of followers, while still blocking unknown accounts and bots.

The concession suggests X (Twitter) views the crypto bot problem as structural rather than solvable solely through detection.

If 80% of crypto accounts are bots, as Bier claims, no filtering system can separate legitimate users from automated ones at scale without collateral damage to real accounts.

Solana’s Anatoly Yakovenko and the Crypto Communication Crisis

Yakovenko’s response highlighted a deeper frustration within the crypto industry. The Solana co-founder called the platform “horrible,” yet acknowledged that open threads on X remain the best available option for public crypto communication.

The exchange followed a satirical post by Solana community member that mocked the state of crypto communications.