X cracks down on crypto scams: the first token issuance locks the account, and identity verification mechanisms are fully upgraded

Gate News updates: On social platform X (formerly Twitter), it is rolling out a new risk-control mechanism for crypto-related content, focusing on cracking down on scams where hacked accounts promote fake tokens. Product lead Nikita Bier revealed that the system will automatically identify accounts that have never previously posted crypto-related content; once they suddenly begin promoting tokens or links, it will trigger mandatory identity verification and restrict their ability to publish subsequent posts.

The strategy mainly targets the attack paths that are appearing at high frequency today: hackers compromise accounts with large followings and, leveraging that trust base, quickly spread fake projects or phishing links, thereby obtaining funds and then rapidly disappearing. As crypto scams continue to increase throughout 2026, this “high-trust account hijacking” pattern has become one of the most destructive tactics.

The core logic of the new mechanism is to treat “abnormal behavior” as a risk signal—automatically triggering a review workflow when an account’s historical behavior and its current content show a clear divergence. This approach is expected to reduce the spread of large-scale scams, improve the platform’s overall safety, and lower the likelihood that users suffer losses from mistakenly trusting official or KOL accounts.

However, the measure has also sparked controversy. Some users believe that strengthening verification helps purify the crypto information environment and reduce the spread of fake projects. But others point out that behavior-pattern-based restrictions may wrongly flag legitimate users who are posting crypto content for the first time, and may also prompt debate about the platform’s content moderation boundaries.

From an industry perspective, X’s move reflects that social platforms’ roles in the crypto ecosystem are changing—from gradually shifting from information dissemination channels toward risk-control nodes. As scam tactics continue to evolve, the platform’s side automated risk-control will become an important line of defense, but how to strike a balance between security and openness remains a key issue that will need ongoing optimization going forward.