Mass Banning: X Platform’s AI algorithm Grok suddenly banned dozens of crypto accounts, including major projects and influential KOLs.
Algorithm Tyranny: Automated content moderation creates “black box” censorship with no human review or transparent appeal process available.
Forced Migration: Crypto community shifts to decentralized platforms like Farcaster, which saw 320% user growth in one week.
X Platform bans dozens of crypto accounts including GMGN and major KOLs, triggering trust crisis. Algorithm-driven censorship forces crypto community to seek decentralized alternatives.
June 12, 2025 – A sudden wave of account suspensions swept across Elon Musk’s X Platform (formerly Twitter), with dozens of cryptocurrency-related accounts facing mass bans. The casualties included AI investment platform GMGN and its founder, blockchain gaming project ElizaOS’s official account, and prominent KOLs like “Fan Wang” Sha Po Lang and Wang Xiao Er. This controversy not only disrupted the crypto community but also exposed new centralization dilemmas under algorithmic governance.
EVENT TIMELINE: WHY DID THE “FREE PLATFORM” RAISE ITS SWORD?
Ban Timeline and Key Players
June 10th: Musk announced X Platform completed algorithm upgrades, deeply integrating AI assistant Grok into the system.
June 12th, Early Morning: Users discovered GMGN, ElizaOS, and other accounts suddenly disappeared, with pages displaying “account does not exist.”
June 13th: Banned KOL “Wizard” @0xCryptoWizard revealed that after 48 hours of appeals, no response was received while assets remained frozen, triggering panic.
June 15th: X Platform officials maintained silence, only listing through Grok three possible reasons: “user reports,” “content manipulation,” and “algorithm misjudgment.”
Historical Mirror: The Weibo Ban Cycle
In 2018 and 2021, Weibo conducted two large-scale bans of crypto accounts including Golden Finance and Huobi News, forcing KOLs to migrate to Twitter. Now X Platform’s “algorithmic cleansing” makes the crypto community worry about the demise of their “freedom stronghold”—their former safe haven is sliding toward new censorship models.
Grok Algorithm’s “Indiscriminate Attacks”
X Platform’s new algorithm shows excessive sensitivity to three content types:
High-Frequency Promotion: GMGN was flagged for “manipulative content” after posting 5-8 project analyses per hour.
Meme Association: Some accounts faced bans for sharing Trump-Musk reconciliation memes, despite no direct violations.
On-Chain Behavior: ElizaOS founder Shaw’s X account linked to on-chain wallets triggered anti-money laundering controls through transaction records.
Malicious Reporting’s “Technical Siege”
The community exposed organized groups using quantitative bots to mass-report Chinese accounts, alleging “buy low, sell high” and “harvesting retail investors,” with daily reports exceeding 2,000. This new attack method leverages algorithmic automation amplification, creating “report-ban-panic” chain reactions.
Platform Governance’s “De-humanization Trap”
X Platform’s ban process relies entirely on algorithmic decisions, lacking human review mechanisms. One banned user attempted customer service contact, receiving only automated replies: “Violation of Community Guidelines Article 3.2 (High-Risk Financial Behavior).” This “black box operation” leaves rights protection in deadlock.
INDUSTRY SHOCKWAVES: FROM TRUST COLLAPSE TO ECOSYSTEM MIGRATION
Short-Term Impact: Asset Freezing and Confidence Collapse
GMGN tokens plummeted 47% within 24 hours, forcing the project team to urgently initiate on-chain governance voting to restore confidence. Small and medium investors panic-sold meme coins, while mainstream currencies like SOL and ETH dropped 3-5% in sympathy.
Long-Term Hazards: The “Chilling Effect” on Free Speech
Top KOL “Sha Po Lang” admitted in Telegram groups: “Now I have to consult lawyers before tweeting—even saying ‘bull market is coming’ might be interpreted as investment inducement.” This self-censorship is compressing the communication space for crypto narratives.
Forced Rise of Decentralized Social Media
Farcaster protocol’s daily active users surged 320% in one week, while Lens Protocol announced account migration support features. However, reality remains harsh: decentralized platforms suffer 15-second transaction delays, with user experiences still unable to match X Platform.
SURVIVAL GUIDE: “CAREFUL BREATHING” UNDER THE ALGORITHMIC IRON CURTAIN
Content Strategy Adjustments
Avoid High-Frequency Words: Reduce sensitive vocabulary like “surge” and “100x gains,” replacing with neutral expressions like “cyclical fluctuations” and “value discovery.”
Separate On-Chain Identity: KOLs recommend isolating X accounts from trading wallets to avoid cross-tracking behavioral data.
Technical Defense Upgrades
Distributed Account Matrix: Establish main account plus backup systems, using different IPs and devices for login.
On-Chain Evidence Storage: Synchronize important content to storage protocols like Arweave, preventing “digital evaporation.”
Community Emergency Plans
Multi-Platform Traffic Direction: Guide followers to relatively private channels like Telegram and Discord.
Offline Backups: Regularly export follower lists and interaction data to prevent sudden account disappearance.
DEEPER REFLECTION: CRYPTO NARRATIVE’S “EXISTENTIAL CRISIS”
This ban storm exposes the crypto world’s paradox: the fatal contradiction between decentralization ideals and centralized communication channels. When 90% of industry voice depends on Web2 platforms like X and Reddit, so-called “censorship resistance” becomes mere fragile illusion.
More alarming is algorithmic governance’s “gentle tyranny”—no clear rule disclosure, no transparent appeal channels, with data models alone determining accounts’ “social death.” This technological authoritarianism is dissolving crypto movement’s core values.
Perhaps as Ethereum founder Vitalik stated: “True decentralization must begin with rebuilding social graphs.” When Farcaster’s daily active users break one million, this migration might shift from forced to voluntary.
Algorithm Resistance Strategies
The crypto community must develop comprehensive resistance strategies against algorithmic censorship. Content creators should diversify their platforms, maintain multiple communication channels, and build direct relationships with their audiences.
Technical solutions include using VPNs, encrypted messaging, and blockchain-based identity systems. Community leaders should establish emergency communication protocols and backup dissemination networks.
Platform Dependency Risks
Over-reliance on any single platform creates systemic vulnerabilities. The crypto industry learned this lesson painfully during previous social media purges. Successful projects now maintain presence across multiple platforms and own their communication infrastructure.
Building email lists, direct messaging systems, and community forums provides insurance against sudden platform policy changes. Smart projects invest in platform-agnostic audience building strategies.
Future Implications
This crisis accelerates the development of truly decentralized social networks. Projects like Farcaster, Lens Protocol, and others benefit from user dissatisfaction with traditional platforms.
However, these alternatives still face significant adoption barriers. Network effects, user experience gaps, and technical complexity remain challenging obstacles to mainstream adoption.
CONCLUSION: SEEKING LIGHT IN ALGORITHMIC CRACKS
X Platform’s ban storm represents both crisis and turning point. It forces the crypto community to confront a truth: without autonomous information strongholds, any financial revolution becomes a castle in the air.
Perhaps future history books will record: Summer 2025, a group of people exiled by algorithms lit the first campfire in the decentralized wilderness.
For every participant, current choices will determine whether they become trapped beasts in algorithmic cages or pioneers of new frontiers. The crypto community stands at a crossroads between submission and resistance.
〈X Platform Ban Storm: Trust Crisis in Crypto’s “Freedom Land”〉這篇文章最早發佈於《CoinRank》。
