K9 Finance DAO has addressed the recent confusion within the Shiba Inu community after affiliate verification badges suddenly disappeared from multiple ecosystem accounts on X.
Earlier, community members noticed that several Shiba Inu-related projects and key team members had lost their affiliate verification badges. The change affected major ecosystem accounts, including those belonging to partners such as K9 Finance DAO and Bad Idea AI.
K9 Provides Clarity
As speculation grew over possible shifts in partnerships or internal priorities, K9 Finance moved quickly to clarify the situation. In its statement on X, K9 explained that the removed badges were linked to the @Shibtoken Business Subscription, a paid verification program associated with the account widely regarded as Shiba Inu’s official X account. This subscription previously extended affiliate verification to connected projects and accounts.
Furthermore, K9 confirmed that the action was not limited to its own account. The removal also impacted other Shiba Inu ecosystem projects and figures, including Shib: The Metaverse, Shibarium, and top developer Kaal Dhairya.
The team confirmed it has spoken directly with the Shiba Inu leadership and the @Shibtoken account, which clarified that the decision was purely financial and operational in nature. Notably, K9 Finance emphasized that the move does not signal a breakdown in relationships or a change in long-term commitments.
Shiba Inu’s Official X Confirms Move
Shiba Inu’s official X account later reinforced this message, acknowledging community feedback and confirming that internal adjustments had been made.
The account noted that the gold verification checkmark had been reapplied, but without affiliate links, while reiterating that the project’s core focus remains firmly on SHIB and the broader ShibArmy.
Community feedback heard.
A few behind-the-scenes adjustments made – gold check reapplied, no affiliates.
Focus stays exactly where it belongs: $SHIB.
Onwards with the #ShibArmy. https://t.co/1rjWuwGxbv
— Shib (@Shibtoken) December 19, 2025
In the meantime, while K9 Finance has already secured its standalone verification badge on X, a review of the platform shows that many other affected projects have yet to acquire theirs.
K9 to Reconsider Relationship with Shibarium
This development follows earlier tension between K9 Finance and the broader Shiba Inu ecosystem. Just a week earlier, K9 Finance hinted that it could sever ties with Shibarium, Shiba Inu’s official Layer-2 blockchain, if affected users are not fully compensated for losses from the network’s Bridge hack.
For context, holders of K9’s native token, KNINE, were among the victims of the Shibarium Bridge attack on September 12. In response, K9 attempted to facilitate the recovery of funds by offering the attackers a 20 ETH bounty, but the hackers rejected the proposal.
Subsequently, K9 disclosed that communication from the official Shiba Inu team regarding recovery efforts had gone silent. As a result, it announced plans to hold a community vote on its future relationship with Shibarium if victims remain uncompensated by January 6, 2026.
However, despite these unresolved issues, K9 emphasized that the recent removal of its verification badge is unrelated to the dispute. Instead, the team clarified that the change affected all ecosystem projects equally and was driven solely by a broader cost-saving decision.
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