Friend.tech, a decentralized social media platform that just went live two weeks ago, has surpassed hamster racing as the most recent trend in cryptocurrency trading. Even at this early stage, the platform may already be one of crypto’s most successful attempts at unseating Big Tech nemeses like Facebook and TikTok. It counts an NBA player and an e-sports titan among its early users, and venture capital powerhouse Paradigm is a seed round investor. Sadly, none of that guarantees that it will still merit consideration at the end of the week.
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Approximately 64,500 different addresses have already used the app. With pseudo-anonymous blockchains, it’s difficult to determine whether this means that FriendTech is actually used by over 60,000, 600, or even just 60 people. There was a rush to register before a potential future airdrop, which hasn’t been confirmed yet. In any case, FriendTech has already had a significant effect on cryptocurrency.
For instance, FriendTech made $1.12 million in fees in only 24 hours on a lazy summer Sunday (and $2.8 million overall since going live on Aug. 11 in test). After months of competition between the two, Base, the Ethereum scaling layer constructed by Coinbase where FriendTech is located, has surpassed rival networks Arbitrum and Optimism as the largest “layer 2” network. This is larger than the entire Bitcoin network in the same period.
Evidently, someone is becoming rich in cryptocurrency given this exponential development. The software is made for fans who wish to purchase “shares” in their influencers and social media pals. It is similar to an additional financial layer for Twitter profiles. Even schlubs like myself can open an account, but so-called “celebs” get a cut of the trading commissions. Because it receives practically the entire 5% trading charge cut, the app itself is likely the biggest beneficiary.
FriendTech has already received accolades from crypto enthusiasts for its allegedly simple UX and UI, a problem that is notoriously difficult in a field where developers sometimes seem to be influenced by Windows 95. It currently only works on mobile, but it does allow users to direct message the celebrities they’re betting on, which is a standout feature given that Elon Musk’s X has throttled private messaging for the majority of users.
Others who won? Many accounts already have a value greater than 3 ETH ($5,200). The most valued profile is “Racer,” who is thought to have founded FriendTech, and close to 150 people own tokenized shares in that profile. Cobie, Hsaka, and Ansem, some other prominent Twitter users who are starting to resemble Elliot Smith, are not far behind. A bonding curve algorithm is used by FriendTech, along with many other cryptocurrency applications since DeFi exchange Uniswap first popularized the concept. This approach is math-intensive and allows trade to take place even when there are no buyers.
It has been tried to use bonding curves in decentralized social media before. The main advantages are economic: theoretically, everyone may profit from their reputations, and people are encouraged to invest as soon as feasible because token prices automatically increase in direct proportion to the total supply of tokens. However, prior studies have also given people a negative impression of science.
Friend.tech, a decentralized social media platform that just went live two weeks ago, has surpassed hamster racing as the most recent trend in cryptocurrency trading. Even at this early stage, the platform may already be one of crypto’s most successful attempts at unseating Big Tech nemeses like Facebook and TikTok. It counts an NBA player and an e-sports titan among its early users, and venture capital powerhouse Paradigm is a seed round investor. Sadly, none of that suggests that it will still merit consideration at the end of the week.
The growth and collapse of Bitclout is both a gain and a minus for FriendTech. Given how difficult social media has been to implement on the blockchain, many predict that FriendTech will also become extinct. But if Racer is the author, he appears to have been observing and picking up tips from those failed attempts.
You can include me in the group that believes that this will be just another forgettable summer extravaganza. One issue is that this approach to decentralized social media doesn’t fully capitalize on blockchain’s primary selling features, which are its ability to boost autonomy and reduce “tech censorship.” But for many people—perhaps even the majority—watching others monetize their position is also offensive. Since Faze Clan was created to sell out, it’s not the 1990s anymore, and nobody is going to hassle Grayson Allen of the NBA for selling out.
This does not imply that I oppose using social media for economic experiments. Anything that makes it simple for people to go “indie” is wonderful, and the 1,000 true fan hypothesis has already been confirmed more than 1,000 times (some things from the 1990s won’t ever die). I admire the Orb project by Nic Carter and Eric Wall, which is unrelated to Worldcoin. It makes use of a blockchain to let influencers like them profit from their extensive knowledge of cryptocurrencies and parasocial connections. Get to ask a question after paying to hold the Orb. It also functions as a practical illustration of the Harberger Tax, a rare case of behavioral economic beauty.
Decentralized social media has proven to be challenging to implement, especially on networks like Mastodon that are free of the crypto blemish. Although I’m not sure if that’s because creating fairer social media is difficult in and of itself or because virtually every “decentralized social media” platform—even the trendy ones like Farcaster, Bluesky, and Nostr—is a direct copy of Twitter. Crypto Twitter is the town square for the sector, but gentlemen, use your imagination.
Not to mention the serious accusations that are being made against FriendTech, frequently by individuals who could probably make a lot of money if they kept their mouths shut and used the program. One significant red flag is that FriendTech appears to have launched without a privacy policy, which is surprising given that blockchains contain troves of financial and personal data. Speaking of, users purportedly give the app permission to post on their behalf just by creating an account, and there is proof that FriendTech is leaking wallet information through its API.
After allegedly seeing a “leaked” copy of FriendTech’s code repository on Github and posting about many of those alleged problems, Banteg, a DeFi legend and crypto developer, crossed the proverbial Rubicon today by actually publishing a list of 101,183 FriendTech user accounts and connecting their Base wallet addresses to their Twitter profiles. Should Banteg be punished for doxxing, or would the truth have eventually come out? Will it spur FriendTech to try to address its issues sooner or hasten its impending demise?
FriendTech, on the other hand, blasted The Block for being irresponsible for covering the story, claiming that the alleged breach is “like saying someone hacked you by looking at your public Twitter feed” because all the data was obtained via scanning open sources. However, that is precisely the problem, and that—along with tax evasion—is the reason why people go to such measures to keep their IRL and on-chain identities separate. Banteg, for instance, will pose as a rabbit. Not to put too fine a point on it, but a handful of cryptocurrency owners have passed away in recent weeks under mysterious, frequently horrifying circumstances.
Nevertheless, well-known cryptonauts have declared their intention to treat FriendTech fairly. After publishing a thread about the friendtech protocol’s distinctive financial incentives on Saturday, @0xCygaar declared, “I’ll be using friendtech to share more raw/opinionated thoughts on various crypto topics.” Even if many of the early social token efforts failed, a few appear to be still active, with FriendTech taking the lead in becoming their primary repository.
In conclusion, FriendTech may be right for you based on your risk tolerance or the reason(s) you even care about cryptocurrencies. Social media networks may expand and develop, unlike the hamster race sensation from July, which was just cryptocurrency locked on a wheel. However, the crucial first mover advantage that helps to explain why Facebook is still a platform worth many billions of dollars today doesn’t really apply in the crypto world. It’s comparatively simple to steal code, make a few changes, and end up being the topic of conversation on Twitter for the entire day.
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