Kelvin Daminabo
Friend.tech, a well-known web3 social networking platform, has revealed a partnership with Conduit, a crypto infrastructure service provider, to introduce its own blockchain named Friendchain. The newly launched blockchain will make use of the FRIEND token as a fully transferable gas token, although no specific timeline has been set for its release.
This initiative comes following Racer, co-founder of Friend.tech, expressing a sense of disconnection from the ecosystem and offering a $200,000 reward for a successful transition from the Ethereum layer-2 network Base, backed by Coinbase. The response from the community has been varied, with some seeing it as a natural progression while others are cautious about its potential impact on growth.
Since its inception in August 2023, Friend.tech has emerged as a leading SocialFi decentralized application (dApp) on the Base network. It enables users to acquire keys linked to social media accounts for direct engagement with influencers. Despite a recent 20% decline in total value locked, the platform has strengthened its position through a token airdrop campaign and the launch of a second version last month.
The debut of Friendchain signifies a significant step forward in Friend.tech’s development, piquing curiosity within the community about the platform’s future strategies. With the ongoing expansion of the SocialFi movement, Friend.tech’s choice to roll out its proprietary blockchain could potentially serve as a model for other decentralized applications. The outcome of this decision on the platform’s growth and user acquisition tactics remains uncertain, awaiting future assessment.