In a striking 24 hours post-launch, the new social application, friend.tech, witnessed a trading volume of 4,400 ETH ($8.1 million), leaving OpenSea’s figures in the same time slot behind. Yet, its ambiguous beginnings, missing privacy guidelines, and network glitches have raised eyebrows.
Friend.tech – The marketplace for your friends
Crypto enthusiasts on Twitter have been buzzing about this fresh Web3 social application.
Introduced as an invite-only beta test on Thursday, friend.tech promotes itself as “the marketplace for your friends.” The decentralized platform enables users to turn their social interactions into tokens, all on Coinbase’s new Base layer 2 network.
Yuga Cohler, a senior software engineer at Coinbase, explained that on friend.tech, individuals can set up profiles and trade “shares” of themselves with their audience. Owning such shares enables users to initiate private chats with the profile owner.
Friend.tech appears to target popular Twitter figures like Jordan Fish (known as Cobie) and trader Hsaka Trades. Hsaka Trades even speculated the platform might evolve into something similar to Cameo, but for the Crypto Twitter community, where holding shares could lead to privileges like tweeting on behalf of influencers.
Initial data from Dune analytics showcased the app’s swift adoption, registering over 126,000 transactions and an $8.1 million trading volume. Interestingly, this volume nearly doubled that of OpenSea, a leading NFT marketplace. Furthermore, Base’s active user count soared to 136,000, primarily driven by friend.tech.
But not everything went smoothly. Many reported lags and crashes due to an overwhelming user count on launch day. Plus, questions arose about its inception, potential trajectory, and approach to user data.
The mastermind behind friend.tech is said to be a developer known as Racer. Cohler shared that Racer’s prior venture, TweetDAO, aimed at decentralized social media, turned heads before its decline. After its novelty wore off, Racer, with co-founder Shrimp (or Shrimppepe), introduced Stealcam, another Web3 platform. It later transformed into friend.tech to cater to Web3 creators aiming to profit from their content.
Friend.tech’s red flags
Yet, the app’s monetization model and data privacy have come under scrutiny.
Decentralized finance specialist Laurence Day presented a simple demand and supply pricing model for friend.tech shares. Meanwhile, Andy Chorlian, founder of the Tessera platform, expressed surprise at the potential value of “friendship” and mentioned significant earnings.
However, the application’s lack of clarity about user data usage is concerning. Its website provides minimal details, missing crucial information like its roadmap, founders’ details, or even a whitepaper. Alarmingly, its yet-to-be-released privacy policy remains a point of contention.
As friend.tech carves its niche in the Web3 landscape, prospective users should weigh the risks of investing time and resources into a project that remains enigmatic. While friend.tech offers a feature to withdraw in-app profits back to user wallets, many anticipate the introduction of a native token – though no official announcements have been made.
The mantra “Do your own research” still rings true in this Web3 era. The origins, objectives, and ambiguity surrounding friend.tech are cautionary tales. Despite its “marketplace for friends” tagline, users might want to proceed with caution before labeling it a true friend.
Stay connected in our community: Twitter | Telegram: @layer2daily_cig