The new application has garnered over 2000 ETH and more than 100,000 transactions in a single day, rivaling OpenSea.
Social media has become an integral part of our lives, connecting us with friends, celebrities, and influencers.
However, the landscape is evolving rapidly with the introduction of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. A new player in this space, friend.tech, has recently emerged on the scene, offering a unique way to trade Twitter profiles.
In this article, we will explore what friend.tech is, why it is gaining attention, the concept of social tokens, its potential for success, and how users can get involved.
What Is Friend.tech?
Friend.tech is not your typical social media app. It operates on Coinbase’s Base chain, a layer 2 blockchain, which offers negligible gas fees and instant transactions.
The platform enables users to tokenize their Twitter profiles by connecting them to an Ethereum wallet. Each Twitter profile on friend.tech is represented by shares, which users can buy and sell. This essentially transforms personal brands into tradable assets.
The pricing of these shares follows a unique mechanism known as a bonding curve. As more people invest in a particular Twitter profile’s shares, the price increases by a predetermined percentage. Conversely, when shares are sold, the price decreases by the same ratio. This innovative model merges social media engagement with the principles of tokenomics.
The Appeal of Friend.tech
Friend.tech has captured the attention of crypto enthusiasts and traders due to its distinctive approach and the capabilities on the Base Layer-2 chain. Within just two weeks of its launch, the platform has garnered impressive traction. It boasts a user base of 97,000 traders and has facilitated trading volume worth almost 40,000 Ethereum, equivalent to around 65 million dollars.
According to DeFi Llama, friend.tech currently ranks as the third-highest earning protocol in the cryptocurrency space, generating around 1.4 million dollars in fees within a 24-hour span at the time of writing.
Beyond the crypto community, the platform is also attracting personalities outside of crypto, highlighting its potential to bridge the gap between traditional social media and blockchain-based platforms.
Understanding Social Tokens and Their Challenges
Social tokens are not a novel concept within the cryptocurrency space. However, their adoption has been limited due to challenges such as lack of standardization, potential scams, and misaligned incentives. Creators often face difficulties launching personal tokens, as it can be time-consuming and can negatively impact their reputation.
Moreover, existing models like membership NFTs have limitations. These tokens provide access to exclusive content or services but are often overpriced during the initial release, leading to disillusionment among buyers. As a result, many projects fade away shortly after launch.
Friend.tech’s Innovative Solution
Friend.tech addresses these challenges by combining the benefits of membership tokens with the NFT model. The platform ensures fairness by launching all social tokens under the same parameters. Creators receive just one token to start, eliminating the risk of dumping extra tokens on followers.
The platform charges a 5% trading fee, which is reasonable compared to membership NFTs, and shares a portion of it (5%) with the creators. This fee structure aligns incentives, motivating creators to deliver consistent value to token holders.
Is Friend.tech a Scam?
On the platform, every social token follows the same launch parameters. There are no insider allocations, and each creator initially receives just one token to avoid flooding the market. Their earnings stem solely from others valuing and trading their shares, with money earned from trading fees.
Friend.tech also eliminates the need for grappling with intricate DEX interfaces and the supervision of liquidity pools. You just need to connect your Twitter account to the app, and your shares of social tokens are automatically allocated.
The fee structure (5%) effectively aligns project creators’ incentives with token owners making creators motivated to continually introduce fresh services, products, and updates to their NFT communities. The trading and circulation of NFTs reflect this dynamic, sustaining long-term engagement.
The platform’s viability hinges on creators consistently providing value to their membership token holders—as long as this value delivery persists, creators can generate income through trading fees, ensuring an ongoing revenue stream on the platform.
How To Make Money With Friend.tech?
Users can leverage friend.tech to capitalize on the platform’s growth in various ways:
1. Speculate on Platform Growth
Just as with any emerging platform, users can speculate on friend.tech’s growth by investing in leading creator tokens.
2. Identify Undervalued Accounts
Users can hunt for Twitter accounts of prominent individuals who have recently joined the platform. Buying their shares early at a cheap price can yield substantial gains as the creator grows in popularity.
3. Friend.tech Airdrop
One of the promising upside features from the app is that the platform is airdropping points to you for being active on the app but they have yet to reveal what the points will get you.
Getting Started on Friend.tech
1. Get an Invite Code
Since the app is currently in beta, users require an invite code. These codes can be obtained from existing friend.tech users or by searching for them on Twitter.
2. Access the App
Search for “friend.tech” on your mobile device and add the app icon to your home screen.
3. Bridge ETH to Base
Visit base.org and use the official bridge to move Ethereum to the Base Network. This allows you to mint your first share and begin trading.
Final Thoughts
While friend.tech is still in its early stages, its unique approach to social media and tokenization holds promise. With the seamless integration of blockchain technology, this platform has managed to attract attention within the crypto space and beyond.
As more Twitter accounts join the platform, social token trading could continue to thrive in the short term. While the long-term trajectory remains uncertain, friend.tech is undeniably a fascinating experiment at the intersection of social media and blockchain.
Rickie Sanchez is an article writer specializing in cryptocurrency news. Since late 2017, he has been actively investing in cryptocurrencies. He is enthusiastic about everything that has to do with crypto and he hopes that the readers of his articles in the years to come will gain a massive understanding of blockchain technology.
