Friend.tech Token Falls Over 20% Due to Co-Founder’s Base-Leaving Suggestion

Last Updated: May 27, 2024 5:36am EDT | 2 minute read

The native token of the Web3 social network Friend.tech, known as FRIEND, has suffered a significant drop in value.

The decline came after one of the protocol’s co-founders, known by the pseudonym Racer, expressed his intention to separate from Base, the Coinbase-developed Ethereum Layer-2 network that hosts the project.

“System Design Reward: If you can find a way to migrate Friendstech from Base without causing major problems for users, and it works well enough that they decide to use it, we’ll pay you $200,000,” Racer said in a post on X.

Friend.tech’s relationship with Base has been tumultuous

According to Racer, the relationship between the Friend.tech team and Base has been tumultuous.

In another post, Racer claimed that Farcaster investors had misunderstood their project at launch, leading to a strained relationship with the Base community.

The team felt ostracized and disconnected from some parts of the Base and Ethereum ecosystems.

Jesse Pollak, head of Base at Coinbase, responded to the situation with a message of understanding.

In a post, Pollak acknowledged that the Friend.tech team has experienced feelings of isolation and disconnection and expressed his support for whatever path they choose.

“I would be sad if the team decided to leave Base, but I also respect and support any path – that is the beauty of the decentralized, onchain economy,” Pollak wrote.

Following Racer’s statements, the value of the Friend.tech token collapsed by around 20%.

Friend.tech’s popularity sees a rise after decline

Friend.tech, launched on August 10, 2023, has become a leading decentralized application (dApp) on the Basic level, attracting over 200,000 users and facilitating trading volume in excess of $230 million.

The platform uniquely converts user influence into exchangeable tokens known as “keys,” allowing users to access a creator’s attention or influence.

The model has attracted not only cryptocurrency influencers, but also NBA players and esports personalities, broadening its appeal beyond the cryptocurrency space.

A significant factor contributing to Friend.tech’s popularity has been the hype surrounding the Base network, a Layer 2 solution associated with Coinbase.

The involvement of Paradigm, an investment company linked to CoinBasefurther increased confidence in the potential of Friend.tech.

However, the platform has also faced privacy concerns, particularly regarding the potential for doxxing users due to the link between Twitter profiles and Ethereum addresses.

Friend.tech addressed these concerns by clarifying that the information believed to be leaked actually came from their public API, demonstrating the open nature of the platform and also highlighting the importance of user caution in protecting personal information.

However, Friend.tech has seen a rise in popularity as of late.

According to Dune analysis dashboardthe project grossed more than $500,000 in revenue as of May 3.

This was because his income had recently fallen below $20,000 in the last two months.

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