Friend.tech, a major player in the web3 social networking arena, has announced a partnership with Conduit, a well-known crypto infrastructure service provider, to develop its own blockchain platform.
Unveiled on June 8, Friend.tech’s plans for Friendchain involve the creation of a unique blockchain that will utilize the FRIEND token as a fully transferable gas token. While a specific launch date for the project was not provided, this move comes following recent comments from the project’s co-founder, Racer.
In May, Racer hinted at the possibility of moving away from the Coinbase-backed Ethereum layer-2 network Base, citing a sense of disconnection from the ecosystem. He even offered a $200,000 reward to any developer who could successfully transition the platform from Base without major disruptions.
The community has responded to this announcement with mixed reactions. Some analysts see it as a natural evolution, suggesting that successful decentralized applications will eventually transition to independent chains. Others are concerned that this move could impede growth.
A prominent supporter of FriendTech, known as The Giver on social media platform X, described the decision as “short-term bullish and mid-term bearish” for the crypto project. The analyst believes FriendTech should concentrate on expanding its user base by leveraging connections through the Base and Solana blockchains.
Since its inception in August 2023, Friend.tech has emerged as a leading SocialFi decentralized application (dApp) on the Base network. Users can purchase keys associated with their social media accounts, enabling direct interactions with influencers. These key purchases not only provide chat access but also offer financial rewards, including a share of transaction fees and reward points that can result in token airdrops.
After launching its second version and a token airdrop campaign last month, Friend.tech has cemented its position as a frontrunner in the SocialFi movement. Despite a recent 20% decrease in total value locked, the platform still leads the SocialFi trend with nearly $10 million in TVL as of June 8, as reported by DeFiLlama.
Currently, the FRIEND token is trading at approximately $0.8439, marking a 15% increase in the past 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap data.