Unveiling the Rise and Fall of Friend.tech: From Soaring Profits to Shrinking Numbers

Earnings on the decentralized social platform Friend.tech experienced an astronomical plummet, mirroring its dwindling number of daily users. According to the latest insights from DeFiLlama, the once-prominent Friend.tech witnessed its earnings nosedive, with fees plummeting by over 70% by the end of the week, standing in stark contrast to its peak. The count of newly added users followed suit, exhibiting an almost staggering 80% drop.

Friend.tech, a former titan in the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape, once stood as the beacon of revenue generation, boasting an impressive influx of 100,000 users within mere days. Notable figures from diverse domains such as sports, business, and social media, including luminaries like Grayson Allen, Garry Tan, Cobie, and HsakaTrades, graced the platform as its initial creators.

Yet, while Friend.tech initiated waves across the digital asset trading community earlier in the month, there are inklings that the dwindling fees and revenues might signify a waning enthusiasm. Users have raised concerns about exorbitant trading fees, sluggish load times, and an intricate token pricing curve that adds friction to their experience.

Despite amassing over 20,000 fresh users at the commencement of the prior week, the platform's traction seemed to surge even further after it enabled the exchange of photos, attracting content creators from platforms like OnlyFans. Notably, several OnlyFans content creators secured coveted positions among Friend.tech's 50 most valuable accounts, with top-ranking influencer JenfoxxUwU reportedly fetching a remarkable 0.87 ETH for each key, approximately $1,435, while her monthly subscription on OnlyFans remained under $4.

However, the fervor triggered by the OnlyFans transition gradually ebbed, evident in the dwindling count of new users that dwindled to a mere 4,484 by August 25. Friend.tech, once holding the second rank in terms of fees and revenue generated, now finds itself positioned at the tenth spot, accumulating $215,552 in the preceding 24 hours, according to Dune Analytics.

The platform's significance is further underscored by its role in contributing up to 20% of the traffic on the Base network, propelled by intensified bot activities. Bots strategically acquired more than 21,000 keys in a fortnight, subsequently reselling them to garner a staggering profit of $2.1 million.

However, this meteoric rise wasn't without its shadows. Reports from Bloomberg highlight the influence of these very bots, manipulating transactions and compelling creators to shoulder elevated fees for key access, ultimately alienating genuine users.

At its inception, Friend.tech revolutionized the landscape of decentralized social networks, enabling the tokenization of connections and granting unprecedented access to interactions. Championed by influential figures like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Circle's CEO Jeremy Allaire, the platform's journey unfolded with both applause and caution.

Yet, the tale took an unexpected turn as the platform grappled with hacker attention, navigating from alleged hacks to data scraping.