FRIEND Plunges 26% as Friend.Tech Team Steps Away from the Project

FRIEND has taken a sharp dive following the surprising news that its development team has walked away from the project. Reports reveal that the platform’s monthly revenues have dwindled to just $71.

Friend.tech Team Relinquishes Control

Friend.tech, the Web3 platform known for allowing users to trade tokens in exchange for access to exclusive content from notable personalities, is now facing an uncertain future after only a year of operation.

On September 8, the development team transferred ownership of the platform’s smart contracts to Ethereum’s null address, effectively freezing the system in its current state and halting any further updates or new features.

FRIEND Token Drops 26%

The decision to hand over control was confirmed in a statement shared on X. The team wrote, “Admin and ownership parameters have been set to 0x000…000 to prevent any changes to their fees or functionality in the future.”

Admin and ownership parameters have been set to 0x000…000 to prevent any changes to their fees or functionality in the future.

This change does not affect the separate web client operated at https://t.co/YOHabcBL3H which will continue to function as is. No fees from either…

— friend.tech (@friendtech) September 8, 2024

It was also clarified that the team will no longer collect any fees from the platform. Although still functional, the platform is now limited, with no possibility of enhancements.

This news triggered a steep drop in the FRIEND token, with CoinGecko reporting a 26.4% decline. The token is currently trading at $0.05942, having reached a record low of $0.05748 on September 9.

Investors were not spared, as crypto influencer Machi Big Brother, who initially invested around 5,200 ETH (valued at $16.7 million) to purchase 11.1 million FRIEND tokens, now faces a significant loss. The value of his investment has plummeted to just $0.7 million.

Friend.tech’s Journey: From Success to Decline

Friend.tech was launched in August 2023 on Base, quickly rising to prominence for its unique model of selling “keys” to influencer content. However, despite its initial success, the platform saw a decline in activity.

The situation worsened when Racer hinted at moving from the Base blockchain to a new project called “FriendChain,” causing confusion and a drop in user engagement.
While Version 2 and a token airdrop briefly brought users back, this resurgence was short-lived. Since June 2024, platform fees amounted to only $60,000, and recent reports show that revenues have fallen to just $71. This decline is likely a major factor behind the development team’s decision to renounce control.

This situation mirrors challenges faced by other decentralized social platforms like Farcaster and Lens, where user engagement has also dropped. Data indicates that new users on Farcaster have declined from 15,000 in February to just 650, with daily active users falling by 40% from 100,000 in July to 60,000 today.

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