The Controversial Rise of Friend.tech
The Social Experiment Everyone's Talking About
GM DOers! 😎
Just when we thought meme coins were the pinnacle of crypto speculation, Friend.tech burst onto the scene.
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And boy, did it make an entrance.
Launched on Base, the L2 of the moment (check our recent Newsletter about it), right after the onset of its Onchain Summer, Friend.tech is redefining the way we perceive and use social tokens.
Imagine treating influencers like shares, speculating on their success, and getting a chance to chat with them and other investors.
Sounds intriguing, right? Some even call it the Patreon or the OnlyFans of crypto. 🐰
Why the buzz?
Just take a look at the numbers. A staggering 7136 ETH ($13+ million) in trading volume since its launch, with a volume of +4000 ETH just on day 2, even overshadowing giants like OpenSea.
Look at the growth pendant from the first 2 days…
The initial demand was so high that the servers went down multiple times, and invite links became as sought after as rare gems.
We are provisioning more resources again. We genuinely did not realize there were still so many people into crypto
The hook? A genius crypto formula. The scarcity of codes, the allure of weekly airdrops, and the promises of profit have made Friend.tech the talk of the town this week.
⚠️ Speaking of profit, let me just interrupt this article for a quick second.
The early bird discount for the Profit From The Future: A Web3 Investing Masterclass ended last night, however, we received a few emails this morning from those with issues finding the right discount link or connecting their wallet.
So, we’ve extended the discount until the end of the day to help out (...web3 UX 😰)
Grab your 33% off discount for the Web3 Investing Masterclass.🔥
🔥 PRO and Founding members, you can claim your discounts (PRO: 50% off and Founders: FREE) with the button below and then connecting your wallet.
P.S. - If you’re a PRO/Founding member, you need a PRO/Founders Pass in your wallet to unlock this discount.
If you don't hold your NFT, simply open the emails we sent you over the weekend & find the link to your discount!
Ok, back to your regular scheduled content…
People are making bank betting on top personalities whose shares have already skyrocketed, and this could be huge if it gets momentum into the web2 world too.
But like with every new web3 venture comes skepticism. Its mysterious origins, the absence of a clear privacy policy, the laggy UX, and the use of custodial wallets have raised numerous eyebrows. 🤨
Is this the next big thing in social media or just another fleeting bear market trend?
In this article, we’ll help you uncover it, get ready to know all the details and how to take advantage of this narrative.
Grab a drink, LFG! 🚀
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First, Who Is Behind This?
Meet the mind behind Friend.tech: a pseudonymous crypto veteran known as Racer. This isn't his first rodeo in the crypto world. He previously led @TweetDAO, an innovative NFT that allowed holders to post from a communal Twitter account.
It created quite the buzz, marking one of the earliest ventures into decentralized social media.
friend.tech is built by @0xRacerAlt, a crypto OG.
He was the lead dev of @TweetDAO - an NFT which granted access to posting from a shared Twitter account.
The project went viral before devolving. It was one of the first forays into decentralized social media.
He was the lead dev of @TweetDAO - an NFT which granted access to posting from a shared Twitter account.
The project went viral before devolving. It was one of the first forays into decentralized social media.
As for Friend.tech, before it came into the picture the company was called "Stealcam" – an intriguing project that auctioned thousand-dollar selfies and made users steal photos from each other.
By May, it underwent a transformation, rebranding to Friend.tech as we know it today.
Originally, the plan was to launch the project on Arbitrum (probably the other hottest L2), aiming to tokenize entire communities.
Guess what? Base got their attention, proving that it is capable of attracting developers and winning projects. Not a bad start at all…
So, How Can We Use This? 🤔
First, you’ll need an invitation that’s not expired, and an X (Twitter) account. Codes are in high demand and hard to find.
They occasionally drop some on their X feed, but they vanish almost instantly.
Here's some codes:
ft-2sdi5u46
ft-p03arzmk
ft-946wwxsg
ft-dluvs3le
ft-35nul88o
ft-05uwurgv
ft-6lfaafq8
ft-hisarn99
ft-lh2kfrf1
ft-ve6xuqaj
ft-bh499gaw
ft-9zhd6lge
ft-tzjywqk6
ft-3uu1x6ci
ft-pp81sivp
ft-21vm496m
ft-ngdmejya
ft-3g5ix9ga
ft-xqor7d5r
ft-5pk2p00t
ft-2sdi5u46
ft-p03arzmk
ft-946wwxsg
ft-dluvs3le
ft-35nul88o
ft-05uwurgv
ft-6lfaafq8
ft-hisarn99
ft-lh2kfrf1
ft-ve6xuqaj
ft-bh499gaw
ft-9zhd6lge
ft-tzjywqk6
ft-3uu1x6ci
ft-pp81sivp
ft-21vm496m
ft-ngdmejya
ft-3g5ix9ga
ft-xqor7d5r
ft-5pk2p00t
Easiest way to get in is to use one of the 3 fresh codes that a friend gets after signing up. (We’ve got you covered, read through till the end, and we may solve this for you 😉).
Is this scarcity model a genius marketing trick or just a way to protect the app’s capacity? We’ll see how the app ages…
Once in, you’re prompted to connect your X account (granting them writing permissions), and go connect your wallet to another website to fund your Friend.tech user.
Before that, the only option to start your journey was to send ETH to a specific address. No self custody anyway, sketchy 🤔.
To get the ball rolling you need a 0.01 ETH transfer through the BASE chain (no, you can’t connect your own wallet). Then, you're ready to get your first free share (of yourself).
PSA: Don’t send a lot of ETH to this address, this may be fun to play around with, but who knows what this wallet is or how it works 🤷
Inside, you can trade shares of X personalities or even invest in your own profile. As participation grows, share values rise, driven by a bonding curve mechanism (the more people buy a share of a personality, the more expensive it gets).
See who’s topping the ranks:
But what gives these shares their worth? Exclusive chat access with creators, speculation, or both?
To be honest, this seems like a newborn that is still learning how to walk. New utilities are sprouting every day, such as alpha groups, or requiring to have shares to participate in raffles and other engagement.
The snapshot for RARE DOTTAS S1 will be taken this afternoon
HOW TO GET THE AIRDROP:
Own at least 1 share of Dotta on @friendtech
TOKENOMICS
- 49 Unique cards (1155s on ETH)
- Supply: 100 cards
- 1 Share = at least 1 card
- Top single holder (if no tie) gets a 1/1
HOW TO GET THE AIRDROP:
Own at least 1 share of Dotta on @friendtech
TOKENOMICS
- 49 Unique cards (1155s on ETH)
- Supply: 100 cards
- 1 Share = at least 1 card
- Top single holder (if no tie) gets a 1/1
The future might even allow you to short personalities. Talk about betting on someone's downfall! 😅
Challenges & Red Flags 🚩
Let's address the elephant in the room though: there are some obvious challenges and red flags surrounding Friend.tech. 🧐
Starting with the Challenges:
Ever hated when apps are slow to load? That's how users feel with the constant network outages and lagging times throughout the user experience of the app.
The app has been so popular in the day since its inception that it barely works, crumbling under excessive traffic.
Most of the screens do not load, most of the time. Data latency is often >10s.
And yet, the user growth is unstoppable. What accounts for this?
Most of the screens do not load, most of the time. Data latency is often >10s.
And yet, the user growth is unstoppable. What accounts for this?
The chat feature? More like a game of hide and seek. Messages disappearing, eternal loading wheels... feels like a beta test that never ended.
The team seems to be responsive, innovating on the go, constantly adding features in a break-things-fix-later fashion.
update 1.0.1
- Activity feed for shares you’re holding
- Trending list based on most trades in the past 24 hours
- Button in bottom right to always open your chat with one tap
- Activity feed for shares you’re holding
- Trending list based on most trades in the past 24 hours
- Button in bottom right to always open your chat with one tap
Now, the Red Flags:
A "Coming Soon" tag on the Privacy Policy? That's not just a red flag; it's a blazing siren! 🚨
No self-custodial wallet? In the crypto realm, that's like a fish out of water. Odd, right?
Concerns about data privacy and a lack of transparency are making waves, and not the good kind.
The @friendtech app uses @privy_io’s MPC wallets. Our development team never has access to your private keys.
The screenshot below shows the app printing the user’s public wallet address in their browser
The screenshot below shows the app printing the user’s public wallet address in their browser
Do you really want to transfer ETH into an app that console.logs its wallets?
And if you're thinking of diving into this pool, watch out for the sharks. Scams are lurking, with some users impersonating big personalities. A classic in all social networks…
Even a rugpull starring an ex-developer from Uniswap, who launched a token called $FRENS riding the attention wave of the project. Crazy 🤯
Frenstech (@FrensTech) $FRENS was deployed a few hours ago by the dev, @AzFlin a Uniswap employee.
One hour and four minutes ago he effectively rugged the project moving 14 ETH off of Base chain through HOP.
basescan.org/tx/0x0e84effb7…
Multiple people have confirmed he is the dev…
One hour and four minutes ago he effectively rugged the project moving 14 ETH off of Base chain through HOP.
basescan.org/tx/0x0e84effb7…
Multiple people have confirmed he is the dev…
Apparently, none of these 🚩🚩🚩 has stopped degens to dive right into Friend.tech, and since Airdrop points start on Friday and accrue weekly for 6 months… we would not expect the momentum to decay yet.
No chill week in crypto…🎢
Who is Actually Profiting From This? 🥇
One thing is true, this is a whole new ball game.
Unlike its predecessor Bitcloud, Friend.tech does not have a line of VCs in its back and people cannot invest in a personality if they have not signed up for it. This feels way more web3 native.
At the moment some degens are making bank, but creators are too. Let’s unpack:
There have been many attempts to tokenize personalities before, but this time there are two things catching our attention:
Instant and locked liquidity: The ease with which you can sell your shares at will, and the fact that creators can’t rug you because they don’t have access to the treasury is breaking.
Creator monetization: the platform fees stand tall at 10%, and are split equally between the creator and the platform, incentivising creators to push for share trading.
What’s more? An Airdrop is coming this Friday. Mysterious Points up for grabs. And we all know how much degens love a good airdrop. 😉
Previously artists and founders could do Discord raffles for NFTs and art drops.
Now they can run raffles via @friendtech and participate in the hype via share proceeds.
Kudos to @dotta for figuring this out and acting fast.
Expect more of this to come...
Now they can run raffles via @friendtech and participate in the hype via share proceeds.
Kudos to @dotta for figuring this out and acting fast.
Expect more of this to come...
What's the Endgame for Friend.tech?
The absence of a clear roadmap is a bit...mysterious. Where's this ship headed? Users and potential investors are scratching their heads, wanting to know the platform's vision and the path to get there.
An app without self-custody? It's got folks talking. And the whispers about a native token? They're getting louder. But again, where's that roadmap?
Here's the kicker, as in many things in crypto: Network effects. 📡
If Friend.tech plays its cards right and refines the onboarding and user experience, it could spread like fire in a hay field, and be a magnet pulling in big web2 personalities.
That would be the end game.
And Base? The platform Friend.tech is built on? This could be its breakout moment. It has already shown it can pull in devs and get traction fast. With over $100 million bridged to Base, apps like Friend.tech could be swimming in liquidity soon.
So, is Friend.tech the next big thing or just a flash in the pan? Time will tell, but it's sure making waves right now! 🌊
Want to Try Out Friend.tech?
Because you’ve made it to the bottom of this newsletter, we are going to help you out.
We’ve been playing around on friend.tech and have 10 codes to giveaway.
If you reply to this email right now with a GM, we will put you in a draw to receive one of those codes by the end of the day.
It's that simple.
Thanks for reading friends, now simply hit reply, type GM and click send and by the end of the day you may just have a friend.tech invite code in your inbox.
Ready, set, go! 🚀🔥
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Conduct your own research and consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions or taking any action based on the content.
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