@ Zerosatoshi

In the blockchain sector, emerging technologies and concepts consistently garner widespread market attention. Currently, SocialFi has become one of the most dynamic and innovative tracks in the crypto space. On May 2, crypto investor and influencer Su Zhu highlighted on the X platform that SocialFi not only shows strong growth momentum but also demonstrates its innovative potential within the entire crypto field. This is evident from the recent active performance of several SocialFi projects.

For instance, on March 28, Ethereum founder Vitalik recently posted on Firefly, a social aggregation application by Mask Network, mentioning Farcaster and Lens and emphasizing the importance of diversified clients. This action immediately triggered a surge in the price of the MASK token, skyrocketing from $5 to $6.4. This market response not only proves the high expectations for SocialFi projects but also underscores the influence of this track on the entire crypto market.

The rise of SocialFi brings new business models and user interaction methods to the blockchain community. Its redefinition of data sovereignty and economic incentives is gradually changing people’s expectations and usage of social networking platforms. Let’s delve into the key projects in this field and their potential impact on the entire crypto community.

SocialFi, combining social media and decentralized finance, has seen significant rise and attention in recent years. According to Google Trends data, the search popularity of SocialFi showed a clear increase in 2022, reaching a notable peak in early 2024. This trend reflects the community’s broad interest in the potential of integrating social media mechanisms with blockchain technology.

SocialFi platforms now attract over 8.7 million users, with about 550,000 active users. These users are spread across various blockchain platforms such as Ethereum, Optimism, and BSC, executing a total of 82 million transactions. This data demonstrates how SocialFi leverages decentralized technology to provide users with more direct profit models and higher data control.

Despite the immense potential shown by the surge in users, the development of SocialFi also faces several challenges. Early SocialFi projects like BitClout and Mastodon encountered failures due to issues like creating profiles without user consent and restrictions on fund withdrawals. These challenges highlight the importance of designing incentive mechanisms and ensuring a quality user experience.

However, with the advent of Layer 2 solutions and improved blockchain infrastructure, such as Optimism and Base, modern SocialFi platforms now boast higher transaction processing speeds and lower operational latency, making real-time interactions possible. This not only enhances the user experience but also facilitates further integration of social media and decentralized finance.

While no project has yet fully realized the ideal SocialFi model, the demand and interest in such products remain strong. The community holds great expectations for the first platform to successfully achieve this model, indicating significant market potential and growth space.

The future of SocialFi, though challenging, remains promising with technological advancements and active community participation. It is worth anticipating its integrated development in the blockchain and financial fields. Below, we begin to review noteworthy projects.

Farcaster: Innovating Social Monetization, Surpassing 300,000 Users Farcaster is an innovative SocialFi protocol that has attracted over 300,000 users and 50,000 daily active users. It offers a user-friendly interface akin to modern social media, enabling leaders and newcomers alike to easily participate and monetize content in various ways. One of the most popular monetization methods is tipping through the community token $DEGEN. Technically, Farcaster enhances its decentralized structure using smart contracts and a client network matrix based on “Hub,” ensuring data consistency and network stability.

These technological applications ensure that even if some nodes experience issues, the entire network can continue to operate. According to the latest data, Farcaster’s protocol revenue showed significant growth from September 2023 to May 2024, with total revenue approaching $1 million, reflecting the market’s high recognition of its model.

Friend Tech: A Leading SocialFi Force on the Base Chain with Over $27 Million in Total Revenue Friend Tech is a decentralized application (dApp) that allows users to tokenize social media profiles. Within just three months, it achieved a 416-fold increase in its user base and generated over $27 million in revenue. The platform leveraged the early development stage of the Base chain and widespread market anticipation, quickly accumulating users by linking with Web2 social accounts. The use of an invitation-only system tapped into people’s curiosity and vanity, leading to viral growth. Additionally, Friend Tech maintained a sense of mystery about the project, minimizing operations and focusing on the product itself, which attracted significant attention. The project completed a seed funding round led by Paradigm, though the specific amount was not disclosed, indicating its vast commercial potential.

Mask Network: Seamlessly Integrating Traditional Social Media with Web3 and Supporting Crypto Transactions Mask Network is a decentralized social network tool designed to merge traditional social media with Web3 functionalities. Through the Mask Network extension, users can showcase and manage Web3 assets like NFTs on Twitter, conduct cryptocurrency transactions, and enhance privacy with encrypted tweets. Mask supports multi-chain transactions, including Ethereum, BSC, and Polygon, and integrates with DEXs like Uniswap and SushiSwap.

Mask Network’s development has received notable support from Vitalik Buterin, who actively shares his views on the platform and distributed his first ETH red envelope via Mask, increasing social media users’ acceptance of Web3 features. Additionally, Mask has completed a $2 million seed funding round led by HashKey and Hash Global, as well as a subsequent $3 million funding round, highlighting its strong potential as a bridge between social media and Web3.

UXLINK: A Leader in Web3 Social Interaction and Accelerator of Network Effects As a pioneer in Web3 social networking, UXLINK now has over 5.8 million users, covering over 8.34 million users within its network and involving 102,010 active groups. This platform bridges real-world relationships with Web3, enabling high-frequency information exchange and asset transactions through a robust social network.

UXLINK leverages familiar social interactions combined with a decentralized framework to significantly drive its rapid growth. It not only facilitates a smooth transition for users into Web3 investments and entrepreneurship but also enhances user engagement through social media mechanisms adapted from Web2, thereby promoting widespread network effects and nurturing a vibrant digital ecosystem.

Tomo: A Cross-Chain Social Tool Mastering Meme Play on Linea and Base Tomo, a Web3 social platform based on the Linea and Base ecosystems, recently launched Tomoji Launchpad, a meme issuance platform based on the ERC404 protocol. This platform allows users to create and trade personalized emojis. It not only offers a high-quality Web3 interaction environment but also revolutionizes the monetization of social activities and content through its unique social wallet feature.

Currently, Tomo boasts a community of 350,000 members and generates over $50,000 in monthly fees through TomoID, a management tool designed for KOLs and community leaders. This tool consolidates links from all social platforms and allows users to earn rewards by creating content, similar to the experience on Instagram.

Additionally, Tomo’s growth has been bolstered by significant investments, including strategic funding from OKX Ventures and HTX Ventures, as well as a $3.5 million seed round led by Polychain Capital. These investments not only demonstrate market recognition of Tomo’s strategic position in the Web3 space but also reflect confidence in its transformative potential. Tomo’s NFT fragmentation and native token liquidity functions signal its commitment to creating a transparent and open trading market environment, injecting new vitality into the Web3 ecosystem.

Pop: Raised $4 Million with Over 100,000 Monthly Active Users Pop, a leading SocialFi AI project within the BSC ecosystem, has quickly emerged as a star in the industry. Currently, Pop boasts over 500,000 global online users, with more than 50,000 daily active users and over 100,000 monthly active users. By enhancing DeFi features and integrating advanced AI technologies, Pop offers a mature and smooth user experience, having generated over 20 million pieces of content globally.

Pop’s Token (PPT) Successfully Listed on Major Exchanges and Gains Market Recognition Pop’s token (PPT) has successfully been listed on major exchanges and has garnered widespread market recognition. Additionally, Pop has completed a $4 million funding round led by Fundamental Labs and Chainlink. This not only provides robust financial support for the project but also enhances its credibility within the investment community. These achievements mark Pop as a leading project in the multi-chain SocialFi sector, showcasing its innovative capabilities and market potential in connecting social influence with blockchain technology.

Fantasy Top: Creating a Premier Web3 Interactive Environment with Successful $4 Million Funding Fantasy Top (FT) is a SocialFi game built on Ethereum’s Layer 2 solution, Blast. It allows users to participate in competitions by buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrency-related virtual trading cards. These competitions offer rewards such as ETH, GOLD tokens on Blast, native “fan points,” and additional trading card packs. FT not only provides a premium Web3 interactive environment but has also become a leader in the multi-chain SocialFi domain.

According to a report by K33 Research analyst David Zimmerman, despite challenges like “inappropriate incentive measures” in the SocialFi sector, the introduction of FT is seen as the next potential hotspot. FT has successfully raised $4 million, accumulated over 7,000 ETH in trading volume within its first week, attracted 33,000 users, and generated 236 ETH in fees. These figures not only demonstrate FT’s market potential but also highlight its unique position in the Web3 social and card game space.

FT’s success signals that the SocialFi season might be here, showcasing growth and maturity in the social finance sector. As more innovative projects like FT enter the market, the entire Web3 ecosystem is expected to develop further.

Decentralized Social Networks: Progress and Challenges Despite various challenges faced by decentralized social networks, such as the need to scale infrastructure for more users, simplify digital wallet creation for new users, and reduce gas fees, significant progress has been observed on platforms like Farcaster. Farcaster’s daily active users have grown to 20,000, a tenfold increase from two weeks ago, demonstrating rapid community expansion and high engagement.

The permissionless nature of decentralized social networks offers developers ample room for innovation, allowing further development on existing blockchain foundations. This trend, well-established in the DeFi sector, is now becoming evident in the SocialFi space as well.

In this environment, emerging SocialFi applications like Fantasy Top and Focus showcase their market momentum. Fantasy Top, combining social media elements with gaming mechanics, quickly amassed a large user base and spurred active market transactions. Meanwhile, Focus raised $75 million in its first week, indicating strong market performance and potential in the social subscription platform market.

Future Outlook for SocialFi Looking ahead, with the launch of more innovative blockchain social platforms like Xterio and Young Protocol, the SocialFi sector is expected to continue expanding. These platforms offer new ways for user interaction and community building, providing new paths for the decentralization of social networks. This not only drives user growth but also offers developers rich opportunities for innovation, heralding sustained progress and expansion in decentralized social networks.