【Farcaster】Decentralized SNS Protocol / Official App "Warpcast" Released / Introducing Frames, a Mini-App Implementation for Posts, Resulting in a Rapid Increase in User Numbers / @farcaster_xyz
"Farcaster" is a decentralized SNS protocol. Farcaster serves the role of storing user handles, casts (tweets on Farcaster), and actions such as likes.
Good morning.
I am mitsui, a web3 researcher.
Today, I researched about "Farcaster".
Table of Contents
1. Overview | What is Farcaster?
-Features of Warpcast
-Supported Blockchains
-Operating Team
2. Reasons for Popularity | Rapid Increase in User Numbers with Frames Feature, 3. Reasons for Popularity ② | Airdrop of Community Token $DEGEN,
4. Analysis | Will "Frames" Become the Killer Feature of SocialFi?
Overview | What is Farcaster?
"Farcaster" is a decentralized SNS protocol. Farcaster serves the purpose of storing user handles, casts (tweets on Farcaster), likes, and other actions.
Since Farcaster is just a protocol, users need an application that exists on Farcaster to use it. Currently, the application recommended by Farcaster is "Warpcast". It is available for download for both iOS and Android users.
◼️Features of Warpcast
I have registered and organized the features myself. Basically, it is similar to existing SNS platforms like X. The slight difference is the concept of "Channels," where users can freely join and participate in discussions. "Channels" are similar to FB groups or circles in X.
First, to use Warpcast, you need to pay an annual fee of $5 (equivalent to 700 yen in Japan). By paying at the time of registration, you can create an account.
As mentioned later, the implementation of the "Frames" feature has led to a rapid increase in the number of active users, creating a boom in the global crypto community. Japanese channels have also been created and are lively.
◼️Supported Blockchains
Farcaster is built on the foundation of Optimism. Farcaster exists as the foundation for Apps on Farcaster, and many of them are processed off-chain and periodically committed to Optimism. For more details on the technical infrastructure and other information, please refer to the documentation.
◼️ Operations Team
Farcaster is being developed by Merkle Manufactory, based in Los Angeles, USA. The founder is Dan Romero, who previously served as the Vice President of Coinbase.
Merkle Manufactory raised $30 million in funding in July 2022 through a seed round led by a16z, with participation from 24 investors including Multicoin Capital and Balaji Srinivasan, an entrepreneur and investor who also came from Coinbase.
Reason for the Buzz | Rapid Increase in User Numbers with Frames Feature!
Speaking of "Farcaster," the number of users has been rapidly increasing in the past few weeks. The Daily Active Users (DAU), which used to be a few thousand, has suddenly exceeded 40,000.
As a result, protocol revenue increased significantly.
The background behind this is the implementation of a feature called "Frames". The name "Frames" comes from "iframe", and it is a feature that allows users to transform interactions into mini-apps where they can engage in two-way communication.
With "Frames", users can enjoy interactive experiences within the app without having to navigate away from it. Additionally, developers can easily implement mini-apps that can be used within the app.
For example, you can perform actions such as voting, subscribing to newsletters, playing simple games, and minting NFTs with just a click within the app. While conventional SNS platforms require transitioning to external links, "Frames" eliminates the need for such transitions by embedding the content within the app itself.
Please take a look at the video I recorded to see it in action.
Immediately after releasing this feature, we witnessed a surge in user growth. Notably, Vitalik, the co-founder of Ethereum, has also utilized this feature, and Paul Graham, the representative of YC and a mentor-like figure in Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial community, has praised it.
The concept is like being able to create a mini-app within PayPay, but what's amazing is that it can be easily accessed on SNS apps. This is achieved through the interoperability of a common ID and wallet infrastructure powered by blockchain technology.
In existing Web2 services, different customer ID information requires new development for integration. On the other hand, in the world of blockchain, users access Dapps from their wallets, allowing seamless integration of user information.
Therefore, the "Frames" feature utilizes the unique characteristics of blockchain to greatly enhance the user experience. Its momentum is tremendous, surpassing "WeChat" in the rankings of free SNS apps with "Warpcast".
Reason for the Buzz ② | Community Token $DEGEN Airdrop
The reason for the excitement surrounding "Farcaster" and "Warpcast" is undoubtedly the release of "Frames". However, another reason being discussed is the airdrop of the community token "$DEGEN".
Not only has the popularity of "Farcaster" resulted in increased prices for related NFTs released in the past, but the first-ever community token " $DEGEN" born in the Farcaster Degen Channel community is also gaining attention.
Degen is an ERC-20 token and was created through an airdrop to the Farcaster Degen Channel community in January 2024. Its purpose is to distribute tokens among builders, content creators, and users within the Base and Farcaster ecosystems, aiming to develop a better future for the internet.
It serves a purpose, but "$DEGEN" is a community token of a tip-like nature. The second round of the "$DEGEN" airdrop campaign has started.
In Airdrop 2, users can earn Farcaster points by receiving tips from others. To meet the participation requirements, users need to make at least 3 casts (posts) within Farcaster and connect their wallets. Every day, $DEGEN tokens for tipping will be granted to the user's wallet.
The $DEGEN tokens for tipping will disappear if not used within the same day. To give a tip, comment below the cast with the format "amount $DEGEN", for example, "420 $DEGEN".
This campaign is about sending tips to each other, and tokens will be airdropped based on the amount of tips received. Since the start of the second round of the airdrop campaign, the price of $DEGEN tokens has increased by 230%.
The mechanism of tipping through airdrops for posts is really great.
It serves as an incentive to create high-quality content
Daily active users (DAU) increase because of logging in everyday
It fosters communication
I think it's an ideal form for airdrop strategies on social media.
Analysis | Will "Frames" be the Killer Feature of SocialFi?
Lastly, let's discuss.
There have been many products in the decentralized social media (SocialFi) space, such as Lens, which is a decentralized SNS protocol, and services like Friend .tech that have generated buzz.
The recent topic is Bluesky, supported by Jack Dorsey. They are building a decentralized SNS using their own protocol called AT Protocol. News has reported that Bluesky has surpassed 4 million users since abandoning the invitation system, whereas Farcaster has around 40,000 users. So, the difference in magnitude is evident.
Indeed, Frames' features are groundbreaking, but the absolute number of users is still crucial for an SNS. The challenge ahead will be how to gather and increase that user base. Furthermore, while it adds to the benefits of blockchain, it also becomes a disadvantage from the perspective of operators. For example, if Bluesky were to implement the same features as Frames, it would become difficult for Farcaster to establish a competitive advantage. At this stage, users are attracted by the functional value, but if the same features are implemented in a service with a larger user base, differentiation becomes impossible.
However, before discussing "which decentralized SNS will win," there is a debate on whether decentralized SNS will replace existing SNS.
Personally, I thought it would be quite difficult to replace SNS, which has become an infrastructure to this extent. While it is true that existing SNS platforms continue to profit and collect personal information, that alone is not a reason to switch SNS.
However, I believe that the Frames feature can only be realized in a decentralized SNS (leveraging blockchain). It is difficult to seamlessly implement mini-apps for anyone on the foundation of existing SNS. This is exactly the new user experience brought about by the interoperability of blockchain.
Since this is very new, I plan to use Frames for a while to better understand its potential. If development progresses within Frames and a service that creates a groundbreaking user experience is created, we can attract users with that functionality and follow the traditional route of building an SNS platform through feature attraction and network effects. I will continue to pursue Frames, which has the potential to be a killer feature of decentralized SNS!
That concludes the research on "Farcaster"!
Disclaimer：I carefully examine and write the information that I research, but since it is personally operated and there are many parts with English sources, there may be some paraphrasing or incorrect information. Please understand. Also, there may be introductions of Dapps, NFTs, and tokens in the articles, but there is absolutely no solicitation purpose. Please purchase and use them at your own risk.
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Author
mitsui
A web3 researcher. Operating the newsletter "web3 Research" delivered in five languages around the world.
Contact
The author is a web3 researcher based in Japan. If you have a project that is interested in expanding to Japan, please contact the following:
Telegram：@mitsui0x
*Please note that this newsletter translates articles that are originally in Japanese. There may be translation mistakes such as mistranslations or paraphrasing, so please understand in advance.