- Friend.tech developers have teased a spring airdrop.
- Despite sparking online conversations, the teaser has failed to generate the desired effect.
- After a brief stint in the limelight, Friend.tech activity has declined amid privacy, security, and user experience challenges.
After a few months in the spotlight, interest in the former Base social media sensation Friend.tech has all but cratered. Amid the decline, the platform’s developers appear to be taking one last-ditch effort to get Friend.tech back on the radar of crypto investors.
Friend.tech Stokes Airdrop Speculations
Since Friend.tech burst into the crypto scene in August 2023, it has been encircled by token airdrop speculation. On August 18, 2023, the project fed this speculation by airdropping points to users, announcing that these point airdrops would continue for six months and serve a “special purpose” afterward.
On August 20, 2023, the airdrop speculation received more fuel as users highlighted the inclusion of token warrants in Friend.tech’s Series A funding. With interest in the platform tanking in recent months, however, conversations and excitement surrounding a potential airdrop had also cratered—till now.
Sponsored
On February 24, 2024, the Friend.tech team shared an image showing bunnies with parachutes descending from the sky with crates of diamonds. The post’s caption read:
“the ft bunnies are preparing for their most dangerous mission ever this spring.”
Following the post, airdrop speculation surrounding Friend.tech has soared, sparking significant user excitement and discussion. This excitement, however, has yet to translate into substantial activity on the platform.
Friend.tech Users Ignore the Bait?
Data from 21.co’s Friend.tech Dune Analytics dashboard suggests that while the platform’s metrics had received a marginal bump on the recent teaser, it remains firmly in decline and far from historical peaks.
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Per the dashboard, the platform recorded 80 new users on February 24, up from 6 the previous day. On February 25, however, this metric slid to 55. The same pattern is observable in fees generated.
On February 24, Friend.tech generated $21.9k in fees, up from $5.7k the previous day, only to fall to $7.9k on February 25.
Perhaps the clearest indication of the platform’s continued decline is the metric comparing key redemptions to mints. On February 24, keys redeemed jumped from 17.98 ETH the day before to 69 ETH. On the other hand, minted keys only jumped from 1.54 ETH to 6.11 ETH.
Friend.tech’s decline can be linked to privacy, security, and user experience concerns that plagued the project early on. Within weeks of the project’s launch in August 2023, a database containing information on Friend.tech users surfaced online. In October 2023, users reported a string of SIM swap attacks amid a lack of 2FA.
On the Flipside
- Even if Friend.tech manages to ignite significant activity with an airdrop, it would not be sustainable unless it addresses concerns that had plagued the project early on.
- In 2024, the decentralized social media spotlight will shift to Optimism-based Farcaster.
Why This Matters
At its peak, Friend.tech had processed millions in trading volumes daily, accounting for about half the fees generated on the Coinbase-incubated Ethereum Layer 2 Base. Recent airdrop speculation could hint at the possibility of a resurgence.
Read this for more on Friend.tech:
Friend.tech: How Much Crypto Is Your Friendship Worth?
See how the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem is reacting to ETH’s recent momentum:
ETH’s $3K Success Breaths New Life into Ethereum L2 Market
