The Web3 world has long anticipated blockchain-based consumer applications that could bring cryptography to the masses and reach escape velocity. Farcaster hopes to do this through its network.
It is often rare for crypto-native users to experience an easy and quick onboarding experience. For Farcaster, a network for decentralized social applications, the process was as smooth as it could be when I tested it.
From start to finish, it took me 4 minutes to set up my account. Farcaster tried to avoid the cold start problem by populating the feed. By the time my account went public, I was following 60 accounts. I think this is because I had chosen what I was interested in in advance. I also had one follower. Please feel free to follow us here.
Additionally, to help more users sign up faster, users can use their cryptocurrency wallets to sign up for Farcaster, as one of the network's co-founders, Dan Romero, wrote on X. You cannot sign up for . “The best way to do that is to onboard: [Web 2.0] As mobile-first as possible, no wallets, no cryptocurrencies. ”
Farcaster is a network and currently has several apps running on it. Farcaster's largest application is Warpcast, a platform with an X- or Reddit-like design that allows users to write posts or “casts” and perform other functions such as creating NFTs, claiming tokens, and trading. I will make it possible.
Image credits: Jacqueline Melinek (Opens in new window)
Farcaster should become more capable over time. “Farcaster is public and decentralized, so anyone can build apps that read and write data. Users own their accounts and relationships with other users, and can move freely between different apps. ” on the documentation page. This is pretty standard for a protocol or distributed network that allows other applications to build on top of that technology.
Given that applications are decentralized public ecosystems, builders and users alike can create connected applications that open the door to more social media-like activities.
rapid growth
Founded in 2020 by former Coinbase employees Romero and Varun Srinivasan, Farcaster did not see explosive growth in its early days. But the co-founders may be on to something here, as the network has seen a 10x increase in daily active users (DAUs) over the past 14 days, Romero said on Tuesday. Told.
To date, Farcaster has over 61,500 DAUs. This is thanks to a major application update, Frames, which attracted many new users thanks to its ability to turn any “cast” into an interactive app.
According to Dune Analytics user Pixelhack, on January 25th, the day before Frames' launch, Farcaster's seven-day average DAU was around 2,200. As of the publication of this article, over 140,000 users have registered on his Farcaster, but this is a nominal number compared to traditional social media networks. However, this is a strong momentum wave by crypto standards.
Looking at the following graph, it's clear that Farcaster is doing great.
Image credits: Data from Dune users' pixel hacks (Opens in new window)
In that regard, Frames was released on January 26th as a feature that allows users to perform various activities on-chain or off-chain without leaving Farcaster.
For people involved in cryptocurrencies, this is a huge deal. This means you no longer have to switch from one app to another just to complete a transaction. And for those worried about fraud or malicious attacks, Romero told X in late January that the authentication system built into the ecosystem eliminates security risks and “impersonation is impossible.” (Of course, as the network itself grows, hackers will test that claim more often.)
And for the average person, Farcaster brings a Web 2.0-like experience, even though the application is built on Optimism, a layer 2 blockchain focused on extending the Ethereum network.
To join the app, you must have a US-based phone number for free sign up, pay $5 for an in-app purchase, or have a friend already using the app who can pay $3 for an invite. is. While some may be annoyed by the cost aspect involved, this is Farcaster's attempt to thwart the bot activity that has plagued other social networks. The service also limits the number of “casts” that users can post to the network's applications, potentially limiting the reach and effectiveness of bots that are often targeted for crypto postings on X.
Given that the application is decentralized and has crypto-related features, users can purchase an in-app currency, Warp, to “perform a variety of on-chain and Warpcast-specific actions.” can do. For example, creating a channel in Farcaster that allows you to provide information to your users. We shared interests together. It costs 2,500 warp ($25) per year. You can also earn 50 warps by inviting friends to join via link. This is a common reward-based tactic for gaining adoption that has been used in Web3 and regular apps for some time.
This application's strategy is different from other Web3 social applications, and it seems to be working. While Aave's Lens protocol, or Friend.tech, focused on using blockchain and Web3 technologies to enable social experiences, Farcaster aims to give individuals control over their data and We aim to focus on Web 2.0 strategies with blockchain features that add interoperability. A mix of networking and lack of censorship.
A cautionary tale
Farcaster is currently experiencing rapid growth, but it needs more data over a longer period of time before declaring itself a winner, let alone one that could change the trajectory of mainstream cryptocurrency adoption. you need to check. To that end, we've seen some cryptocurrency-friendly social projects rise quickly and fall just as quickly.
According to a Dune analysis by user cryptokoryo, Friend.tech's transactions and growth rapidly boomed in August, but within a few weeks, the same metrics plummeted. Many people have accounts of his Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, etc., but I wonder how many users still visit these pages daily even after the initial hype about the new network subsides. Or?
To maintain momentum, networks and projects alike must continue to release new upgrades, applications, or tools to attract users. And his previous Web3 experiments with social networks have shown that for the core loop to persist, you have to assume more than just guesses.
As it stands, Frames' on-chain functionality is only available on networks connected to Ethereum, but the founders have teased that support will be extended to other blockchains such as Solana. Romero said in his X. “People are asking for it. So we ship it,” he added.