Is the decentralized social space fundamentally different because of Farcaster, with a financing round nearing completion at a valuation of $1 billion?

In the field of cryptocurrency, decentralized social platforms are attempting to break through the monopoly of giants. Most projects struggle to attract users; for example, Friend.tech saw a 97% drop in user activity. However, Farcaster is different. Founded by former Coinbase engineer Dan Romero, it raised $30 million in a round led by a16z in 2022. Since 2024, daily active users have grown more than tenfold, attracting Ethereum founder Vitalik to publish exclusive articles.
On March 31, Bloomberg cited informed sources reporting that Farcaster developer Merkle Manufactory is about to complete a round of financing with a valuation of $1 billion, led by Paradigm. In July 2022, Merkle completed a $30 million financing round led by a16z.
As of April 1, the total number of Farcaster users reached 261,055, with an average of 280,118 posts per day and total revenue of $902,125.

This article will analyze how Farcaster has rapidly risen in the blockchain field, highlighting its value in competition through technological innovation and data performance.

With multiple functional innovations, Farcaster clearly distinguishes itself from other decentralized social protocol applications

Farcaster is a protocol for a decentralized social network, and compared to similar competitors, its innovative features are as follows:
Frames feature enhances interaction experience: The Frames feature launched by Farcaster greatly enriches the platform's user interaction experience by allowing developers to create interactive and embeddable posts for their audiences. Users can participate in various activities, including minting NFTs, playing games for rewards, and even purchasing goods directly through Farcaster's client Warpcast, which was unimaginable on traditional Web2 social platforms;
Fully decentralized protocol: Farcaster adheres to the principle of decentralization, ensuring that communication between users is not restricted by any intermediaries. This is reflected not only in users having complete control over their identities and data but also means that developers can build truly free social network applications without any third-party restrictions;
Data transparency and user control: Parallel to other social protocols like Lens, Farcaster provides users with absolute control over their digital identities by storing its data on a decentralized network and associating it with users' Ethereum accounts. This level of transparency and control is something Web2 platforms cannot offer;
Diverse clients and features: Utilizing open protocols like Farcaster, developers have built a range of engaging clients and features that enhance user experience and increase multi-platform accessibility of content. These innovations are not limited to Farcaster's flagship client but also include specialized clients like Phaver, Orb, and others, each providing users with a unique social experience.

Mining data, posting long articles, and generous tipping, Farcaster's community activity continues to rise

In the crypto world, building and maintaining an active community is particularly challenging. This issue has been effectively addressed on Farcaster. Farcaster has successfully attracted over 260,000 users, and even in the face of other popular events in the industry, such as the Frame craze, the platform's user activity and daily interactions remain stable. Behind this achievement is Farcaster's unique community "atmosphere" and participation mechanisms, which differ significantly from the profit-driven motives common in typical crypto applications, focusing instead on fostering genuine and in-depth communication.
By delving into open data, we can see the unique interaction patterns within the Farcaster community. About 38% of users have asked questions on the platform, often profound ones that encourage more dialogue and discussion, accounting for 6% of all posts. Meanwhile, 64% of posts are replies, indicating that Farcaster community members enjoy interaction and communication.
In terms of content publishing, Farcaster encourages long-form content, which correlates positively with user engagement, meaning longer posts often receive more likes and shares. Despite the platform's character limit on each post, the popularity of long-form content demonstrates the appeal of depth and detail to Farcaster users.

The tipping culture is also one of Farcaster's unique features, with $DEGEN as the primary tipping currency. Over 37,000 users have participated in interactions related to $DEGEN, with 16% of votes including "$DEGEN," highlighting the generosity of the Farcaster community and the prevalence of the tipping culture.

Farcaster's success reflects a core idea: deep community engagement far outweighs superficial interactions. The open and analyzable underlying protocol fosters this engagement, providing valuable insights for the development of decentralized social media platforms. As Farcaster continues to grow, it sets a benchmark in maintaining an active and participatory community culture.

With Vitalik endorsing Farcaster, can the project team rest easy and enjoy lasting success?

With the rise of the Web3 social media platform Farcaster, intense public discussions have emerged regarding the authenticity and effectiveness of its use of blockchain technology. Web3 critic Liron Shapira questioned the blockchain use cases of Farcaster, pointing out that most of its technical implementations are not inherently blockchain-based, only utilizing blockchain technology for username allocation. In response, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin defended Farcaster, emphasizing the real benefits it provides in offering a decentralized state machine, which is not as simple as Shapira suggested.
Vitalik clarified that Farcaster's information is not stored on a traditional blockchain but uses CRDT (Conflict-free Replicated Data Type) to store information, aiming to achieve eventual consistency of message sets without sacrificing scalability. At the same time, he highlighted Ethereum's key role in the Farcaster ecosystem, particularly its importance in combating spam and protecting network neutrality.

Vitalik's response reveals how Farcaster addresses the scalability challenges faced by traditional blockchains through technological innovation while ensuring user control and decentralization principles. His defense not only highlights Farcaster's profound understanding of the potential of decentralized social networks but also points out the flexibility and diversity of Web3 technology in practical applications.
In summary, while Farcaster's technical implementation differs in some ways from traditional blockchain projects, it plays an important role in exploring new paths for decentralized social media platforms. By combining CRDT with Ethereum, Farcaster not only enhances the network's scalability but also ensures decentralization and user control. Does this mean we need to redefine the boundaries of blockchain applications to include such innovative practices?