Friend.tech team abandons project

The development team behind friend.tech has officially ditched the crypto-based social media project, which was (very) briefly hailed as a potential platform for influencers to earn money from their followers. It attracted crypto influencers, OnlyFans models, and a handful of more mainstream notables. Friend.tech received undisclosed seed funding from the crypto venture capital firm Paradigm.

The project spiked in popularity when it launched in August 2023, but interest rapidly dwindled. A token launched in May 2024 also suffered a mostly downward trajectory. On September 7, the team reassigned ownership and admin rights to the smart contracts to the burn address, making them permanently inaccessible.

Some denounced the project as a Ponzi scheme (repeating accusations it has received since its inception, based on its incentive structure). Others accused the development team of rug pulling and not delivering on their promises — accusations that intensified as one co-founder deleted his Twitter account and the other set his to private. The team is estimated to have made around $44 to $60 million in fees.