Friend.tech Developers Relinquish Control, Signaling End of Platform Development

The creators of Friend.tech, a cryptocurrency-based social network, have relinquished control over the platform’s smart contracts, effectively signaling the end of development work just four months after the platform’s token launch. The invite-only platform, built on the Ethereum layer-2 network Base, allowed users to buy and sell "keys" linked to Twitter (aka X) accounts, enabling access to private group chats.

related reading：Friend.Tech Plummets to New All-Time-Low Amidst $1.1M TVL Loss & Base Network Woes: Friend.Tech No More?

Smart Contracts Frozen to Ensure Stability

In a statement made on Twitter (X) last Saturday, Friend.tech announced that its "admin and ownership parameters" had been set to a burn address—a wallet that permanently destroys tokens. This move was intended to prevent any changes to the platform's "fees or functionality" going forward.

Since its launch last August, Friend.tech generated $22 million in fees, with a 10% transaction fee shared between the platform and key owners. However, the platform stated that no current fees benefit the development team. The move effectively halts any further development or revenue generation for the creators.

Unclear Financial Outcome for Friend.tech

While Friend.tech's revenue has been estimated to total $63 million by DefiLlama, questions remain about the use of those funds. Blockchain analytics platform Arkham reported that a wallet tied to the platform's development team has a balance of $193,000, after depositing $36 million worth of Ethereum into Coinbase over the past eight months.

Other wallets linked to Friend.tech also show significant deposits to Coinbase, though they now hold minimal balances. Despite these transactions, the platform's developers have remained silent, with one co-founder’s Twitter account going offline and the other making their account private.

Decline in Activity and Token Value

Friend.tech experienced a dramatic decline in user activity. From a peak of 500,000 daily transactions last September, the platform saw fewer than 200 transactions on Saturday. This decline paralleled the fall in the value of FRIEND, the platform’s Ethereum token, which dropped 97% from its peak to $0.07.

Despite these setbacks, the platform will "continue to function as-is," according to the developers. However, with no future updates planned and dwindling user interest, the long-term viability of Friend.tech is questionable.