Friend.tech sees record outflows as top user jumps ship

The SocialFi app appears to be losing steam even as crypto enjoys its best week in over a year

October 25, 2023 12:16 pm

Veja/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

As much of crypto enjoys a week in the green, Friend.tech seems to be losing steam.

The SocialFi app saw $5.81 million leave the platform on Oct. 23, the largest daily outflow since Friend.tech’s launch, according to DeFiLlama. The next day with available data, Oct. 25, saw Friend.tech’s second-largest daily outflow, with another $3.21 million heading for the exits.

Loading Tweet..

Newsletter

Subscribe to Blockworks Daily

The downturn was perhaps accelerated when the platform’s most valuable creator, a profile known as ‘Vombatus,’ sold 176 of their own keys, worth around $1.5 million. Vombatus’ key price fell from around 8.3 $ETH to 1.671 ether (ETH) after the sale.

“At least i got people to talk and use FT for the first time in a few weeks today,” Vombatus wrote on X.

Vombatus has since set up a profile on New Bitcoin City, a Friend.tech spinoff priced in bitcoin (BTC). New Bitcoin City has been offering boosted airdrops to users migrating from Friend.tech. The nascent platform has seen more than $3 million in net inflows in the past two weeks, per DeFiLlama.

As the assets undergirding the projects pump, SocialFi apps are having a mixed week. Friend.tech, Stars Arena and Friend3 were trending downward, per DappRadar, while New Bitcoin City and Post.Tech saw growth.

Friend.tech’s total value locked (TVL) stood just shy of $40 million on Wednesday. The app still accounts for some 86.8% of the dollar volume among top SocialFi projects after Avalanche-based Stars Arena suffered an exploit, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard.

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Newsletter

Blockworks Daily

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2025

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

learn more

recent research

Research

Analyst Takes: Post-Election Insights

With the recent election, it’s clear that there will be a meaningful shift in crypto regulations and legislation. Trump is likely as pro-crypto as a president can be. He launched (multiple) of his own NFT collections and is launching an Aave wrapper called World Liberty Fi. He has also spoken out and mentioned that he wants to make the United States "the crypto capital of the planet" and transform it into the "Bitcoin superpower of the world". He proposed creating a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile alongside support from Senator Cynthia Lummis, promising to retain 100% of all Bitcoin held by the U.S. government. More importantly, we’re likely to see deregulation across the board in a lot of industries, with crypto being one of them - as Trump has committed to keeping the crypto market largely unregulated. Crypto, DeFi in particular, has historically been knee-capped by overreaching and hostile governmental agencies and regulation by enforcement, as evidenced by the plethora of Wells notices and lawsuits over the past few years. With Donald Trump winning the presidency, Republicans taking control of the Senate, and being on the verge of securing the House, we think it’s likely that crypto realizes positive regulatory clarity. Below, you can find our analysts’ takes:

by Boccaccio