Friend Tech, the newest decentralized social media (DeSo) application in the crypto world, has faced intense criticism due to its decision to penalize users who prefer to use forked or copycat versions of the tokenized social media platform. As a result, Friend Tech is experiencing a decline in user activity. Transaction numbers have decreased by over 90%, and the cumulative transaction count has significantly dropped in the past two weeks.
Friend Tech’s Possible Airdrop Preparation
In a tweet posted by the official Friend Tech X account on August 28th, it stated, “To ensure fair rewards for loyal users during our beta phase, users who switch to forks and copies will automatically stop earning points and lose their existing points.” While Friend Tech did not mention any specific competitors, the response indicated towards a new DeSo or “SocialFi” application called “Shares,” which is scheduled to go public beta on August 31st.
Friend Tech distributes “reward points” to its beta test users every week, and these points will reach a total of 100 million points within six months. The team has not yet shared what the points will ultimately be used for, only stating that they will serve a special purpose when the application reaches its official release status on August 15th.
While some expect these points to be converted into tokens by Friend Tech management, others believe they could hold some financial significance for users. Another group believes that there may be a future Friend Tech native token airdrop due to the seed round investment from Paradigm.
Team Takes a Step Back
Friend Tech’s announcement was not well-received among the crypto community members. Within the first hour after the announcement was made, hundreds of negative comments and reposts mocking the application were shared due to its anti-competitive move.
CryptoKaleo responded to the announcement, saying, “Threatening or penalizing users for trying out other platforms goes completely against everything this industry represents.” Following the intense backlash, Friend Tech’s founder, “Racer,” took a step back from the previous decision with an apology statement posted on the official Friend Tech X account on August 29th.
Racer stated that the decision was a “foolish statement” made out of potential fear of competition for the Friend Tech application. The announcement came less than three weeks after the public launch on August 11th. Meanwhile, Friend Tech has seen a decline in key metrics such as activity, sign-ups, and volume over the past few days.
Dune Analytics data shows that transactions on Friend Tech have decreased by over 90% since the peak of approximately 525,000 transactions on August 21st, with less than 50,000 cumulative transactions occurring on August 28th.
