jakiro
Author: zhou, ChainCatcher
FarcasterCo-founderDan Romero(dwr) recently announced that the platform will make a major strategic adjustment and officially abandon the past long-term4.5Instead of adhering to the “social first” path in 2018, we have embraced a “wallet core” driven growth model.
It is reported thatFarcasterInitially positioned as a decentralized social network, developers can build novel social networks.It is an open protocol that can support many clients, just like email.Users will always be free to move their social identities between apps, and developers will always be free to build apps with new features on the web.
Dan RomeroIt said that under the social-first strategy, the platform released a fully functional version of the protocol that is decentralized enough and allows multiple independent teams to build and integrate on it.Yet data proves that, despite significant efforts, social-first strategies are ultimately unsustainable.
The platform is in2024At the beginning of the year, thanks toFramesfunction andDEGENThe excitement of airdrops, daily active users (DAU) from2000Rushing all the way up from left to right to10million, registered users exceeded 10,00035million, a single-month increase once exceeded400%.
But the peak lasted less than three months.2024year9At the beginning of the month, the data showed a cliff-like decline:DAUFall back6Around 10,000, monthly activity dropped month-on-month40%, the daily registration volume of new users has increased from the highest1.5Thousands plummeted to several hundred people.
enter2025In 2016, the situation continued to worsen, with daily life on the social side once again falling by nearly40%, until10launched in monthUSDCDeposit10%Reward activities rely on the wallet function to bring the overall daily activity back to5Wanzhi610,000 intervals.
At the same time, the protocol’s revenue plummeted: to2025year10Monthly income plummeted to approx.1million, the lowest level in four months, down about 10% from its peak.99%.
Faced with this harsh reality,Dan RomeroAdmit it, it’s alwaysfailed to classTwitterSocial networks find sustainable growth mechanisms.
Therefore,FarcasterThis transformation decided to take a pragmatic choice and no longer pursue a pure social narrative, but instead bet resources on strong growth wallet functions:Use the tool (wallet) first, then settle on the network (protocol).
The team observed that earlier this year inAppThe wallet function launched in , is expanding rapidly and is the closest module they have come to product-market fit in five years.A new user flow was redesigned, i.e. user registration–Wallet recharge–Use a wallet, using wallet top-up and tool usage as activation points.
Dan RomeroIn summary, every new, retained wallet user is a new user of the protocol.As users commented,SocialFiYesSocialThe combination with finance and wallet is the real beginning.
At the product level,Farcasterofficial appWarpcastThe core goal is transformed intoBuild a great wallet, focusing on expanding the cross-functionality of wallet and social networking.DWRthinkAdding a wallet to a social network is easier than adding a social network to a wallet.This fusion passesFarcaster Mini Appimplementation, which is based onFarcasterLightweight on the protocolWebapplications that can be seamlessly integrated intoWarpcastWaiting for the client.
At the same time,FarcasterWe are also actively deploying financial infrastructure:
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Asset issuance: through acquisition of token issuance platformClanker,FarcasterEquipped with asset issuance capabilities for the core strategy of the wallet, currently heldClankerof total supply1.8%.
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Financial incentives: in10Launched in monthUSDCDeposit activities and provide10%Additional rewards directly accelerate the transformation of users into on-chain asset holders in the form of financial incentives.
At the content level,Frames(interactive mini-app) YesMini AppThe display form in the information flow is to realize“Content is the transaction“key hub of the mechanism.Users can complete financial activities such as casting, trading, and payment directly within the information flow. Each interaction directly drives the use of the built-in wallet. This model makesFarcasterThe transformation from an information consumption field to a value circulation field has accelerated the process of ecological financialization.
Of course, this strategic transformation is based onFarcasterBased on a strong resource base and elite team background.The platform has receivedParadigm,a16z,Union Square VenturesWaiting for the favor of top institutions,in2024yearAReceived a round of financing1.5billion US dollars, with a valuation of10billion US dollars.Team, co-founderDan Romero(CoinbaseFormer Vice President of Operations) andVarun Srinivasan, and the person in charge of the developer ecosystemLinda Xie(CoinbaseEarly employees) and other core members all have profoundCoinbasebackground whileCoinbase VenturesAlso participated in the investmentFarcasterEarly-stage seed funding.
However, this transformation is also accompanied by industry doubts about “maximizing decentralization.”Well-known encryption researcherCMthink,FarcasterShifting to the wallet route and abandoning the social-first strategy meansSocialFiThe last dream is over, the wholeCryptoThe field seems to have returned to the “everything is transaction and distribution” as the main line2017yearICOera.
Another comment pointed out,FarcasterEarly products had problems such as low usability and slow Android system login, and were criticized for making some pragmatic decisions on decentralization and user experience that did not please decentralized maximalists.
Dan RomeroThe release makes it clear that this does not mean the agreement becomes a casino.FarcasterThe protocol remains an open system and developers are free to use the parts they find most useful.Official App (Warpcast) just chose to focus on the “intersection of wallet and social”, while other clients such asUno,Recaster,CuraOthers are taking a different approach.
That is, if users do not agree with this direction, theyYou can choose to use a different client, build your own, or consider another social network.CMHe also added that in theory it is possible to build other clients, but it is estimated that few people will try it now.
In addition, some comments pointed out that the current competition on the wallet track is already fierce enough.Base Appare actively developing,FarcasterThere are still certain challenges.At the same time, the winner of the wallet track competition must correctly answer one question: What wallet functions do people really want?The stacking of functions may lead to a proliferation of functions, which ultimately leads to a bloated wallet.
In general,Farcaster‘s transformation is driven by brutal market data and pragmatic execution, which reveals the currentSociFithe essence of the track and sets a key tone for it: pureWeb3Social networking may be difficult to get through, so high-value, high-frequency financial instruments need to be used as the entrance, and content-driven financial mechanisms should be used as the core of network stickiness and value precipitation.
