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Friend.Tech 2.0 Launches on Base: Can It Reignite the SocialFi Craze?

Friend.Tech 2.0 Launches on Base: Can It Reignite the SocialFi Craze?
Friend.Tech 2.0 Launches on Base

Introduction

Friend.Tech 2.0 is live on Base, Coinbase’s Layer 2 chain, and it’s aiming to do more than just ride last year’s hype. The new iteration of the SocialFi app introduces critical changes in liquidity mechanics, keyless wallets, tokenized social layers, and creator tooling—each designed to tackle the steep drop-off in user activity that followed its viral 2023 debut.

Backed by Paradigm and building directly on the evolving SocialFi narrative, Friend.Tech 2.0 enters a much different market than its first version: gas is cheaper, users are savvier, and SocialFi faces more competition. The question now is whether these upgrades are enough to spark another wave of creator monetization and community speculation—or if the buzz has already moved on.

What’s New in Friend.Tech 2.0?

The new version of Friend.Tech leans heavily into creator-centric design, with an infrastructure overhaul that includes:

  • Keyless smart wallets for onboarding new users with no seed phrase requirement, thanks to embedded MPC-based wallets on Base.
  • A revamped bonding curve that spreads buy/sell pressure more evenly and reduces volatility, mitigating whale-driven price collapses.
  • Tokenized channels—allowing creators to issue custom coins with embedded perks, similar to Layer3 quests or Discord roles.
  • A mobile-first UX rebuilt from the ground up for smoother chat, swipe actions, and simplified trading interfaces.
  • Creator analytics dashboards and gasless tipping, built to keep influencers and community builders sticky on the platform.

The result is a product that feels more mature, less like a proof-of-concept and more like a proper creator hub with native monetization.

How It Compares to the Original Frenzy

Friend.Tech’s 2023 launch generated nearly $50M in protocol fees in its first three months, with explosive traction among crypto influencers and NFT personalities. Keys (formerly shares) were bought and sold like memecoins, with early adopters seeing outsized gains—and equally fast crashes.

But by Q4 2023, usage had plummeted:

  • Daily active users fell from 300K+ to under 30K.
  • TVL dropped by more than 80% within two months.
  • Criticisms mounted over the opaque bonding curve, lack of creator tools, and unsustainable hype cycle.

Version 2.0 directly addresses many of these pain points. It’s attempting to shift Friend.Tech from a trading game into a sustainable creator economy platform, where speculation is still part of the experience—but not the only thing holding attention.

Early User Engagement Signals

Initial traction for Friend.Tech 2.0 has been promising:

  • Within the first 72 hours of launch, it recorded over $15M in trading volume, a 300% jump from the same period in V1.
  • The average key (now “shares”) ownership time has increased, signaling reduced flipping behavior.
  • More than 60% of new signups used the keyless onboarding flow, a critical indicator for breaking beyond the crypto-native niche.
  • Creator retention is higher, with over 40% of top 100 creators from V1 returning and engaging with the new features.

While it’s still early, the data suggests that Friend.Tech 2.0 may be reaching a more durable form of product‑market fit.

SocialFi in 2025: A Different Game

The broader SocialFi landscape in 2025 looks nothing like it did in Friend.Tech's first cycle:

  • Farcaster has gone open-source and integrated tipping.
  • Lens Protocol is seeing traction with app-layer innovations like Orb and Buttrfly.
  • CyberConnect and UXLINK are pushing cross-chain social graphs and creator coins.

In this crowded space, Friend.Tech’s success depends on how well it can differentiate as the “OnlyFans of Crypto,”balancing speculation with actual social value.

What it has going for it:

  • Fast UX on Base, a chain with massive Coinbase-native onboarding potential.
  • Infrastructure updates that make it feel like a Web2 app.
  • Early mover brand recognition, even after the falloff.

But it still faces challenges:

  • Retention: Can it keep creators active for months, not just launch weeks?
  • Regulatory optics: Monetizing social graphs and speculative tokens sits in murky territory.
  • Saturation: Users are already juggling multiple SocialFi identities and tokens.

Conclusion: Can Friend.Tech 2.0 Stick the Landing?

Friend.Tech 2.0 is a legitimate second act—this isn’t just a UI refresh. It’s a substantial rebuild focused on real problems surfaced during the first cycle: volatility, spam, UX friction, and creator churn. In its new form, it’s trying to earn its place not just as a flash-in-the-pan crypto game, but as a proper social layer for tokenized relationships.

Whether that vision resonates long-term depends on more than just a solid relaunch. It needs network effects, consistent creator revenue, and a culture shift—from hype to utility. Still, with $15M+ in early volume and strong creator re-engagement, Friend.Tech is once again the SocialFi app to watch.

The crypto market may be more mature, but it still loves a good comeback. And if Friend.Tech plays this right, 2.0 might just be the relaunch that sets the tone for social token apps in the post-retail bear market revival.

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