DeSoc Adoption Cycles, On-Chain Activity, and Farcaster’s Growth
Summary
This report examines decentralized social networks through wallet activity, user sign-ups, transactions, and changes in adoption from 2021 to April 2024. It describes how DeSoc apps connect profiles to blockchain wallets, and groups platforms by legacy social media, Social-fi, collecting, and other experiences. The analysis uses app contract interactions as its activity measure and compares cumulative sign-ups with monthly activity, noting that these measures capture different things.
The report traces activity surges linked to Friend.tech and Farcaster. Friend.tech’s points of growth are tied to anticipated token rewards, while Farcaster’s increase is associated with the Degen channel airdrop and its Frames feature. The authors describe recurring cycles in which one app dominates before engagement fades and users move elsewhere. They suggest Farcaster’s modular design could support more persistent use, but present this as a possibility. The data is a snapshot through April 2024; wallet-based counts do not necessarily represent distinct people, and past cycles do not establish how long future adoption will last.
Key ideas
- DeSoc activity is measured through wallet addresses interacting with application smart contracts, which may not correspond one-to-one with people.
- The report distinguishes cumulative sign-ups from monthly active users and transaction activity.
- Friend.tech’s growth was associated with expectations of token rewards, followed by a sharp decline in activity.
- Farcaster’s activity rose alongside channel incentives and the launch of interactive Frames.
- Past DeSoc surges have tended to be concentrated in one app and followed by declining engagement.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.