Friend.tech, a significant player in the web3 social networking space, has announced plans to collaborate with Conduit, a prominent crypto infrastructure service provider, to develop its native blockchain.

On June 8, Friend.tech revealed plans for Friendchain, a proprietary blockchain that will use the FRIEND token as a fully transferable gas token. The platform has not provided a specific launch timeline for the project.

β€œWe’re pleased to be working with Conduit on Friendchain, our own blockchain that uses $FRIEND as a fully transferable gas token. We’ll keep you up-to-date with all the info you need over the coming months as we build out this new chapter,” stated Friend.tech via social media.

This decision aligns with recent comments from the project’s co-founder, Racer. In May, Racer discussed the possibility of leaving the Coinbase-backed Ethereum layer-2 network Base due to feelings of alienation from the ecosystem. He even offered a $200,000 reward for any developer who could successfully migrate the platform from Base without major disruptions.

The announcement has received mixed reactions within the community. Some analysts view it as a natural progression, suggesting that successful decentralized applications will eventually become independent chains. Others caution that this move might hinder growth.

A prominent Friend.tech advocate, known as The Giver on social media, described the decision as β€œshort-term bullish and mid-term bearish” for the crypto venture. According to the analyst, Friend.tech should focus on maximizing user acquisition to build a solid user base, ideally by leveraging connections through the Base and Solana blockchains.

β€œFriend.tech should be trying to capture the maximum number of users possible first to create the sturdiest moat possible, which is most easily done by leveraging existing blockchain connections.”

Since its launch in August 2023, Friend.tech has become one of the leading SocialFi decentralized applications (dApps) on the Base network. The platform’s model allows users to purchase keys linked to their social media accounts, facilitating direct interactions with influencers. Key purchases not only grant chat access but also provide financial benefits. Users receive a share of the transaction fees and reward points that can lead to token airdrops.

Following the launch of its second version and a token airdrop campaign last month, Friend.tech has solidified its position at the forefront of the SocialFi movement. Despite a recent 20% decrease in total value locked (TVL), the platform still leads the SocialFi trend with nearly $10 million in TVL as of June 8, according to data from DeFiLlama.

Currently, FRIEND is trading at around $0.8439, up 15% in the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

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