The native token of crypto social media platform Friend.tech has plummeted after its team transferred the admin and ownership of its smart contracts to Ethereum’s null address — permanently relinquishing any control over them.
The Sept. 8 transfer was made to “prevent any changes to their fees or functionality in the future,” Friend.tech said on X.
The platform’s Friend.tech (FRIEND) token dropped by nearly 26% to $0.067 in the 24 hours after the transfer, according to CoinGecko.
Source: friend.tech
Ethereum’s null address is a burn address for intentionally destroying tokens. Tokens sent to this address cannot be recovered or reused.
In an X post, Serpin Taxt, a builder behind blockchain reputation protocol Ethos, said that Friend.tech’s move was the “end of an era” and “not at all how I saw it playing out.”
The smart contract change comes three months after Friend.tech announced it would build its own blockchain, “Friendchain,” which left its community confused about the protocol’s future direction.
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Friend.tech’s X account later deleted its announcement post, which added to the confusion.
Friction between Friend.tech’s team and its users also worsened when many reported issues claiming the much-hyped FRIEND airdrop in early May.
The token’s market cap, which hit $233.6 million within the first four days of launching, has since fallen to $6.3 million.
The total value locked on Friend.tech has also fallen from its all-time high of $52 million in early October 2023 to less than $3.5 million, according to DefiLlama.
The rise and fall of the total value locked on Friend.tech since August 2023. Source: DefiLlama
Since late July, daily fees earned on the protocol have consistently been below $1,000, while FRIEND trading volume has had a similar decline.
Friend.tech is native to Ethereum layer-2 Base and allows creators to monetize their content through tokenized shares or “keys.” Its rival platforms include the Theta Network, Hive and Decentralized Social.
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