Friend.tech’s Reversal on Base Migration Sinks Token to Record Low

Friend.tech has made a surprising U-turn in its decision to migrate from the Coinbase-incubated layer-2 network, Base. Initially, on June 10, the platform announced plans to establish its own blockchain, a move that was not well-received by its community. The recent decision to remain on Base has further impacted the platform negatively, sending its FRIEND token to a new all-time low of $0.2973.

As of this writing, the FRIEND token has recovered slightly to $0.3505 but is still trading at 21% lower than the previous day, and significantly below its price on June 10. This price volatility reflects the community’s unsettled reaction to the platform’s strategic changes.

Friend.tech, which launched in August 2023, aimed to revolutionize social media by enabling users to monetize their influence through a unique model where influencers could create and trade “shares” of themselves. However, due to regulatory scrutiny, these “shares” were later rebranded as “keys.”

The platform saw a resurgence in interest in May 2024, with announcements of an upcoming airdrop and the launch of Friend.tech v2. Despite these efforts to rekindle enthusiasm, the recent developments have led to a significant drop in both the platform’s token price and the total value locked in its native decentralized exchange, BunnySwap—from a peak of $53 million to just $10.6 million.

Crypto Quant analyst Bradley Park noted that Friend.tech was initially a major player in the popularity of Base but lost ground due to the growth of competitor Farcaster and its own controversial decisions. The community’s disillusionment has been exacerbated by significant sell-offs from large investors, highlighting a broader loss of confidence in the project’s direction.

Friend.tech’s fluctuating strategy and its impact on the token’s value raise questions about the platform’s future stability and its ability to maintain a loyal user base in the competitive landscape of decentralized social media.