Friend.tech Smart Contracts Are Now Under Control, FRIEND Drops 30%

Key Points:

• The Web3 platform relinquished control of Friend.tech smart contracts by sending them to Ethereum’s null address.
• Following the announcement, Friend.tech’s native token, FRIEND, saw a 30% decline.
• Daily fees and trading volumes of Friend.tech have been declining since July.

Web3 social media platform Friend.tech has effectively relinquished control over its smart contracts just one year after its successful launch.

Read more: Friend.tech’s Leaving From Base Hinted By Co-founder Causes Token Price To Drop Sharply

Friend.tech Smart Contract Control Raises Many Questions

The platform’s developer team announced on September 8 that they were transferring ownership of Friend.tech smart contracts to Ethereum’s null address, essentially locking the system in place. This would make any future adjustments to fees or functionality of the decentralized network impossible.

This, while a major change, was assured by Friend.tech not to have an impact on daily usage, as the web client will continue working as it did up until now. The team has also been specified that no fees that result from either Friend.tech smart contracts or the website flow to the multisig wallet of the development team as of now. However, with the renunciation of control, the introduction of new features seems unlikely.

The announcement triggered a 30% drop in the value of Friend.tech’s native token, FRIEND and caused a lot of controversy in the community.

Sustainability of Friend.tech Is Causing Concern

Friend.tech was constructed on the Ethereum Layer 2 Base, permitting users to monetize their content by selling tokenized shares or “keys.” The platform originally lured users. However, in more recent times, it’s really struggled. Daily fees accrued by the protocol crossed below $1,000 at the end of July and stayed there, while trading volumes also bear signs of a sharp decline.

Earlier this year, friction between Friend.tech and its users intensified following issues with the much-anticipated FRIEND token airdrop in May. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also voiced concerns over the platform’s financial speculation model because it is potentially dangerous for social interaction.