“System design award: If you can find a way to move friends from Base without causing major user problems and if it works well enough we decide to use it, we’ll pay you $200,000,” Racer said in a post on X.

According to Racer, the relationship between the Friend.tech team and Base has been tumultuous. In another post, Racer stated that Farcaster investors misinterpreted their project at launch, leading to a strained relationship with the Base community.

The team felt excluded and disconnected from parts of the Base and Ethereum ecosystems. Jesse Pollak, head of Base at Coinbase, was sympathetic to the situation. In a post, Pollak acknowledged that the Friend.tech team was experiencing a feeling of isolation and disconnection, and expressed his support in whatever path they chose.

“I will be sad if the team decides to leave Base, but I will also respect and support any path forward – that’s the beauty of the decentralized, on-chain economy,” Pollak wrote. Following Racer’s statements, the value of the Friend.tech token dropped by approximately 20%. Friend.tech’s Popularity Increased After Decline

Launched on August 10, 2023, Friend.tech has become one of the top decentralized applications (dApps) on the Base layer, attracting more than 200,000 users and generating a transaction volume of over $230 million. The platform converts user influence into tradable tokens known as “keys,” giving users access to a creator’s attention or influence.

This model has appeal that extends beyond the crypto space, attracting not only cryptocurrency influencers but also NBA players and esports personalities. A major factor contributing to Friend.tech’s popularity was the hype around the Base network, a Layer 2 solution associated with Coinbase.

The involvement of Paradigm, an investment firm affiliated with Coinbase, has further increased confidence in Friend.tech’s potential. However, the platform has also faced privacy concerns, particularly regarding the potential for users’ information to be exposed due to the connection between Twitter profiles and Ethereum addresses.

Friend.tech explained that the information thought to have been leaked actually originated from its public APIs, demonstrating the open nature of the platform, while also underlining that users should be careful when protecting their personal information. However, Friend.tech has experienced a surge in popularity recently.

The project generated more than $500,000 in revenue as of May 3, according to Dune analytics. This happened after his income dropped below $20,000 in the last few months.