The development team behind friend.tech has achieved significant success since its launch in August, accumulating nearly $20 million in revenue. This achievement positions friend.tech as the largest revenue-generating application on Base and the second-largest across the entire crypto space, according to data from DeFiLlama. If the platform continues at its current pace, it is projected to generate an annual revenue of $180 million.
To date, friend.tech has generated approximately $40 million in user fees. These fees are collected by taxing around 10% of the trading volume of social tokens. Half of the total fee collected is allocated as revenue for the project’s team, while the other half is distributed among users whose keys are traded.
Friend.tech serves as a platform that allows users to link their Twitter accounts and facilitates the buying and selling of influencer profile tokens, known as “keys,” using ETH on the Coinbase-backed Layer 2 network, Base. These keys grant users privileged communication access to influencers, creating a unique and valuable social interaction experience.
Despite the emergence of several friend.tech clone apps, the project continues to dominate the SocialFi niche in terms of daily volume. However, there has been a decline in the number of unique users since late September, which is an area of concern for the platform.
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In addition to the impressive revenue generated, the pseudonymous founder of friend.tech, known as ‘0xRacer,’ has individually earned over $440,000 from the platform, as reported by on-chain data aggregated on Dune. This showcases the potential profitability of the platform for its users.
Unfortunately, friend.tech has recently been targeted by hackers. A scammer performed SIM-swapping attacks on friend.tech users and managed to steal approximately $385,000 worth of digital assets within 24 hours. Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT reported that the scammer successfully SIM-swapped four different friend.tech users and pilfered 234 ETH in the process.
According to Manifold Trading, a company specializing in developing tools for the industry, $20 million out of friend.tech’s total locked value of $50 million is at risk due to these SIM-swapping attacks. With one-third of FriendTech accounts potentially linked to phone numbers, their team estimated that $20 million is vulnerable. Additionally, Manifold Trading highlighted the technical vulnerability that allows a rogue developer to reconstruct private keys via Shamir-Secret-Sharing shares from user data in the friend.tech database. This puts the entire Total Value Locked (TVL) at risk.
To address these vulnerabilities and mitigate the risk of further attacks, Manifold Trading recommends that friend.tech enhances its account security protocols by implementing two-factor authentication (2FA). This extra layer of security can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access to user accounts and protect their digital assets.
As friend.tech continues to navigate these challenges, it is crucial for the platform to prioritize user security and maintain the trust and confidence of their users. By proactively addressing these vulnerabilities and implementing robust security measures, friend.tech can uphold its position as a leader in the SocialFi niche and ensure the safety and success of its users and the platform as a whole.
