TechFlow reported, according to The Block, that the development team behind the Web3 social network Friend.Tech abandoned control of its smart contracts in the early hours of September 8. Developers invoked a smart contract function to transfer ownership to an empty Ethereum address, effectively locking the system and preventing any further changes—marking the platform's de facto shutdown. The team announced on X: "No fees generated by the smart contract or website will now flow to the friend.tech development team’s multi-sig wallet." Although the platform may technically continue operating, relinquishing control makes implementing new features virtually impossible.
Friend.Tech launched in August 2023 on Base, a Layer 2 network backed by Coinbase, and quickly gained popularity within the crypto community. On September 15, 2023, the protocol briefly surpassed Ethereum in daily revenue. The most valuable "key" (granting access to the feed of Racer, Friend.Tech’s anonymous co-founder) sold for as high as 8.9 ETH, roughly $14,500 at the time. However, after the initial surge, the platform struggled to maintain trading activity. The release of Version 2 and associated token airdrops failed to reignite user interest. Since June, the protocol has generated only about $60,000 in fees.
