Author: IGNAS | DEFI RESEARCH Translation: Huohuo / Plain Language Blockchain
In my previous articles, I wrote that while speculation prompts most people to join these applications, the ultimate key to their long-term success lies in the relationships formed within these communities. Essentially, these applications should focus on creating tightly-knit communities that share financial and social value.
I imagine that in the near future, we will see the emergence of mini DAOs, social trading groups, GameFi, and even Telegram bots in FT Forks.
On my way home from work yesterday, I thought of a key point that SocialFi could develop in the future. Fan Tech has simply upgraded its dapp, and now users can exchange Ether (ETH) for MNTTokens on the Mantle L2 network directly in their own wallets through Symbiosis cross-chain DEX. This means that users only need to deposit ETH into their wallets and can easily exchange it for MNT through the DEX. This seemingly simple upgrade actually reveals the potential direction for SocialFi to connect different networks, serving as an important starting point for further development. 
- Vitalik Which functions should Ethereum solidify at the protocol layer
- Understanding the True Potential of the Asset Issuance Agreement RGB in One Article
- IBC Product Manager states that Ethereum Layer2 is not the holy grail of scaling.
The one-way exchange from ETH to MNT itself is not very attractive. However, the latest upgrade from Fan Tech provides insights into the future development of SocialFi dApp. What interests me the most is that these platforms have the potential to become all-in-one encrypted social applications.
Imagine being able to discuss and exchange within the same application, or even better, engage in joint transactions as a small-scale DAO organization. What kind of scenario would that be? Our goal is to become the largest trading group in this application.
Although social trading apps themselves are not novel, we can make progress step by step. However, by some simple innovations, Fan Tech has unintentionally made it more attractive. So, what are the other three key innovations brought by FT that change the rules of the game?
1. The three key innovations of Friend Tech
These three features have changed the way we interact in the crypto field:
Simple Wallet: By connecting FT to your X account, you immediately have a crypto wallet. It’s that simple. Now, compare it to the process of setting up Metamask. You need to download the application or install the plugin, create a password, copy the seed phrase, securely store it, and confirm the phrase again. Uh.
Progressive Web App (PWA): For encrypted dApps, getting approved on the Apple and Android stores is challenging. However, you can install the FT application, which is built using web platform technology and provides a user experience similar to that of platform-specific applications.
Bonding Curve: The more people want to join the group chat, the higher the price new members need to pay. This means that FT founder Racer has only 216 members on Twitter, while he has 15.3k followers. The bonding curve sets a high price for entry into this exclusive community, so you need to know if it’s worth that price.
The first two innovations help simplify the user onboarding process, while the bond curve creates a unique and closely connected community compared to other social networks. All of these innovations together make it easy for you to speculate on individuals that you believe will appreciate in value.
These individuals employ various strategies to attract and retain users: buying their own keys to increase the price and then profiting at the expense of key holders, while others provide free blockchain services, potential airdrops, transaction fee lotteries for their key holders, or build additional platforms for their key holders, such as Friendex and FriendMex.
I have concerns about the sustainability of this model. Setting aside price speculation and gamification of airdrops (3,3), how important is the “alpha” in chat and the potential services provided to key holders to you?
As I mentioned in my previous post, the only way for me to rank high on FT is to become a meme token, in which case no fundamentals apply.
However, I lack a sense of humor. Fortunately, I do believe that SocialFi has the potential to create a tightly connected community that has both financial and social value in an innovative way.
Here are some ways I imagine could emerge:
2. Innovations in SocialFi
1) Mini-DAOs (Mini Decentralized Autonomous Organizations)
Instead of paying to enter an exclusive Alpha group, have you considered buying into a specific task-driven DAO? This DAO is community-driven, but organized and led by the keys you purchase.
Currently, in the DeFi space, DAOs primarily focus on the protocol itself. Token holders are granted the right to vote on protocol direction. However, in practice, token holders only care about token price appreciation and are free-riding off the team’s efforts.
In addition, these DAOs can be very complex, with forums filled with hard-to-digest information. Governance requires expertise. If you only hold 0.01% of the token supply, you don’t care about voting. Your vote doesn’t really matter.
However, DAOs have more potential.
For example, LianGuairtyDAO allows anyone to create a “party” based on a specific mission. You can collect, buy, use, and sell NFTs, access DeFi applications, play games on-chain, create group wallets, and crowdfund projects while paying contributors.
The truth about DAOs is that they need leaders who genuinely care about the mission. Take Rune from MakerDAO or Kain Warwick from Synthetix as examples. DAOs benefit from having strong leaders, while Friend Tech emphasizes the individual traits you pay for.
However, in a mini-DAO, you’re not just participating to chat with influencers or speculate on their key prices. You’re joining a mission that drives your passion.
For example, I have received invitations to participate in multiple funding rounds for upcoming DeFi protocols. However, I lack the time to conduct due diligence and do not have enough funds to diversify the investment risk.
The Friend Tech platform can also add new features such as snapshot voting, staking, multi-signature wallets, etc., to cater to the user base of small-scale DAOs. Transaction fees can also be adjusted, for example, by introducing the Haberger tax model to address the free-rider problem. But these are all technical details.
Mission-driven communities will be more bullish on the fork of FT because they don’t need to focus on which blockchain it is built on, but rather focus on providing the best services for small community organizations.
You may think that DAOs like this already exist on other platforms, but the social elements in SocialFi help discover these DAOs and create financial incentives for the leaders of the DAOs to work harder for their success.
Otherwise, your key holders will leave you and the price of the keys will drop.
2) Social Trading
After I moved to London, I saw an eToro advertisement on the bus. Sorry! I didn’t have time to take a photo, but I found a low-quality image on Google. The advertisement boldly claimed, “Originality is overrated, you can copy smart investors.”
There are already some social trading platforms like STFX and Nested, but Friend Tech (FT) has also unintentionally entered the field of social trading. Some opinion leaders on FT provide their trading insights, but I expect there will be a specific FT fork dedicated to social trading. In fact, I recently received a message from a developer who is developing such a platform.
These opinion leaders not only share their predictions, but they can also support their statements through actual actions. Fan Tech has added a redemption feature in the application, which is the first step towards this future, but I hope they can support trading of all tokens.
In addition, these trading communities can act as small-scale DAOs that compete to determine which group can achieve the highest profit and loss ratio. You can even bet on which opinion leader and small-scale DAO will become top traders. If your prediction is correct, you can profit from the appreciation of their key prices.
3) FT and Forks Similar to Unibot
Telegram bots have caused a sensation in the cryptocurrency field, and many believe they will endure. However, FT and forks have the potential to surpass Telegram bots due to their lack of social elements that Telegram bots possess.
Personally, I appreciate the copy trading function of Telegram bots. However, the most challenging part is finding the addresses to copy. This is where FT and forks come into play. Your small-scale DAO can focus on discovering the best-performing addresses and provide a seamless copy trading experience within the application.
As mentioned earlier, FT forks have already implemented the necessary features to attract new users through easy wallet creation and progressive web applications (PWA). In addition, joining a specific mission-driven small-scale DAO is more social than what Telegram bots currently offer.
If Unibot launches the FT fork for this specific reason, I wouldn’t be surprised.
4) Social Game Finance (GambleFi)
Not everything has to revolve around making money.
Alpha recently started using Bitcoin to purchase keys and introduced gaming modules into its application. These games are simple, but they provide an opportunity for Alpha and GameFi projects to attract new users. 
If this idea comes to fruition, you and your small DAO may have the opportunity to compete with other DAOs in games such as poker or gambling. It would be great to see games that require coordination and cooperation among members of small DAOs.
We may also see a resurgence of more sustainable money-making games, where the best gamers or small DAOs can make a living from them.
3. Bullish Case for FT Fork
The current state of the FT fork revolves mainly around chains like Avalanche and Mantle. In my previous post about SocialFi, I emphasized the importance of attracting community members with strong ties. Simply identifying with a specific blockchain will not create the same level of unity as mission-driven small DAOs.
I don’t have high expectations for the development direction of FT. However, if the FT fork can diversify and focus on small DAOs, social trading, GameFi, or other missions, it will enhance the narrative of SocialFi and benefit the entire cryptocurrency space. This approach is not just about airdrop hype but about building a more sustainable, long-term community managed by all key holders but led by a selected leader whom you can buy their key from.
This blog post is not only a speculation about what may happen in the future but also an attempt to influence the direction of the SocialFi narrative. Builders will listen if we know what kind of community we want to build.
For key holders, the question is: What mission should drive our small DAO?
Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our top stories.
We will continue to update Gambling Chain; if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!
