Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Fortune
Fortune
Jeff John Roberts

A crypto social media network’s failure raises an awkward question: Is blockchain good for anything beside finance?

(Credit: Getty Images)

Build it and they will come—or so goes the old saying. In reality, if you build a blockchain-based social media network, then almost no one will come. The crypto world got another reminder of this last week when Farcaster, which raised a $150 Series A round in 2024, abruptly called it quits.

If you’re unfamiliar, Farcaster was co-founded by early Coinbase employee Dan Romero and let users share various content via a Twitter-like timeline. The project had the lofty goal of breaking the data monopolies of platforms like Facebook by offering a decentralized alternative—one where users kept control of their data and identity.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.