I had almost heard of Friend.tech and didn't know it was very popular in tech circles and beyond. Since Friend.tech opened its invite-only beta test 11 days ago, the decentralized social media-focused app has quickly attracted many users, even attracting the attention of big-name crypto influencers.

But what exactly is Friend Tech and why is it attracting so much attention? At first glance, the basic functionalities of Friend Tech resemble well-known platforms such as WeChat groups or Telegram groups. However, the standout factor lies in the organic process of entering and exiting group chats, a feature that defines the essence of Friend Tech.

The app, built on Coinbase's Layer 2 blockchain Base , allows users to tokenize their likeness by selling “shares” of themselves to their followers, who then become shareholders and can message users directly. Users can choose to join specific groups, earning a portion of the selected group by paying a base price. This base amount serves as the participation fee. If users later decide to leave the group, they can liquidate their group shares.

Since its launch, Friend.tech has generated a total volume of 33,596 ether, or about $55.5 million, in 1.29 million transactions, according to Dune Analytics data from Michael Silberling, a data analyst at OP Labs. But despite the app's significant early traction, many people are skeptical about its viability due to its lack of privacy policy, requirement to deposit Ether upon registration, allegedly lagging interface and unclear roadmap.

Even without the above-mentioned shortcomings, I personally am not a fan of such and similar applications, but the system similar to shares and the possibility that users can make a profit are still interesting. I didn't sign up for this app and maybe soon I'll find another one with a different but similar philosophy.