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Traditional social media platforms have their flaws, including data breaches, content moderation issues, and a somewhat relaxed approach to user privacy. These problems have affected major players such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Can blockchain technology and decentralized social networks revolutionize the online experience for billions of users worldwide? Is your data more secure on the blockchain than on centralized servers?

In this article, we will explore decentralized social media networks and consider how they might address the issues that plague traditional platforms.

### Advantages and disadvantages of decentralized social networks

Decentralized social networks tackle many problems faced by traditional platforms but also come with their own set of challenges. Let's explore the advantages and disadvantages of these networks.

**Advantages:**

- **User privacy and security** – Decentralized social networks offer users better security and privacy.
- **Control over your data** – You alone control your data and how it’s used on a decentralized network.
- **Decentralized governance** – A decentralized autonomous organization guides key decisions regarding the growth and development of the platform.
- **Monetization opportunities** – Content creators enjoy alternative monetization methods, instead of relying solely on sponsored posts and advertising.
- **Censorship-resistant** – Decentralized social media networks provide everyone with a platform for free speech. Once a post is shared, only the original poster can remove it.

**Disadvantages:**

- **Web3 UX issues** – Blockchain-based applications still have a high entry barrier. User experience issues can hamstring mass adoption and discourage users.
- **Tough competition** – Existing centralized networks like Facebook and Twitter have monopolized the market, making it difficult to attract new users.
- **Scalability** – Blockchain transaction fees can be expensive.
- **Market volatility** – Because many platforms are tied to supporting cryptocurrencies, bear markets and crypto market fluctuations can devalue a network’s monetization offerings.
- **Censorship-resistant** – Without content moderation, decentralized social media networks can become breeding grounds for unrestrained hate speech and cyberbullying.

### Examples

There are a lot of decentralized social networks — Mastodon, Steemit, Only1, and many others. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Lens and Farcaster protocols.

**Lens Protocol**

Introduced by the Aave team in 2022, Lens Protocol is a leading decentralized social graph network that offers users exceptional control over their social profiles.

What makes Lens Protocol unique is its completely composable and decentralized approach. Users have the ability to create a Lens handle as an NFT directly in their crypto wallet. These Lens NFTs are not limited to Lens only – they effortlessly integrate with various dApps and smart contracts within the growing LensVerse ecosystem. Additionally, users can trade their Lens NFTs on secondary marketplaces such as Opensea.

Built on the Polygon network, Lens Protocol offers a refreshing experience with low gas fees and swift transactions, ensuring a smooth user experience.

The Lens Protocol ecosystem consists of a range of evolving applications that enhance the capabilities of the decentralized social network. Whether you need secure communication, creative social engagements, or content creation tools, the Lens Protocol ecosystem provides a varied selection of projects to fulfill your requirements.

*Orb*

Orb, an innovative application in the Lens ecosystem, enables users to efficiently handle their social interactions. It provides features for creating, organizing, and managing connections, all while ensuring users maintain ownership of their data.

*Hey.xyz*

Hey plays a crucial role in the Lens Protocol ecosystem by offering a seamless communication platform. It incorporates different social aspects while upholding decentralization principles, guaranteeing the security and privacy of user data.

*Bonsai Token*

Bonsai, a DN-404 token on the Polygon network, was created to integrate with the Lens Protocol. Its purpose is to support community builders, explorers, and early adopters of on-chain social platforms. The token enables a variety of on-chain actions directly from Lens posts and aims to improve social media interaction via DeFi and creative contributions. Part of its tokenomics is dedicated to community airdrops and ecosystem support.

**Farcaster**

Farcaster operates as a decentralized social protocol utilizing Optimism. It enables users to establish profiles, share messages, and engage with one another, similar to popular social media platforms like Reddit or X (formerly Twitter).

Farcaster leverages blockchain technology to securely link and process personal data while upholding decentralization and anonymity. Its primary focus lies in scalability and adaptability to new technologies to maximize user value.

The protocol employs smart contracts to govern social interactions within the network, adding a layer of programmability and customization to social networking. Farcaster's emphasis on interoperability allows for seamless interaction with other blockchain networks, fostering a smooth exchange of information and assets across various platforms.

This interoperability enables developers to construct diverse decentralized social media applications (dApps) on top of the Farcaster protocol.

A Farcaster account creation requires an Ethereum (EVM) address, which will be associated with the account and utilized to sign and publish messages on the Farcaster protocol (as opposed to the traditional username/password approach). Activities such as posts, replies, and follows are recognized as messages of any activity.

User account data, such as profile details, is stored on-chain via a smart contract (e.g., ID Registry) deployed on the Optimism mainnet. Other data, such as Casts, is stored off-chain on Farcaster's storage network named Hubs.

Manageable via ENS on-chain, usernames ensure that users maintain control over their identity compared to centralized entities, which may revoke usernames at their discretion. Any individual can query the ENSRegistry contract to map a username to its custody address.

Users have the ability to create and integrate decentralized applications within their posts (e.g., a mint NFT button, 1-click DAO vote, etc.). These integrations, known as "Frames," must adhere to the OpenGraph to display properly in a Cast. Notable Frames developed by others include @cookies, which developed a seamless checkout experience in a Frame powered by Coinbase Commerce, and $DEGEN, an ERC-20 token distributed to the Farcaster community via the BASE chain.

The absence of a single entity owning the underlying data means that any Farcaster account holder can operate a Farcaster node (also known as a Hub) and access/write data.

Farcaster's distinctive features are upheld by specific smart contracts, each fulfilling unique functions to facilitate the decentralized experience. Moreover, the network features Hubs, which denote open-source, decentralized, distributed peer-to-peer nodes responsible for storing and serving Farcaster data.

### Comparing Decentralized Social Networks to Traditional Social Media

These alternative platforms have a shared objective: to provide users with more control over their content and access rights. Their goal is to distribute storage and control across social networks and establish decentralized structures.

They operate on a peer-to-peer (P2P) model, enabling direct user interaction without reliance on a central authority or server. They are known for being decentralized, open-source, ad-free, and owned by the community.

Decentralized networks prioritize individual ownership and control of data and interactions, empowering users to handle their personal information more effectively. Privacy is a key focus, with reduced data collection, encryption methods, and selective data sharing to improve user experience.

Additionally, decentralized networks aim to combat censorship through distributed content storage, community-driven moderation, and anti-censorship tools. Content on decentralized networks is less susceptible to removal or suppression, promoting freedom of expression.

Both conventional and decentralized social networks have their own benefits and difficulties. Decentralized networks emphasize privacy, user independence, resistance to censorship, and the ability to withstand single points of failure. On the other hand, traditional centralized networks typically offer convenience, a large user population, and a smooth user experience.

Web3 native social platforms are not the sole entities looking to incorporate blockchain technology into their systems, with X and Instagram now providing support for NFTs.

### Conclusion

Decentralized social networks offer a revolutionary model for social engagement, a significant departure from the deficiencies of centralized alternatives. They provide a high level of control, privacy, and independence, enabling self-expression without the restrictions often imposed by traditional platforms. 

Through the adoption of decentralized technology and novel methods for monetizing content, these social media platforms are paving the way for a fairer and user-focused internet experience. Whether you're a creator, an enthusiastic user of social media, or someone seeking a more secure and privacy-oriented online space, exploring these decentralized social media platforms is certainly worthwhile.

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The New Era of Online Privacy and User Autonomy

Decentralized Social Networks

Ever wondered how new improvements make their way into Ethereum? Today, let’s dive into how proposals are made, discussed, and eventually become part of the Ethereum ecosystem — everything you need to know, all in one place.


### So, How Does Ethereum Evolve?

Ethereum’s development process is modeled after Bitcoin’s. While Bitcoin uses BIPs (Bitcoin Improvement Proposals), Ethereum has EIPs (Ethereum Improvement Proposals). These documents outline proposed enhancements to the network, reflecting Satoshi Nakamoto’s influence.

Here’s how it works: If you want to propose an improvement to Ethereum, you go to the dedicated forum at ethresear.ch and write a blog post outlining your idea. Anyone can submit a proposal — there are no restrictions, and no formal format is required. Generally, these proposals come from researchers within the Ethereum community or development teams.

Once a post is up, it’s discussed by the researcher community. They first tackle a crucial question: Should this proposal be integrated into the Ethereum protocol, or is it better suited as a separate product? Most proposals end up as products. If you browse the forum, you’ll find a wealth of innovative ideas for decentralized technologies — ideas that can be developed into new products. Many leading crypto technologies have been discussed here.

If developers decide a proposal could be integrated at the protocol level, someone steps up to draft a document describing the technology — this is the EIP. The EIP must explain what the proposal is, why it’s needed, and how it will improve the network. Technically, it’s a document in a GitHub repository. If no volunteer emerges to create the document, the idea remains on the forum, waiting for attention.

There are now over 8,000 EIPs in total.

### The EIP Discussion and Prototyping Process

Next comes the EIP discussion on the forum. If the community isn’t interested, the proposal might be set aside and forgotten. But if an EIP sparks interest, a developer or team might jump in and say, “We’ll build a prototype!”

The funnel from EIP to EIP with a prototype is roughly 1:10. That means out of 8,000 ideas, about 800 are developed into prototypes of reasonable quality. Often, these prototypes are created by developers from various teams within the Ethereum ecosystem since there’s no direct payment for developing an EIP prototype — it’s a purely non-commercial effort. Occasionally, if an EIP is especially compelling, it might receive a grant, though that’s more of an exception.

If the prototype is completed and the community approves it, the proposal can move forward to implementation. This means the EIP discussions enter the call with All Core Devs. All Core Devs is an assembly of, usually, one developer per Core Dev team of the Ethereum ecosystem. The number ranges at times, but generally, it’s about 10-20 teams that work on the key Ethereum tech.

The goal of these All Core Devs calls is to decide what should be implemented into the network’s protocol next. This should be a conclusive decision, meaning that they should reach a consensus.

### From Ideas to Hard Forks

Ethereum devs gather all the ideas that accumulate over time in EIPs into a massive roadmap, which is often demonstrated by Vitalik Buterin. In this Ethereum Roadmap, there are different directions and work blocks, but under each block, there’s one or more EIP — those very ideas from the forum (Vitalik could write those ideas too).

The All Core Devs team spends a lot of time discussing and gathering EIPs during their calls. These EIPs are then grouped into a package, referred to as a Hard Fork. This list is public, so anyone can view, discuss, and review it. So, the next time you read in a reputable financial publication or hear from Bitcoin maximalists that Vitalik changes Ethereum on a whim, you can argue that it's actually a decision made by the All Core Devs assembly.

Naturally, when deciding which EIPs make it into a Hard Fork, disputes arise. Each team wants their EIP included in the next fork, and it's not uncommon for frustrations to surface when a proposal gets sidelined. There have been instances in Ethereum's history where the All Core Devs didn’t assemble simply because they thought, "What's the point? We'll just end up arguing." So, if there hasn’t been a hard fork in a while, it likely means consensus hasn't been reached.

Researchers often pack as many prototypes into a fork as they can. They didn’t develop all these ideas just to let them sit idle, right? Once the prototypes are in, the All Core Devs teams have to sift through them and narrow down the EIPs. After all, they’re the ones who’ll be responsible for making everything work. Running a network with over a million users involves more than just drafting documents and brainstorming ideas.

### Development and Implementation

To develop complex EIPs, Ethereum conducts offsites, usually once a year. These are internal events where core developers gather for a week or two in a hackathon format to code all the ideas needed. They work on coding, discussing well-thought-out ideas that need a bit more development, and fixing bugs.

There could also be separate themed calls focused on complex or large EIPs. Note that not all core developers know every aspect of Ethereum; that’s likely only Vitalik. Each developer typically has their own area of specialization.

Once it’s decided which EIPs will be included in a fork, the Core Devs team and prototype developers start the implementation into production code. There’s a funnel here — not all planned EIPs can be completed within schedule. In fact, only a small number make it into the hard fork on time and with production-ready quality.

### EIP Politics

And what about politics? If you want the Ethereum community to focus on your specific EIP, you'll need to lobby for it. That’s why many EIPs have their own websites, communities, and thought leaders pushing them on Twitter. It’s hard to say if this strategy works, but anyone can give it a shot.

Some EIPs, by the way, become the very tokens you create, buy, and sell — like the current ERC20 (fungible tokens, similar to currencies), ERC721, and ERC1155 (tokens for unique assets). So, out of over 8,000 ideas, only three have become global token standards. Right now, the community is working on creating economic tokens, dividend tokens, revenue-sharing tokens, and other protocols that distribute money. When developers solve this problem at the standard level, it could significantly improve all our lives.

The most promising innovations for mass adoption — Ethereum wallet accounts linked to regular Web2 email addresses and the Account Abstraction technology — are the standards ERC 4337 and ERC 7579.

### Summing Up

In essence, the foundation of many cutting-edge fintech developments worldwide can be traced back to specific ideas within the Ethereum ecosystem. These ideas are meticulously documented through Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), each representing a potential advancement for the network. The significance of EIPs goes beyond the written proposals; they are part of a broader, collaborative process where the community actively participates in shaping the future of Ethereum.

Interestingly, the discussions that lead to these innovations are often public. Platforms like YouTube host real-time debates where developers dissect and deliberate over various EIPs, offering transparency and insight into the decision-making processes that drive Ethereum forward.

This collaborative and decentralized approach explains why Ethereum remains a top network in the blockchain space. 

**This text is a free rewrite of a pitch about Ethereum development from one of its developers.*

Ethereum EIP.png

Ethereum Improvement Proposals

**Teleports Are Real: TON Teleport BTC Unveiled**

The Open Network (TON) Foundation, which manages the Telegram-centric blockchain network TON, has announced new infrastructure aimed at enhancing Bitcoin utility on the platform.

This new infrastructure, known as TON Teleport BTC, facilitates transfers between Bitcoin and TON. Its goal is to expand Bitcoin's use cases within the TON ecosystem, particularly for decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, and other DeFi applications.

**Functionality**

TON Teleport BTC facilitates the transfer of Bitcoin between the Bitcoin blockchain and TON without relying on central intermediaries. The system is designed to be trustless, enhancing security and autonomy. Here's a breakdown of how it works:

- Users send their BTC to a unique Bitcoin address.
- Once the Bitcoin transaction is confirmed, an equivalent amount of BTC is issued to the user’s address on the TON Blockchain.
- Users can then utilize these BTC tokens in various decentralized applications (dApps) on TON or redeem them for BTC on the Bitcoin network.
- For the reverse process, users burn their BTC tokens on TON, which triggers the release and return of their BTC on the Bitcoin blockchain.

**Benefits**

TON Teleport BTC will significantly enhance the DeFi integration within the TON Blockchain. By enabling new Bitcoin-based financial mechanisms and products, such as decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending platforms, and advanced wallet services, Bitcoin will be transformed from a mere stored asset on TON into a tool for generating additional returns. 

This integration sets a precedent for future systems that could link TON with other EVM-compatible networks, demonstrating the potential for wider blockchain connectivity.

**Impact**

When implemented, TON Teleport BTC will be a major technical achievement, contributing to a more connected and efficient global blockchain ecosystem. It offers a decentralized, secure, and transparent method to integrate Bitcoin into the TON Ecosystem without centralized intermediaries, ensuring there is no censorship or control over asset flow. 

TON Teleport BTC is not just a technological advancement; it's a vital step toward realizing a more connected and innovative Web3 environment. By bridging Bitcoin to TON in a trustless manner, the project paves the way for a new era of connectivity and innovation within the blockchain space. This exciting development promises to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the decentralized world, offering transparency and autonomy for all users.


Blockchains	22
DEXes	816
Pools	3,477,529
Tokens	2,160,828
Farms	4,734
NFTs	Soon...

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