Farcaster, a decentralized social network built on the Ethereum blockchain and Optimism’s layer-2 ecosystem, has successfully raised $150 million in a recent funding round, bringing the startup’s valuation to $1 billion. The funding round was led by Paradigm, with notable investors such as a16z, Variant, Haun, USV, and Standard Crypto also participating.
This fundraising comes at a time when crypto fundraising is on the rise. According to crypto advisory firm Architect Partners, there were 444 disclosed private financing fundraisers in the first quarter of this year, raising a total of $3.1 billion.
Farcaster founder, Dan Romero, announced in a post on the X platform that the funds will support the project’s development for many years to come as it aims to grow its user base and add developer tools. Since becoming “permissionless” in October last year, Farcaster has experienced significant growth, with over 350,000 paid sign-ups and a 50-fold increase in network activity.
For the remainder of 2024, Farcaster plans to hire staff-level engineers, increase active users, and enhance its protocols by adding developer primitives such as channels and direct messaging. The platform, which is based on Optimism, offers users more control over their data and allows developers to add mini-applications called “frames” to supplement the platform.
Farcaster had been in negotiations with venture capitalists in March to secure additional funding and increase its valuation to over a billion dollars. In July 2022, the startup raised $30 million in funding, with a16z crypto leading the round.
In addition to its support for Ethereum and Solana, Farcaster recently added support for Layer 1 blockchain Arbitrum. This expansion allows users to build frames with direct Arbitrum transaction support, providing them with access to one of the largest blockchain communities.
The platform has seen a significant increase in daily user activity, with the number of “reacts” doubling from 1.83 million on March 31 to 4.43 million as of April 17.
Overall, Farcaster’s recent funding success and plans for future development demonstrate its commitment to decentralization and its goal of providing users with more control over their social media experience.
