Crypto’s new viral app isn’t very new at all.
Solana-based Social Project Clout saw downloads take off after launching an iPhone app that lets users purchase tokenized versions of social media profiles. This is very similar to the premise behind the Viral 2023 App Friend.Tech, which itself was a rehash of BitClout, a crypto Twitter tokenization app that went viral in 2021. Friend.Tech’s founding team already moved away from the platform, while its founder of BitClout, while the founder of BitClout has quit, was just accused of fraud by the DOJ and the SEC.
Clout has not left out his ancestors. The project posted a meme today that riffed on Justin Timberlake’s famous line as Sean Parker on the social network: “Dow the ‘Bit.” Just ‘Clout’. It’s cleaner. “
“Integrity and healthy tokenomics!” Was Clout founder Ben Pasternak’s response when I asked him what sets his app apart.
At the time of writing, Clout was #34 on the App Store’s financial chart. The app is so overloaded that I haven’t been able to get a transaction in all day. And Clout isn’t the only so-called SocialFi app catching the attention of Solana users.
Tribe.run—which is still in solo mode—has also seen momentum for a tokenized X-profile app that creates token-gated group chats called Tribes. I managed to grab an invite and enjoyed the app, which has a nostalgic Windows 98-esque design. Tribe comes with an AirDrop feature built in where I could send a portion of my token to my group members. This feature is powered by Solana Zero-Knowledge Compression.
When I asked tribe founder Bill Zheng why he thinks his app can succeed where friend.tech failed, for example, he said the former app had a “fundamental flaw” because creators had no incentive to stay involved. Tribe operates a subscription model where tribe members must pay a certain amount of SOL to stay in the group cat – giving the tribe’s creators a reason to stick around.
Outside of Solana, Kaito Ai has seen success with its YAPS platform that issues points for users who are active – or who are heavily YAP, in internet parlance – on Crypto Twitter.
Socialfi’s resilience underlines the resilience of Elon Musk’s social media platform. X remains the center of the online crypto world, and until that changes, crypto social apps will continue to test new ways to make money with crypto Twitter.
