After relinquishing control over the project’s smart contracts, the team behind Web3 social media platform Friend.tech faces allegations of rug pulling on the internet.
The Friend.tech team disclosed on September 8 that it had configured the admin and ownership parameters to Ethereum’s null address. The team stated that this would prohibit future modifications to their fees or functions.
The Friend.tech (FRIEND) token experienced a 26% decline within 24 hours of the announcement following the relocation.
“Friend.tech rugged?”
In a post on X, the pseudonymous crypto analyst Waleswoosh stated, “Friend.tech rugged.” The analyst referred to the project as a “Ponzi” in a thread as it transitioned from a social finance (SocialFi) application to advanced trading.
The analyst also stated that during the project’s zenith, creators within the platform made “wild promises” to their key holders, with one creator promising to distribute airdrops among critical holders. The analyst also noted that Friend.tech’s team earned over $60 million in fees in addition to the creators.
From December 2, 2023, to June 11, 2024, the Friend.tech team sold 19,477 Ether, estimated to be worth $52 million, according to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain. Lookonchain also emphasized that the token’s price had decreased 95% since its inception.
People referred to the platform as potentially the next Instagram; however, their interest remained strong. The analyst stated that most token holders sold their tokens and proceeded after the highly anticipated airdrop.
Waleswoosh believes that Friend.tech tokens and credentials are now “worthless” due to the recent Friend.tech announcement.
Friend.tech responds to community questions
On September 10, the SocialFi app’s development team issued an announcement addressing specific project inquiries. The team has no intention of discontinuing the Friend.tech website application.
The project also emphasized that their actions only ensure that no future modifications will be deployed on the layer-2 platform Base, which would result in the creation of new fees. According to the team, the actions do not affect the app’s functionality, as everything “remains the same.”
