Web3 Social: Still Dominated by the Chinese
In a span of two days, two major decentralized social protocols, Lens Protocol and Farcaster, changed ownership. Lens was taken over by Mask Network, led by Chinese founder Suji Yan, while Farcaster was acquired by Neynar, one of its clients. Combined, these protocols had raised over $200 million, with Farcaster valued at $1 billion last year.
This follows the earlier acquisition of Steem by Tron’s Justin Sun in 2020, meaning two out of three prominent decentralized social protocols are now been taken over by Chinese-led teams.
The author suggests that Western founders often approach decentralized social with idealism—emphasizing user-owned data and censorship resistance—while Chinese acquirers tend to view it as a business opportunity. Both Lens and Farcaster have seen declining engagement, making them attractive targets for pragmatic operators focused on usability rather than ideology.
However, past acquisitions like Steem—which led to a community fork—highlight the risks of centralized control over “decentralized” protocols. Mask Network has framed its role as “stewardship” rather than outright ownership, but the very idea of a “decentralized” protocol being acquired raises questions about how much these platforms are truly user-governed.
Ultimately, the piece questions whether these acquisitions will lead to a more practical and widely adopted social web or simply repeat past conflicts between idealism and commercial reality.
marsbit01/22 04:11
