Neynar is handing Farcaster's app and protocol code to Balaji Srinivasan's Network School, which plans stricter moderation and an on-chain vote on new rules.
Key Facts
Neynar said it is transferring the Farcaster app, protocol repositories and related products to Balaji Srinivasan's Network School, without disclosing financial terms.
Much of Neynar's team will join Network School, while Rish, Manan and other team members will move on, according to Rish.
Srinivasan said Network School has moderated out repeat offenders and is asking users to back its version of the Farcaster client, and the rules that come with it, in an on-chain vote.
Network School, founded by former Coinbase executive Balaji Srinivasan, is acquiring decentralized social network Farcaster from Neynar, which is handing over the Farcaster app, its protocol repositories and related products.
The deal moves Farcaster to a new owner months after Neynar took it over, and comes with a new moderation policy and an on-chain vote on new community rules.
"We ran a broad process and received several strong proposals. Farcaster needs a different operating model for its next stage," Neynar co-founder Rish said in a post on Farcaster on Thursday.
Most of the Neynar team will join Network School to keep building Farcaster, while Rish, Manan and other team members will move on, he said. Farcaster's official account put the share joining at "about half of the Neynar team," and financial terms were not disclosed.
Rish said in August that Neynar had started a process to find a new home for Farcaster, Clanker and Neynar's other products, writing on X that "we're not the right fit for what's needed next."
Network School Plans Moderation, Vote for Farcaster Users
Srinivasan said Network School wants to turn the Farcaster client into "a family-friendly place where you can learn technology, earn cryptocurrency, have fun with the community," in a post on Farcaster.
Network School has already "moderated out the small fraction of repeat offenders that have been muted or blocked by many accounts" in the Farcaster reference client, using humans and AI to review millions of posts, and has an appeals process, he said.
Users can vote with their crypto wallets on an on-chain ballot for Network School's version of the app, and support stood at 92.9% at the time of writing, Srinivasan said. A first version of the "social smart contract" and an accompanying "Network Code" have been published as part of the new moderation policy, he added.
Users who prefer another client can build their own, since the Farcaster client is open source and the protocol is already open, Srinivasan said. Names related to Farcaster, Warpcast, Neynar, Network State or Network School may not be used to launch any coin, token or commercial project, a rule meant to prevent user confusion and crypto scams, he said.
Farcaster co-founders joined stablecoin startup Tempo in February. Another decentralized social network changed hands in January, when Aave transferred Lens Protocol control to Mask Network.
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