Friend.Tech, a social app that allows users to monetize their online presence, has faced a massive sell-off as one of its biggest influencers dumped his keys and moved to a rival platform built on Bitcoin.
Vombatus_eth, who goes by the same name on Friend.Tech and X (formerly Twitter), sold 176 keys worth $1.5 million on Monday, according to wallet data. He also announced that he was switching to New Bitcoin City, a gaming and social app that runs on Bitcoin.
Friend.Tech lets users issue keys on its app for access to exclusive content and group chats. It was one of the fastest-growing crypto platforms in August, attracting millions of dollars in revenue from over 100,000 users. However, its growth has slowed down as new competitors emerged in the socialfi space.
New Bitcoin City Attracts Socialfi Users with New Features
New Bitcoin City, which launched in early August as an arcade platform, released its social application in late September, targeting the same market as Friend.Tech. The app allows users to create and join communities using Bitcoin tokens.
The developer of New Bitcoin City, punk3700, said previously that he saw a gap in the market for Bitcoin holders who wanted to use their assets on interactive applications. He said that most of the Bitcoin usage in DeFi was through tokenized representations on other chains, such as Ethereum or Solana.
New Bitcoin City’s appeal comes at a time when Bitcoin prices are on the rise, jumping 20% in the past week in hopes of a possible spot Bitcoin ETF approval in the U.S. The app has also broken through $3 million in locked value (TVL) on Monday, according to its website.
Users such as Vombatus_eth are drawing their followers to New Bitcoin City, creating a challenge for Friend.Tech and other socialfi platforms. Vombatus_eth said that he was impressed by the features and community of New Bitcoin City and that he believed Bitcoin was the future of crypto.
