Decentralized social media (SocialFi)

Traditional platforms own the accounts, the social graph and the rules. Decentralized social protocols move some or all of that to open infrastructure: identities and follower lists are anchored on a blockchain or signed with user keys, while posts are stored on independent servers called hubs or relays. Farcaster, Lens and Nostr are prominent examples, each with several apps reading the same data, so leaving one client does not mean losing your audience.

SocialFi adds financial features to that base: tipping in crypto, paid subscriptions, collectible posts, creator tokens and in-app wallets that let users trade or mint without leaving the feed. Mini apps that run inside social clients have become a distribution channel for crypto projects.

User numbers remain small compared with mainstream networks, and many speculative SocialFi apps have faded once token rewards dried up. Open protocols make moderation and spam control harder, and financial incentives can reward engagement farming over genuine conversation.