Merkle Manufactory, the corporate behind the crypto-oriented social media protocol Farcaster, plans to return $180 million in enterprise funding to traders.
Key Takeaways:
- Merkle Manufactory plans to return $180 million in enterprise funding whereas Farcaster continues working.
- Farcaster has been acquired by Neynar, which is able to take over improvement because the founding group steps again.
- The protocol is shifting away from a social-first mannequin towards infrastructure and developer-focused use circumstances.
The choice was disclosed late Thursday by Merkle co-founder Dan Romero in a publish on X, following hypothesis round the way forward for the challenge.
A number of traders, together with former Coinbase govt Balaji Srinivasan, individually confirmed the plan to return the capital.
Romero: Farcaster Not Shutting Down as Merkle Plans to Repay $180M
“Farcaster will not be shutting down,” Romero wrote, pushing again on rumors surrounding the platform’s standing.
He stated the protocol stays operational, citing roughly 250,000 month-to-month energetic customers in December and greater than 100,000 funded wallets.
Romero added that Merkle intends to repay the total quantity raised over the previous 5 years, saying the agency sought to be a accountable steward of investor capital.
The announcement comes shortly after Farcaster was acquired by Neynar, a venture-backed startup that has lengthy constructed infrastructure inside the Farcaster ecosystem.
Beneath the deal, Neynar will assume management of Farcaster’s good contracts, code repositories, cell software, and Clanker, an AI-driven token launchpad.
Given some rumors, needed to publish a number of clarifications:
Farcaster will not be shutting down. The protocol works and can proceed to work. There have been 250,000 MAU in December and over 100,000 funded wallets. The acquirer, Neynar, is a venture-backed startup and plans to shift…— Dan Romero (@dwr) January 22, 2026
Romero and fellow co-founder Varun Srinivasan, together with elements of the Merkle group, will step away from day-to-day improvement.
“This wasn’t a straightforward resolution,” Romero wrote earlier this week. “However after 5 years, it’s clear Farcaster wants a brand new strategy and management to achieve its full potential.”
Farcaster was launched with the ambition of decentralizing social media by permitting customers to regulate their identities and knowledge relatively than counting on centralized platforms.
The challenge drew important consideration in 2024 when it raised $150 million from main crypto enterprise corporations, together with Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm.
Regardless of early enthusiasm, Romero acknowledged that the platform struggled to realize sustainable development as a social-first product.
In December, the group shifted its focus towards in-app wallets and buying and selling options in an effort to drive engagement, signaling a strategic pivot away from competing straight with mainstream social networks.
Neynar, which supplies developer instruments and APIs for purposes constructed on Farcaster, stated it plans to steer the protocol in a extra builder-centric route.
The corporate is anticipated to roll out a brand new roadmap centered on infrastructure and developer adoption relatively than consumer-facing social options.
Offline Web3 Messaging Apps Achieve Momentum
The controversy round Farcaster comes as Web3-style social media and messaging instruments are gaining traction as governments more and more limit web entry during times of political unrest.
Bitchat, an offline messaging app created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has emerged as a key communication channel in international locations going through election-related shutdowns.
In Uganda, Bitchat surged to the highest of native app retailer rankings after authorities minimize web and cell companies forward of a disputed election.
Downloads within the nation have almost quadrupled in latest months, with comparable spikes reported in Iran as customers search methods to speak throughout state-imposed blackouts.
The app operates with out web or mobile connections, relying as an alternative on Bluetooth mesh expertise that permits messages to hop between close by units.
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