Welcome to Farcaster 101, a 12 part educational series designed to introduce marketing professionals to the fundamentals of Farcaster. Presented by GM Farcaster in partnership with Snickerdoodle, this series will help you understand what makes Farcaster unique and how to grow your brand presence on the platform. Each webinar is accompanied by a blog post summarizing key insights and additional resources. Plus, we offer weekly office hours for personalized support.
Module 7: Cryptocurrencies on Farcaster
In Module 7 of our Farcaster 101 series, we explain the role cryptocurrencies play across the Farcaster ecosystem. In this module you will learn:
How Farcaster's crypto rails make it super simple to integrate payments throughout a social platform
How the people on Farcaster are using crypto, and what their preferred chains and tokens are
What Warps and USDC are and how they are used across Warpcast and Farcaster
Farcaster's Crypto Rails
As we explained in Module 1, Farcaster is a decentralized social network built on Optimism, a layer-2 network of Ethereum. This foundation provides 3 main benefits to its users:
Ownership and control over their account
Resistance to censorship
The ability to build and contribute to the ecosystem permissionlessly
In addition to these advantages from a social network perspective, Farcaster’s foundation on top of a blockchain means that additional crypto functionality is inherently built in, making financial transactions and interactions seamless to the user experience.
When users create a Farcaster account, they are automatically provided with an Ethereum wallet. While technical crypto knowledge isn’t required, this feature unlocks opportunities for on-chain interactions, setting Farcaster apart from traditional social networks.
Key Features:
Built-in Ethereum Wallet: Every user has an Ethereum wallet upon sign-up, with an option to link additional user-owned wallets if desired.
User Sovereignty: Users retain ownership and control over their data, their identity and their funds, a fundamental advantage of decentralized platforms.
Cryptocurrencies in Farcaster
In this module, we explored Snickerdoodle’s State of Farcaster report to provide an overview of the cryptocurrency landscape across Farcaster.
Key Takeaways:
Total Value: There was $18B total value locked in the Farcaster ecosystem at the time of the report; this number is likely higher as both Farcaster user counts and the value of underlying cryptocurrencies grow.
High Crypto Engagement: 83% of Farcaster users are familiar with and active in crypto.
Chain and Token Diversity: Farcaster has significant activity on chains like Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism. While Ethereum-based assets dominate, Farcaster supports connecting Solana wallets as well, allowing future potential for broader engagement and growth. While Ethereum (ETH) leads in terms of holdings, other coins like $degen and $ham reflect Farcaster's playful side.
Small-Balance Wallets: The prevalence of small balances suggests a diverse user base rather than just whales, promoting accessibility for all levels of crypto users.
Warps: The In-App Currency
Warps function as an in-app currency within Warpcast (Farcaster’s most popular client) but are not on-chain. Users can purchase Warps in the app and use them to:
Create Channels: Channels can be launched with 2,500 Warps per year.
Tip Users: Users can gift 100 warps at a time to other users from the user profile page.
Gift Accounts: Users can redeem 500 warps to create a Farcaster invite that will cover the sign-up cost for whoever uses the invite.
USDC Integration
USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the dollar, is Warpcast's preferred currency for on-chain transactions. Users can easily transfer USDC through built-in payment options on the user profile.
Warpcast has been conducting an experiment to reward the top 100 casters with $5USDC each day. They were able to do this easily because each user has a connected wallet, and you can view results of this experiment on a dune dashboard created by slokh.
Additionally, Paybot allows users to send various cryptocurrencies to other users directly in Farcaster using either a cast action or by tagging the bot account.
What’s Next?
Our next module continues on the topic of cryptocurrencies on Farcaster with a focus on the more playful side —meme coins, token-based social interactions, and the role of AI in creating tokens. For any questions or help setting up wallets and accounts, join us in our office hours! We’re here to help, ensuring you’re well-equipped to make the most of Farcaster’s ecosystem.
More Resources
The Snickerdoodle State of Farcaster 2024 report
Learn more about Paybot and Paycaster
Warpcast's documentation about Warps
Warpcast Rewards dune dashboard
Playlist with all Modules of Farcaster 101 that have been released to date
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