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Farcaster Acquisition by Neynar Sparks Debate: Founding Team Exits, Supporters Optimistic about Handover, Critics Question "Overvalued Cash-Out"
BlockBeats News, January 22nd. The decentralized social protocol Farcaster has been acquired by its core infrastructure provider Neynar, sparking widespread discussion in the crypto community. Farcaster co-founder Dan Romero confirmed that in the coming weeks, the protocol contract, codebase, official app, and Clanker project will all be transferred to Neynar for operation and maintenance. He and some Merkle team members will step back from day-to-day management to embark on new projects.
Supporters view this acquisition as a "baton pass" within the ecosystem. Several developers noted that Neynar has long served as Farcaster's de facto backend, supporting numerous client and developer tools, deeply understanding the ecosystem's needs. Neynar is seen as the most suitable successor, expected to bring "fresh oxygen" to Farcaster and a clearer development direction.
However, there is also strong opposition. Some comments pointed out that Farcaster, backed by Paradigm and a16z, raised over $150 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation without validating PMF and a revenue model. Being acquired by a considerably smaller company is seen as a "high valuation exit" for the founding team, raising questions about the gap between its decentralized narrative and capital operations.
Overall, the change of ownership for Farcaster is seen as an important moment for the decentralized social infrastructure's shift toward a "pragmatic execution school" on one hand, and has reignited long-standing debates in the market about VC pricing, founder responsibility, and the authenticity of decentralized governance on the other.
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