Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin criticized most decentralized social projects for prioritizing cryptocurrency speculation over solving actual social platform issues.
In a interview following X's ban of crypto reward platforms, Buterin said projects failed by treating "crypto finance" as the solution to social problems.
The discussion came days after X revoked API access to InfoFi platforms like Kaito on January 15.
Buterin and Mask Network founder Suji Yan analyzed why decentralized social networks repeatedly fail despite strong demand.
Mask Network formally assumed stewardship of Lens Protocol earlier in January. The transition shifts Lens from infrastructure development to consumer application focus under Suji Yan's leadership.
Why Decentralized Social Projects Failed
Buterin identified two primary failure modes. Network effects create insurmountable barriers as almost no new social platforms achieved scale over the past decade. Twitter remains dominant despite numerous challengers attempting to capture market share.
Most projects misidentified the core problem by jumping straight into SocialFi models with tokens and trading layers. The real issue centers on creator incentives and sustainably rewarding high-quality content rather than existing influence.
Tokenized platforms from Steemit to various creator-token models failed because incentives rewarded speculation and social capital instead of content quality. Top earners typically included exchange founders and existing influencers rather than emerging creators producing valuable work.
Buterin said successful decentralized social products must start from actual social problems. Substack demonstrates that quality creators can earn sustainable long-term income through proper incentive structures.
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Mask Network's Lens Strategy
Suji Yan outlined plans to integrate prediction markets with social interaction. Polymarket bets naturally spark discussion and jokes, yet current comment systems remain primitive with almost no platforms building proper social products around predictions.
Mask will enable posting to Lens directly from any wallet across any blockchain or exchange. The approach moves incrementally from wallets to prediction markets and trading comments, connecting genuine social behaviors into compounding network effects.
Yan described the Lens transition as "stewardship" rather than acquisition. Protocol ownership, intellectual property, and governance control remain unchanged while Mask handles consumer-facing execution and product development.
Twitter's InfoFi Crackdown Context
X product lead Nikita Bier announced the InfoFi ban after automated bots generated 7.75 million cryptocurrency posts on January 9. The platform cited "AI slop and reply spam" as primary reasons for revoking developer access.
Kaito's KAITO token crashed 15% following the announcement as the company sunset its Yaps reward system. The token now trades 80% below its February 2025 peak of $2.88 according to market data.
Buterin noted Twitter's discussion quality has declined significantly across cryptocurrency, politics, and broader public discourse. He called prediction markets combined with AI and Community Notes a promising direction for improving information quality online.
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