Farcaster founders step back as Neynar acquires struggling crypto social app

Farcaster, the decentralized protocol once pitched as crypto’s answer to Twitter, has been acquired by Neynar, a longtime infrastructure builder in its ecosystem. The transition was announced by Farcaster co-founder Dan Romero in a post Wednesday.

Romero said Neynar will take over the protocol’s smart contracts, code repositories, mobile app and Clanker, an AI token launchpad. Romero and fellow cofounder Varun Srinivasan, along with parts of their team at Merkle, will step away from day-to-day development.

"This wasn’t an easy decision," Romero said in the post. "But after five years, it’s clear Farcaster needs a new approach and leadership to reach its full potential."

Farcaster aimed to decentralize social media by letting users control their identities and data. In 2024, the team raised $150 million from prominent backers including Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz's (a16z) crypto fund.

But after nearly five years of building, Romero acknowledged the platform never achieved sustainable growth with a social-first model. In December, the team shifted Farcaster’s focus from social networking to in-app wallets and trading to boost engagement.

Neynar, which provides APIs and tools for developers building on Farcaster, has supported the network since its early days and now plans to unveil a new builder-focused roadmap.