The Friend.tech team is abandoning the project

The project rose in popularity when it was launched in August 2023, but interest quickly waned. A token launched in May 2024 has also experienced a mainly downward trajectory. On September 7, the team reassigned ownership and management rights over the smart contracts to the burn address, making them permanently inaccessible.

Some denounced the project as a Ponzi scheme (repeating accusations it received from the start, based on its incentive structure). Others accused the development team of pulling the rug and breaking their promises — accusations that intensified as one co-founder deleted his Twitter account and the other made it private. The team is estimated to have earned around $44 million to $60 million in fees.