SocialFi in 2024: How social networks merged with cryptocurrencies

The cryptocurrency social platform market has demonstrated explosive growth. According to CoinGecko, the total market capitalization of SocialFi tokens has surpassed $4.6 billion, with a daily trading volume of over $215 million (May 2024). This movement is no coincidence — users are actively seeking alternatives to traditional social networks, where all their data is monetized but commissions remain in the hands of corporations.

Why SocialFi is Becoming Mainstream

Decentralized social platforms offer a radically different model: you create content, interact with the community, and receive cryptocurrency rewards. These platforms are built on blockchain technology, ensuring transparency and granting users real ownership of their data and digital identity.

According to dAppRadar data for 2023, the social sector has seen an impressive surge in activity: over 250,000 unique wallets participate daily. Compared to 2022, this shows a growth of 518% — a figure that eloquently speaks to the potential of this sector. Platforms like Friend.tech, Lens Protocol, and Galxe have already established a reputation within the ecosystem.

Who Plays in SocialFi

SocialFi attracts a diverse audience. Content creators gain new monetization channels without intermediaries. Bloggers, video bloggers, artists, and influencers can issue their own tokens and receive direct financial support from fans. Tech enthusiasts find a platform here for experimenting with cutting-edge technologies. People concerned about privacy see SocialFi as a tool to regain control over their digital lives. Investors and traders study tokens in search of new profit opportunities. Fans and community members can interact with their favorite creators in a more meaningful way — through tokenized actions and collective governance.

Portrait of Market Leaders

Cheelee (CHEEL) — earn by watching videos

To understand how modern SocialFi works, just look at Cheelee. The platform operates on BNB Smart Chain and uses a dual-token system: the governance token CHEEL (price: $0.53) and the utility token LEE for transactions. Users earn by watching videos, rating content, and interacting with ads. The bot protection mechanism includes advanced algorithms to prevent manipulation.

Cheelee’s economic model contains an embedded stabilizer: a significant portion of revenue (from advertising, in-game purchases, and NFT sales) goes into the Stability Fund, which regulates token value through buybacks and burning. This helps keep prices relatively stable despite market volatility.

CyberConnect (CYBER) — social graph on the blockchain

CyberConnect (current price: $0.70) — is a decentralized social graph protocol operating on Ethereum and other EVM-compatible chains. The platform allows users to fully control their digital identity, content, and connections. CYBER tokens are used for governance, paying fees, and purchasing premium profiles (CyberProfiles).

CyberConnect’s key innovation is account abstraction, simplifying registration and increasing compatibility across different blockchains. This reduces entry barriers and accelerates mass adoption. Unlike traditional social networks that monetize your data without compensation, CyberConnect redirects income to creators and users.

LUKSO (LYX) — blockchain for creators

LUKSO positions itself as a first-layer blockchain specifically designed to connect the digital and physical worlds. The platform equips artists, designers, and other creators with tools for direct interaction with their audience. Universal Profiles provide a unified digital identity compatible with many Web3 applications.

LUKSO uses Proof-of-Stake consensus instead of energy-intensive Proof-of-Work, significantly reducing its environmental footprint. The ecosystem supports digital collectibles, designer ICOs, and P2P marketplaces.

Theta Network (THETA) — decentralized video streaming

The Theta Network (current price: $0.26, market cap $259.30M) addresses issues of traditional video streaming: high costs, centralization, and inefficiency. The platform uses P2P sharing of users’ computing resources to optimize quality and reduce expenses.

Its dual-token system includes THETA (for governance) and TFUEL (for operations). Users are rewarded for sharing bandwidth and watching videos. The multi-blockchain architecture of Theta supports NFT integration, decentralized exchanges, and DAO, positioning the network as a universal platform for media and entertainment.

XCAD Network (XCAD) — reimagined YouTube

XCAD (current price: $0.01) revolutionizes interaction between YouTube creators and their audience through a Watch-to-Earn model. Creators can issue their own tokens, which fans earn by watching videos and engaging with content. These tokens give fans voting rights on what content to create and can be exchanged or used to purchase exclusive materials.

Thanks to a browser plugin, the process is integrated directly into video viewing, ensuring convenience. XCAD operates on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Zilliqa, BSC, and Polygon. The maximum supply of 200 million tokens ensures balanced distribution.

Friend.tech — social capital as an asset

Friend.tech, built on the Base blockchain, transforms social interactions into financial instruments. Users can buy and sell “keys,” representing shares of their social influence. Key holders gain access to private chats and exclusive content, with key prices rising alongside social activity.

The platform generates huge trading volumes but faces scalability and security challenges. The V2 update aims to address these issues. The new POINTS token will enable the creation of social clubs, and users can stake Ether and POINTS to earn rewards.

Open Campus (EDU) — blockchain in education

Open Campus (current price: $0.14) brings decentralization to the education sector. The platform connects students, teachers, content creators, and institutions within a single ecosystem where everyone can monetize or consume educational content.

The EDU token is used for payments, governance, and donations. Token holders vote on updates via the Open Campus DAO, ensuring democratic management. The tokenomics are designed to maintain a sustainable economic model for all participants.

Hive (HIVE) — decentralized media platform

Hive is a social platform with its own blockchain, enabling fast transactions and scalability. Users earn HIVE tokens for creating content, curating, and voting on quality. Its decentralized architecture prevents censorship and guarantees full control over content and data.

The platform demonstrates how engagement can be directly converted into financial gain. Its adaptability supports video games, commerce, and other applications, opening significant growth potential in the Web3 space.

Steem (STEEM) — social blockchain pioneer

Steem (current price: $0.06) — one of the pioneers, using the Proof of Brain mechanism to distribute rewards. The platform operates without transaction fees, employing a bandwidth limiting system to manage resources.

Technically, Steem handles high transaction volumes, surpassing Bitcoin and Ethereum. It uses a hierarchy of private keys for security and Delegated Proof of Stake for fast processing. The two network tokens — STEEM and Steem Dollars (SBD) — allow users to earn rewards and increase influence through staking.

Chingari (GARI) — decentralized short videos

Chingari (current price: $0.00), operating on the Aptos blockchain, creates a short video service where users earn GARI tokens for creating and engaging with content (likes, reposts, comments). Creators also receive tips from the audience in GARI.

Integration with Aptos provides up to 1200 transactions per second, critical for a smooth social experience. This allows Chingari to handle high volumes of microtransactions without overloads.

Lens Protocol — portable social graph

Lens Protocol, launched on Polygon, is a decentralized social platform where each profile, post, and follower is linked to a unique NFT. This ensures full ownership of digital identity and allows transferring social graphs to any application built on Lens.

The modularity of the protocol facilitates innovation. Operating on Proof-of-Stake makes the platform energy-efficient. The composable social graph creates a rich ecosystem of interconnected applications, enabling creators to monetize their work directly.

What to Consider When Investing

Before investing in SocialFi projects, evaluate several key parameters:

1. Technological reliability — can the platform scale? Does it ensure transaction security and data management?

2. Community activity — is the user base growing? Engaged users confirm the value proposition. Hive and Theta Network demonstrate how active community management stimulates growth.

3. Innovation — does the project offer unique solutions? Friend.tech and XCAD provide new monetization channels through social tokens and content trading.

4. Tokenomics and sustainability — what is the token distribution and incentive model? Projects relying on continuous rewards should demonstrate long-term economic viability.

Challenges and Prospects of SocialFi

The future of social-financial platforms looks promising, but there are obstacles:

On the horizon:

• Greater decentralized governance and user control over data
• Transition from advertising models to direct creator compensation
• Growing adoption of AI tools for content creation
• Deep integration of social commerce (shopping without leaving the platform)
• Dominance of longer video formats over short clips

Risks:

• Scalability remains a technical challenge when processing vast amounts of data
• Cryptocurrency volatility creates financial instability for users and creators
• Regulatory uncertainty and security issues require serious attention

Conclusions

SocialFi sits at the intersection of two powerful trends — social networks and decentralized finance. Projects demonstrating technological resilience, active communities, innovative features, and healthy economics have the best prospects for success. Despite challenges, SocialFi promises to truly transform online interactions, returning more power and profit directly to users instead of corporations.