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Balaji’s Network School buys Farcaster, rebrands it, and kicks off bans under a ‘social smart contract’
Summary
Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School acquired decentralized social app Farcaster from Neynar and is rebranding the reference client as the Network State Protocol, The Block and Cointelegraph reported.
The Block said Neynar, which itself bought Farcaster from Merkle Manufactory in January, is transferring the app, protocol repositories and related products; financial terms were not disclosed.
Users are being asked to accept a “social smart contract” with new conduct rules; those who decline get read-only access on the main app while keeping keys, funds, followers and history for other clients, both outlets reported.
Cointelegraph said Srinivasan framed the move as building a “Singapore of social media,” and both outlets said users reported bans or read-only restrictions tied to older posts as moderation began; The Block noted it had not independently verified those ban reports.
Key facts
- Network School acquired Farcaster from Neynar; terms were not released.
- Farcaster’s reference app is being positioned as the Network State Protocol with an opt-in social smart contract.
- Users who decline keep keys, funds, followers and history but get read-only access on the main app.
- Srinivasan said humans and AI reviewed posts and that an appeals process exists.