The token for crypto social media platform friend.tech has plummeted after its team transferred the admin and ownership of its smart contracts to Ethereum’s null address — permanently relinquishing any control over them.

The transfer , made on Sept. 8, was made to “prevent any changes to their fees or functionality in the future” friend.tech said on X the same day.

The platform’s token, FRIEND, dropped by nearly 26% in the last 24 hours to $0.067 after the transfer, according to CoinGecko.

Friend.tech token drops 26% after team shirks control of smart contracts image 0

Source: friend.tech

Ethereum’s null address is a burn address aimed at the intentional destruction of tokens, and anything sent to it becomes irrevocably lost. There is no way to recover or reuse tokens sent to the address.

Serpin Taxt, a builder behind blockchain reputation protocol Ethos, posted to X that friend.tech’s move was the “end of an era” and “not at all how I saw it playing out.”

The smart contract change comes three months after friend.tech’s announced it would build its own blockchain , “Friendchain,” which left its community confused at the protocol’s future direction.

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Friend.tech’s X account later deleted its announcement post, which added to the confusion.

Friction between friend.tech’s team and its users also worsened when many reported issues claiming the much-hyped FRIEND airdrop in early May. 

The token amassed a $233.6 million market cap within the first four days of launch, which has now fallen to $6.3 million.

The total value locked on friend.tech has also fallen from its all-time high of $52 million in early October 2023 to now less than $3.5 million, per DefiLlama.

Friend.tech token drops 26% after team shirks control of smart contracts image 1

The rise and fall of the total value locked on friend.tech since August, 2023. Source: DeFiLlama

Daily fees earned from the protocol have consistently been below $1,000 since late July, while FRIEND trading volume has taken a similar fall. 

Friend.tech is native to Ethereum layer 2 Base and allows creators to monetize their content through tokenized shares or “keys.” Its rival platforms include the Theta Network, Hive and Decentralized Social.

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