Farcaster to Repay $180M to Investors as Neynar Assumes Control
Farcaster, the crypto-native social media protocol, will return $180 million in venture funding to investors as part of a strategic overhaul. Merkle, its parent company, confirmed the repayment of all capital raised over five years while emphasizing the platform’s continued operation with 250,000 monthly active users.
Dan Romero, Merkle’s co-founder, dismissed shutdown rumors in a public statement: 'Farcaster is not shutting down.' The protocol’s infrastructure and mobile app will transition to Neynar, a venture-backed startup specializing in developer tools. Romero’s team will depart daily operations.
The MOVE signals consolidation in crypto’s social media vertical, where user acquisition costs and scalability challenges have pressured niche platforms. Farcaster’s repayment underscores a rare ethical stance in Web3—prioritizing investor returns over forced scalability.
