Bots net $2M in profits on decentralized platform Friend.tech amid rising user activity

Maximal extractable value (MEV) bots on the decentralized social media application Friend.tech have profited more than $2 million from the platform.

Dune analytics data, compiled by 21Co’s research analyst Tom Wan, showed that 121 automated bots successfully acquired more than 21,800 Keys, resulting in a profit of $2.1 million within the last two weeks. Keys, previously referred to as shares, represent assets traded on the platform, providing users with privileged access to in-app chatrooms.

Wan explained that these bots acquire recently registered profiles at a low initial cost and sell them at a higher price. The analyst highlighted the remarkable success of the MEV bot “0xcc218bbd21e14944fcc121d161c9b9ae71b9cc85,” which managed to amass almost 260 Ethereum (ETH), worth roughly $600,000, in profits through the acquisition of 96 profiles.

On Aug. 21, Friend.tech saw a surge in bot activity, recording a high of 500,000 transactions. Remarkably, failed transactions hit an unprecedented peak at 308,860, overshadowing the number of successful transactions, which stood at 216,070.

This data corroborates an earlier CryptoSlate report that stated that the Friend.tech application was experiencing an increasing presence of bots and spammers. According to the report, this made it difficult for individuals without substantial social media presence to generate income from the platform.

Meanwhile, additional Dune analytics data shows that Friend.tech’s total volume has reached 45,495.9 ETH, valued at more than $70 million, across 2.05 million transactions since its launch.

Further analysis from DeFillama highlights its impressive position among the crypto industry’s top fee earners. During the last 24 hours, the social media application earned over $300,000 in fees and generated $161,000 in revenues.

Friend.tech playing an integral role in Base’s growth

Earlier in the week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong noted that Friend.tech was playing an important role in the growth and adoption of the newly launched Ethereum (ETH) layer-2 network, Base.

According to Dune Analytics data, more than 20% of the average active addresses on Base have engaged with Friend.tech in the past week. This social media platform also accounts for over 25% of the gas fees on the network.