Farcaster Acquired by Network School, to Transform into Network State Protocol

Decentralized social network Farcaster has changed hands for the second time this year. Balaji Srinivasan's Network School has acquired Farcaster from Neynar, with both parties declining to disclose the transaction amount. Neynar co-founder Rish said Thursday that, after considering multiple acquisition offers, the company decided to transfer the "Farcaster app, protocol codebase, and related products" to Network School, citing that Farcaster requires a different operational model in its next phase. Rish and fellow co-founder Manan will depart, while remaining Neynar employees will join Network School to continue developing Farcaster. Neynar acquired the platform from original developer Merkle Manufactory in January this year, a deal that also included token launch platform Clanker. Rish's announcement did not mention Clanker's fate, but GM Farcaster hosts Adrienne and NourishProf said during a Thursday livestream that Rish is considering spinning off Clanker and seeking other buyers for it. Meanwhile, an in-app announcement shows Farcaster will be renamed "Network State Protocol," with the goal of building a network of voluntarily joined digital societies that ultimately materialize in the physical world. Users must choose to accept or reject a "social smart contract," with acceptors receiving an on-chain access NFT as proof.