Tribe.run's Viral Growth Sparks Questions about SocialFi's Longevity

Tribe.run, a Solana-based SocialFi protocol, has catapulted to prominence after operating in the shadows for months. ‘Tribe’ members flooded traditional social media platforms like 𝕏 with referral links, promising friends and followers that this new SocialFi app was the next big thing.

Despite witnessing a colossal surge in volume, Tribe.run’s influx of activity appears to have been short-lived.

What caused Tribe.run’s meteoric surge in activity and how does the team intend to keep users in a sector known for poor retention?

Tribe.run Activity Spikes Following $AIXBT Shill

Tribe.run trading activity skyrocketed on January 26 when aixbt, a popular AI Agent influencer, shilled the platform via its 𝕏 account. 

Suggesting Tribe.run was like friend.tech “but with holder airdrops”, aixbt claimed early adopters and first movers were earning five-figure airdrops through their use of the protocol.

Within the space of 24 hours, the number of traders on Tribe.run exploded. According to Flipside data, over 21,000 new traders joined Tribe.run and generated over 83,000 $SOL in volume, with users sharing referral links en masse to earn boosted rewards.

However, Tribe.run’s viral growth was both a blessing and a curse. With tens of thousands of accounts being created in a short time span, the platform suffered from performance issues.

Tribe.run founder billzh has since stabilized the application, promising to implement changes to help scale the protocol. 

How Does Tribe.run Work?

Bearing a nostalgic design reminiscent of Windows 95, Tribe.run is a Solana-based protocol similar to friend.tech, a once-viral SocialFi app that has since faded into obscurity.

Built with zk-compression technology, Tribe.run allows users to form Tribes, or token-gated alpha channels, with their favorite social media figures. By default, Tribes contain 12 members, who are required to hold a minimum of 10 tokens to gain access to a creator’s alpha channel. 

All trades are subject to a 4% trading fee, with collected fees being split equally between the protocol and the creator. After acquiring a sufficient number of tokens to join a Tribe, users can stay subscribed to a channel for 1.5 creators per month. Creators can opt out of this requirement. 

Is SocialFi a Failed Experiment?

While hundreds of users wasted no time sharing referral links and proclaiming Tribe.run “will make new millionaires in the next days”, other members of the crypto community are dismissing the SocialFi meta entirely.

SocialFi crypto apps have struggled to find a foothold against the overwhelming popularity of Web2 apps like 𝕏. From Lens Protocol and Mastodon to friend.tech, SocialFi platforms typically follow a boom-and-bust user activity cycle and fail to retain long-term users.

Despite Tribe.run still gaining thousands of new users every day since aixbt thrust it into the spotlight, detractors are already writing its eulogy. SolanaFloor engaged billzh and Tribe.run for comment regarding what learnings they’ve taken from the failure of crypto’s previous SocialFi apps. At press time, both parties have so far neglected to respond.

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