In recent years, the rise of decentralized social networks, or DeSoc, has transformed the digital landscape, providing a new alternative to traditional social media platforms. As part of this growing trend, CyberConnect has emerged as a leading player in the web3 social network ecosystem, empowering users with greater control over their digital identity and social connections, as well as enabling developers to create innovative social applications on a decentralized protocol.

Decentralized Social Networks – An Emerging Landscape

Decentralized social networks are gaining traction, fueled by advancements in blockchain scalability and the adoption of web3 technology. These decentralized platforms have launched across a variety of verticals, such as front-ends, application infrastructure, social graphs, and base layers. They offer several value propositions:

Preventing Censorship: Decentralized networks are designed to resist censorship and centralized control. In contrast to traditional social media platforms, content creation and moderation are distributed across the network rather than subject to centralized authority.

Empowering Creators: Decentralized social networks enable creators to monetize their content and community more effectively. Instead of enriching centralized intermediaries, value accrues directly to those producing engaging social experiences.

Preserving Social Capital: Users own and control their social connections in decentralized networks. Open standards prevent vendor lock-in, and standardized data formats allow for greater interoperability.

Unleashing Innovation: The decentralized nature of these networks encourages competition and innovation. Developers have access to social graph data, enabling them to build novel social features and applications.

Reducing Platform Lock-In: Decentralized identity allows users to retain their connections, content, and social status when switching platforms. A self-sovereign, universal ID reduces reliance on any single platform.

However, despite these benefits, the DeSoc landscape faces several challenges, including difficulty reaching a critical mass of users, lacking economies of scale, and providing a user experience that can compete with centralized social media platforms.

CyberConnect’s Vision and Evolution

CyberConnect seeks to address these challenges by providing infrastructure for developers to create equitable and innovative social applications owned by their communities. The project aims to create a fairer social web where value flows directly between creators and audiences, rather than being extracted by intermediary platforms.

CyberConnect was first launched as a decentralized social graph protocol (V1) in Q3 2021. In August 2022, CyberConnect released V2, featuring a hybrid scaling architecture that supports multiple chains like Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon. V2 expanded monetization options for creators by introducing EssenceNFT and SubscribeNFT smart contracts.

CyberConnect V3 represents a significant upgrade, enabling a unified social experience across different blockchains. At the heart of V3 is CyberAccount, an ERC-4337 compatible identity system that abstracts complexity, providing smooth compatibility across the CyberConnect ecosystem with the CyberID. The upgrade also includes CyberGraph, a set of smart contracts for recording social data on-chain, and CyberNetwork, a low-cost settlement layer for scaling transaction throughput.

CyberConnect’s workflow revolves around creating a decentralized, portable digital identity via CyberAccount. Users can interact within the CyberConnect social graph, posting content and forming connections. CyberGraph records this activity using on-chain smart contracts and off-chain storage.

The CyberConnect Ecosystem

CyberConnect has established a vibrant ecosystem that includes various applications:

Link3: A Web3 social network for community building and content discovery.

Galxe: A credential data network for leveraging achievements and credentials via NFTs.

Atticc: A social app for NFT communities to connect, build profiles, and conduct commerce.

QuestN: A quest and event platform offering earn opportunities for users.

Aspecta: An identity platform linking Web2 and Web3 accounts to showcase skills and achievements.

Mocaverse: An NFT collection released by Animoca Brands.

Readon: A decentralized content distribution platform with read-to-earn incentives.

Phaver: A multi-chain ecosystem for content creation and communication.

CyberTune: A decentralized music streaming platform with social features.

Oasis Origin: A privacy-first web3 profile system for identity and community.

Roadmap and Future Outlook

CyberConnect’s native utility token CYBER is available for farming on Binance Launchpool, with trading having opened on August 15, 2023. CYBER facilitates governance, payments for premium names, and gas fees within CyberConnect’s social applications.

Upcoming plans for CyberConnect include multi-chain expansion, the release of the CyberWallet mobile app, “Login with CyberConnect” SDK, and grant programs to enrich the ecosystem. CyberConnect is also partnering with projects like XMTP and Livepeer, and recently launched CyberTrek, a 2-month voyage with partner blockchains for users to explore the CyberConnect ecosystem and earn rewards.