Network School Buys Farcaster, Adds a 'Social Smart Contract'

Farcaster is changing hands again, and this time the people who use it have a decision to make. Network School, the community led by former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan, announced on October 15, 2026 that it is acquiring the social protocol from Neynar. Under the new owner, Farcaster is set to be rebranded as the Network State Protocol, and full access to the main app will hinge on accepting a new "social smart contract."

It is the second ownership change for Farcaster in roughly nine months. Financial terms were not disclosed, and neither party has put a public price on the platform.

What the "Social Smart Contract" Requires of You

If you use the main Farcaster app, you are being asked to accept or reject a "social smart contract" that sets out the new rules of conduct. Accept it, and you get an onchain access NFT as proof. Reject it, and you are limited to read-only access on the main app, with your keys, funds, followers and post histories moved to another client.

Accounts of the process differ in one detail: some describe a vote on the new operational models, others an individual accept-or-reject choice. Both descriptions are circulating and have not been reconciled. The exact wording of the contract could not be read from a primary source, and neither could the full list of banned behavior.

The rulebook is built around AI moderation, proof-of-humanity checks and a code of conduct modelled on Singapore's standards of public conduct. The offenses it calls "digital felonies" include hate speech, death threats, scams, repeatedly starting fights, stalking and passing off AI-generated content as your own work. Over time, the plan is to require users to verify they are human to cut down on bots.

The Protocol Stays Open, the Main App Gets Moderated

Farcaster's architecture is why the deal can be described two ways. Multiple apps can share the same identities, content and social graph, so you can move between clients without leaving your followers behind.

The underlying protocol is expected to stay open and permissionless, meaning anyone can still build on it without approval. The main client, the app most people actually open, moves to a moderated environment. That is the split to watch: an open protocol underneath, a governed front door on top.

Why Neynar Sold Farcaster Again

Neynar bought Farcaster from Merkle Manufactory on January 21, 2026, in a deal that covered the protocol, its official client and Clanker, an AI token launchpad. In its own post that day, Neynar said it would maintain the Farcaster protocol, run the clients and operate Clanker.

Co-founder Rish said Neynar transferred "the Farcaster app, protocol codebase, and related products" to Network School after weighing several other offers, because Farcaster needs a different operating model for its next phase. Most of Neynar's team is joining Network School to keep building Farcaster, while Rish and co-founder Manan leave to pursue a new direction.

Clanker is the loose end. Rish's announcement did not mention its future, and what happens to the launchpad is unconfirmed; one live-stream claim said he is considering spinning it off and looking for buyers.

What Network School Is Getting

Farcaster was founded in 2020 by former Coinbase colleagues Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan. It raised $150 million in May 2024 in a round led by Paradigm and joined by a16z crypto, Haun Ventures and Union Square Ventures. Romero said in December 2025 that the protocol had about 250,000 monthly active users and more than 100,000 funded wallets.

He also said the team's social-first bet "didn't work for us" after 4.5 years, and that Merkle planned to return the full $180 million it had raised to investors.

Network School relocated to Kazakhstan earlier in 2026 after challenges in Malaysia, and recently raised funds at a $2 billion valuation. Balaji has been consistent about Farcaster's role in his plans. At Network School's 2024 launch he said "everything we're doing is built on Farcaster," and after January's ownership change he called it "by far the best open social protocol around."

The open questions now are whether enough users accept the contract to keep the main app active, and whether the protocol stays as open in practice as it is on paper.