2021go·a month ago

Ethereum Follow Protocol (EFP): An Early Future

Executive Summary

The Ethereum Follow Protocol (EFP) represents a significant development in the Web3 social infrastructure landscape, positioning itself as a foundational component of the Ethereum identity stack ¹. Launched in September 2024 by Brantly Millegan, former director of the ENS core team, EFP aims to create an onchain social graph protocol that complements existing Ethereum tools like ENS and Sign-In with Ethereum (SIWE) ¹. The protocol addresses a critical gap in the decentralized social ecosystem by providing a minimalist, Ethereum-native solution for tracking account relationships and social connections ².

Protocol Overview and Architecture

Core Functionality

EFP operates as a simple standard for adding and maintaining other Ethereum accounts in a single list, with the requirement that these lists remain public to ensure transparency and decentralization ². The protocol serves as a primitive building block that enables users to follow other Ethereum addresses, creating an onchain social graph that is open, permissionless, and non-custodial ¹³.

The protocol's architecture is designed around the principle of unbundling centralized social elements into their smallest viable parts, allowing separate teams to solve individual components with decentralized protocols and open standards ¹. This approach ensures that the fundamental primitives remain decentralized at the protocol level, making social connections portable between different services and applications ¹.

Technical Implementation

EFP's technical infrastructure includes several key components that facilitate its operation and integration ⁴:

Core smart contracts that handle the protocol's fundamental operations
Public API for developers to integrate EFP functionality into their applications ⁵
Web application serving as the primary interface for users to manage their social graphs ⁶
Notification service providing real-time updates on account activity ⁴
Developer tools and SDK to support ecosystem growth and adoption ⁷

The protocol is built to work seamlessly with the existing Ethereum infrastructure, particularly enhancing ENS profiles by showing how users relate to the broader crypto community ⁷. This integration provides a complete picture of Ethereum identity, combining naming, authentication, and social relationships ¹.

Market Positioning and Competitive Landscape

Differentiation from Competitors

EFP distinguishes itself from other decentralized social protocols through its minimalist, Ethereum-native approach ¹. Unlike comprehensive social media platforms such as Lens Protocol, which operates as a full-fledged social networking infrastructure on Polygon, EFP focuses specifically on the social graph primitive ¹⁸.

Key differentiators include:

Ethereum-native design that leverages the existing Ethereum ecosystem rather than requiring migration to alternative blockchains ¹
Minimal scope focusing specifically on following relationships rather than attempting to recreate entire social media platforms ²
Complement to existing tools working alongside ENS and SIWE rather than competing with them ¹
Protocol-level approach providing infrastructure that multiple applications can build upon ¹

Competitive Analysis

The decentralized social media landscape includes several notable competitors, each with different approaches and market positions ⁹:

Lens Protocol operates on Polygon with over 1.87 million registered users and recently secured $31 million in funding, though it maintains only around 5,000 daily active users ⁸⁹. Lens offers a comprehensive social infrastructure with NFT-based profiles and modular content architecture ⁸.

Farcaster has achieved 760,000 total users with 40,000 daily active users, positioning itself as a decentralized alternative to Twitter ⁹. The platform has gained significant traction in the crypto community but operates independently of the Ethereum identity stack ¹⁰.

Other emerging platforms include Bluesky with 35 million users, Mastodon as part of the Fediverse, and various AT Protocol-based applications ¹¹. However, these platforms generally operate outside the Ethereum ecosystem and don't integrate with existing Ethereum identity infrastructure ¹²¹³.

Integration Ecosystem and Use Cases

Current Integrations

EFP has already achieved substantial adoption within the Ethereum ecosystem, with 57 documented integrations spanning various categories ⁷:

Identity and Profile Enhancement: Applications like ENS Tools, Web3 Bio, and Ethereum Identity Kit use EFP to complete user profiles by showing social connections and relationships ⁷.

Governance and DAO Tools: Platforms including Snapshot, Tally, and Agora integrate EFP to enhance governance participation and community engagement ⁷.

DeFi and Financial Services: Projects like Zapper, Superfluid, and PWN leverage EFP's social graph for improved user experience and social features ⁷.

Developer Tools and Infrastructure: Services such as Blockscout, API providers, and various Ethereum utilities incorporate EFP functionality ⁷.

Practical Applications

The protocol enables several key use cases that demonstrate its utility ⁷:

Profile Completion: Using ENS for basic profile information while EFP provides social context and relationship data
Activity Feeds: Enabling applications to show users the onchain activity of accounts they follow
Social Discovery: Helping users connect with new accounts and build their onchain social networks
Community Building: Supporting the development of crypto-native social experiences

Technical Challenges and Limitations

Scalability Considerations

Like many blockchain-based social protocols, EFP faces inherent scalability challenges common to Ethereum-based applications ¹⁴. The protocol must balance the benefits of onchain transparency and permanence with the practical limitations of blockchain throughput and transaction costs ¹⁴.

The current Ethereum network processes approximately 15 transactions per second, which could create bottlenecks as EFP adoption scales ¹⁵. However, the protocol's design as a simple following standard minimizes the computational overhead required for each interaction ².

Security and Privacy Concerns

Decentralized social networks face unique security challenges that differ from traditional centralized platforms ¹⁶¹⁷. Key concerns include:

Content Moderation Limitations: The decentralized nature makes traditional content moderation approaches difficult to implement effectively ¹⁶¹⁷. Without central authority, harmful content can persist across multiple instances or platforms ¹⁷.

Privacy Paradox: While decentralized systems often promise better privacy, the public nature of blockchain transactions means that social connections are permanently visible onchain ¹⁶. This transparency conflicts with user expectations of social privacy controls ¹⁶.

Cross-Platform Abuse: The interconnected nature of decentralized protocols can enable abuse to spread across multiple platforms, making it difficult to address comprehensively ¹⁷.

User Experience Challenges

The broader Ethereum ecosystem faces significant user experience challenges that directly impact EFP's adoption potential ¹⁸. The Ethereum Foundation has identified UX as a primary security concern, noting that "a significant burden of security falls on the user" ¹⁸.

Critical UX issues include:

Key Management Complexity: Many users lack the technical knowledge to safely manage cryptographic keys ¹⁸
Transaction Complexity: Understanding gas fees, transaction confirmation times, and blockchain interactions remains challenging for mainstream users ¹⁸
Interface Inconsistencies: The fragmented nature of Web3 applications creates inconsistent user experiences ¹⁸

Market Opportunity and Growth Potential

Web3 Social Media Market Size

The Web3 social media platforms market presents substantial growth opportunities, with projections indicating expansion from $7.2 billion in 2024 to $471 billion by 2034, representing a compound annual growth rate of 51.90% ¹⁹. North America leads this market with over 41.5% market share, generating $2.9 billion in revenue in 2024 ¹⁹.

This growth is driven by several key factors ¹⁹:

Increasing awareness of data privacy issues in traditional social media
Growing appeal of earning opportunities through content creation
Broader adoption of blockchain technology and decentralized applications
Rising value placed on digital ownership and user control

Search Interest and Market Trends

Market research indicates growing interest in decentralized social media solutions, with searches for "decentralized social media" rising 138% over the past five years, peaking at over 4,000 searches per week ¹¹. This trend reflects increasing dissatisfaction with centralized platforms and growing awareness of alternative models ¹¹.

The average user now engages with 6.8 social platforms per month, representing a 2.3% year-over-year increase ¹¹. This multi-platform behavior suggests that new decentralized platforms don't need to completely replace existing networks but can build critical mass by serving specific use cases ¹¹.

Ethereum Ecosystem Growth

EFP benefits from the broader growth of the Ethereum ecosystem, which recently gained 1.83 million new users in a single week, with the new user rate approaching 40% ²⁰. This influx indicates renewed interest in Ethereum-based applications and services, creating a favorable environment for EFP adoption ²⁰.

The protocol's integration with ENS is particularly advantageous, as ENS has established itself as a critical component of Ethereum identity ²¹. The symbiotic relationship between EFP and ENS creates network effects that benefit both protocols ²¹.

Financial Analysis and Investment Landscape

Funding Environment

While EFP has not announced major venture capital funding rounds, the broader Ethereum social protocol space has attracted significant investment ²²²³. Lens Protocol recently secured $31 million in funding, while other Ethereum infrastructure projects have raised substantial amounts, indicating investor confidence in the sector ⁸.

The protocol's founder, Brantly Millegan, has significant experience in the Ethereum ecosystem and previously held substantial ENS token holdings, suggesting potential for future fundraising activities ²⁴. However, EFP appears to be taking a more organic, community-driven approach to growth rather than pursuing aggressive venture capital funding ¹.

Tokenomics Considerations

Unlike many Web3 social protocols, EFP has not announced plans for a native token, focusing instead on protocol utility and ecosystem integration ¹. This approach aligns with the protocol's minimalist philosophy and could provide advantages in terms of regulatory clarity and sustainable development ¹.

The lack of token speculation may actually benefit long-term adoption by focusing developer and user attention on utility rather than financial incentives ²⁵. This approach mirrors successful protocol primitives like HTTP or SMTP, which achieved widespread adoption through utility rather than financial mechanisms ¹.

Regulatory and Compliance Considerations

Decentralized Governance Implications

EFP's decentralized structure raises important questions about governance and compliance ²⁶. Unlike centralized social platforms, decentralized protocols must balance innovation with regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions ²⁶.

The protocol's integration with existing Ethereum infrastructure provides some regulatory advantages, as it leverages established compliance frameworks rather than creating entirely new legal precedents ¹⁸. However, the cross-border nature of blockchain protocols continues to present regulatory challenges ¹⁸.

Data Protection and Privacy Regulations

The public nature of blockchain transactions creates potential conflicts with privacy regulations such as GDPR ¹⁸. While the Ethereum Foundation is working on privacy-focused solutions, EFP must navigate the tension between blockchain transparency and regulatory privacy requirements ¹⁸.

Strategic Recommendations and Future Outlook

Adoption Strategy

EFP's success depends on achieving critical mass within the Ethereum ecosystem while maintaining its focus on protocol simplicity ². Key strategic priorities should include:

Developer Ecosystem Growth: Expanding the number of applications integrating EFP functionality through improved developer tools and documentation ⁵.

ENS Integration Deepening: Strengthening the relationship with ENS to create more compelling combined use cases ²¹.

User Experience Improvements: Working with the broader Ethereum community to address fundamental UX challenges that limit mainstream adoption ¹⁸.

Long-term Positioning

EFP appears well-positioned to become a fundamental primitive of the Ethereum identity stack, similar to how ENS became essential naming infrastructure ¹. The protocol's minimalist approach and focus on interoperability align with successful protocol development patterns ².

The growing Web3 social media market and increasing user sophistication regarding data ownership create favorable conditions for EFP's continued growth ¹⁹¹¹. However, success will ultimately depend on the protocol's ability to demonstrate clear utility while remaining simple enough for widespread integration ¹.

Conclusion

The Ethereum Follow Protocol represents a thoughtful approach to decentralized social infrastructure, focusing on a specific primitive rather than attempting to recreate entire social media platforms ¹. Its integration with the existing Ethereum ecosystem, particularly ENS, provides significant advantages in terms of adoption and utility ²¹.

While EFP faces challenges common to all decentralized social protocols, including scalability, user experience, and regulatory considerations, its minimalist design philosophy and strong ecosystem positioning suggest substantial potential for long-term success ²¹⁸. The protocol's 57 existing integrations demonstrate real market demand and utility ⁷.

The broader trend toward decentralized social media, combined with Ethereum's continued growth and the expanding Web3 social market, creates favorable conditions for EFP's development ¹⁹¹¹. Success will ultimately depend on the protocol's ability to maintain its focus on simplicity while scaling to meet growing demand within the Ethereum ecosystem ¹².

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