DeSo Launches $50M Fund for Decentralized Social Ecosystem
The Octane Fund will fuel development of early-stage social media projects for the blockchain.
Oct 5, 2021 at 5:14 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/52KH3UGP2FAQDCXB4CDHNW2YEY.jpg)
Nader Al-Naji, formerly known as "Diamondhands", founder of BitClout
Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.
The foundation of DeSo, the blockchain started by the founder of social media site BitClout, has unveiled a $50 million fund to support the development of a decentralized social media ecosystem.
- Established by Nader Al-Naji (who formerly used the pseudonym “Diamondhands”) as the blockchain for BitClout, DeSo aims to offer a framework for social networks, just as Ethereum provides tools to build decentralized computer programs.
- The DeSo Foundation’s $50 million Octane Fund will help accelerate the growth of the DeSo developer ecosystem. It will draw from the $200 million in venture capital the project has received from Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures and others.
- The fund will focus on early-stage initiatives that will then build a demo on the DeSo blockchain or integrate DeSo features into an existing product.
- While BitClout’s purported goal of decentralizing social media earned Al-Naji the pseudonym “the Facebook killer,” he now says that the network was merely a proof-of-concept for DeSo.
DISCLOSURE
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
:format(webp)/www.coindesk.com/resizer/Wsw21Z13uYNeMwlEy09fcHX_LHw=/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/Z2G3HHMTVJGWRAQIH4UHCT3FEY.jpg)
Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.
Learn more about Consensus 2023, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.
Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/EEUZKV3X75AQHFJYE64GAXKBO4.png)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/FNXLQD2NPFFHBFEYCHFG3LRPDU.jpg)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/5EYPZBEYDFF45GZVKZDHKVMSSY.png)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/ULTALL4YYVAXXJZHRHJOKD2TR4.jpg)