Decentralized social media platform Friend.tech — built on Coinbase layer-2 network Base — has announced plans to develop its own blockchain, Friendchain, but the decision to do so has left many users to ask, “Why?”

“No hate, just a genuine question, What is the value proposition of a social-focused chain?,” crypto trader Dr. Jojipup asked in reply to Friend.tech’s June 8 announcement on X, which explained that it will be working with crypto infrastructure startup Conduit to launch its very own blockchain. Friend.tech added that it will use its native token, Friend (FRIEND), as a "fully transferable gas token."

“Why do you need a blockchain?” added pseudonymous crypto commentator ox0, while co-founder of gas-auditing firm Gaslite, Pop Punk, commented,“why.” 

Meanwhile, others voiced concerns about whether it would mean the gas fees would be higher compared to those on Base — often referred to as a "low-cost" Ethereum layer-2 solution.

However, the announcement piqued traders' interest as Friend's price saw a sharp spike shortly afterward.

The price of Friend skyrocketed after the announcement

Friend jumped 64% within 20 minutes of the announcement, reaching $1.31, before quickly dropping back to $0.89 within the hour, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The significant fluctuation in the price of Friend comes just a month after riend.tech launched the token along with a major airdrop.

Just hours after the Friend.tech airdrop went live on May 3, the largest whale, known as “Murphys1d,” sold over 55,000 of the newly-issued Friend tokens

That same day marked a record high for transactions on Friend.tech, which had been stagnating significantly since its strong launch in August 2023.

Just a week after Friend.tech launched, its fees surpassed $1 million in 24 hours on Aug. 19, outshining Uniswap and the Bitcoin network.

Cointelegraph has reached out to Friend.tech for comment but has not received a response by ttime of publication.