Network School acquires Farcaster, adds user contract to govern participation

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Network School acquires Farcaster

Highlights

Network School acquired Farcaster from Neynar less than nine months after Neynar's takeover, with undisclosed financial terms and key staff transitioning.
Farcaster is rebranding as 'Network State Protocol' and now requires users to accept a social smart contract, issuing access NFTs and listing bannable digital felonies.
Network School will introduce mandatory human verification to curb bots, raising questions about stricter moderation on a previously decentralized crypto social platform.

Ownership transfer and new platform rules

As first reported by The Block, Network School has acquired Farcaster from Neynar, less than nine months after Neynar took over the platform from original developer Merkle Manufactory in January. Financial terms have not been disclosed, and Neynar co-founder Rish said on Thursday that the company is transferring the "Farcaster app, protocol repositories and related products" after weighing several other offers.

Rish said Farcaster needs a different operating model for its next stage. He and fellow co-founder Manan are moving on, while other Neynar employees are joining Network School to continue developing the decentralized social platform.

An in-app announcement says Farcaster is becoming the "Network State Protocol," describing its aim as building opt-in digital societies that can extend into the physical world. Users are now asked to accept or decline a "social smart contract," and those who opt in receive an access NFT that records their choice onchain.

The new rules list bannable conduct, described as "digital felonies," including hate speech, death threats, scams, repeated attempts to start fights, stalking and presenting AI-generated content as original work. Users who decline the contract keep read-only access through the main app, while their keys, funds, followers and post history are moved to another client.

Crypto social platform faces moderation and identity test

Network School also plans to require users to verify they are human as part of an effort to reduce bot activity on the app. The move adds a stronger moderation and identity layer to a platform that has marketed itself around decentralization.

Several users on X say they have already been banned over posts made at least three months ago, including posts about Elon Musk, Flock cameras and "gay appreciation." The Block said it has not independently verified those bans, leaving open questions about how the new rules will be enforced across Farcaster's user base.

Our earlier report on Cohere’s planned acquisition of AI cybersecurity startup AISLE outlined how the deal would add software vulnerability detection capabilities to Cohere’s broader AI business being assembled alongside its merger with Aleph Alpha. We noted that the move would also expand Cohere’s European footprint via AISLE’s Prague engineering hub, with a focus on stronger security and threat-detection offerings for enterprise and public-sector clients.

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