Lens Protocol
Shared Web3 user base could power new social app integrations — Aave CEO
Web3 social layer Lens Protocol aims to power seamless connectivity of applications across blockchain and non-blockchain platforms.
The latest version of Web3 social layer Lens Protocol has been released, introducing improved functionality to support new use cases and shared monetization for its growing Web3 user base.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) firm Aave Companies announced Lens Protocol v2 on July 17 during EthCC in Paris, with the code powering the protocol reworked to enable improved composability, configurability and functionality.
Aave and Lens Protocol founder Stani Kulechov told Cointelegraph that Lens is a decentralized protocol built on Polygon featuring a technology stack that allows developers to build and deploy Web3 social apps, as well as allowing Web3 social features to be integrated with existing Web2 and mobile experiences:
“Our vision is for Lens Protocol to enable all applications to connect seamlessly across blockchain and non-blockchain applications, and reward both individuals and the collective shared network.”
According to Kulechov, Lens has around 119,000 Web3 users in its beta, with a lengthy waiting list. Applications built on Lens can leverage this same audience, which is a key component of the protocol’s social graph architecture.
The protocol provides an alternative to conventional Web2 networks and their centralized database models, which rule out portability. As Lens’ core documentation details, Web2 platforms fight a zero-sum game for user attention, with one’s gain equaling another’s loss.
Related: Web3 social media protocol launches scaling solution to provide instant posts
Lens Protocol allows users to own and carry personal data across connected or integrated applications. Kulechov added that Lens is designed to enable human engagement across the internet while benefiting contributors and the wider ecosystem:
“We are still in the early days of Web3 social. Lens has been working with builders and content creators to attract them to develop consumer apps and publish content on Lens.”
Kulechov said that it’s traditionally difficult for new social platforms to compete with incumbents for audience and funding. Lens intends to remove some risk associated with the “cold start” problem that developers face, with ecosystem apps sharing the same Web3 audience.
He added that the recently launched Threads is an example of how Instagram leveraged its existing audience to attract them to a new app that competes with Twitter.
“By utilizing their built-in Instagram users, Threads demonstrated the power of shared social networks when launching a new app. Only, in this case, the shared network is closed — allowing only Meta apps to benefit.”
V2 of the protocol is expected to deliver more ways to share value, allowing users to choose specific algorithms and move freely between communities and applications. For Kulechov, the prospect of new social experiences built on Lens remains a main draw card as the protocol’s shared user base allows new apps or integrations to leverage the existing network.
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Kulechov also stressed that Lens is not designed to be a “front-end” app but rather a shared network protocol that hands value back to users, creators and developers.
“Lens utilizes blockchain, smart contracts, decentralized storage and NFTs to reimagine social networks that are open and diverse, offering different types of experiences and communities.”
The likes of Unstoppable Domains and the Ethereum Name Service have driven the uptake of Web3 decentralized domain names that act as self-custodial digital identities and human-readable wallets over the past two years.
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Stripe tackles ‘cold start problem’ with the launch of fiat-to-crypto onramp
Web3 companies can utilize the Stripe-hosted fiat-to-crypto onramp to allow their customers to buy crypto at the “precise moment they need it.”
Internet payment processor Stripe has introduced a fiat-to-crypto onramp to address the "cold start problem" faced by Web3 companies, as a result of customers not having “crypto in their wallets to carry out transactions.”
According to a May 4 statement, Stripe’s newly launched fiat-to-crypto onramp – which will be hosted by Stripe itself – will allow Web3 companies to offer US-based customers the ability to purchase crypto "at the precise moment they need it," without the need to embed any code into a website or app.
Instead, customers will be directed to a link to convert their fiat into crypto.
Guillaume Poncin, head of engineering for crypto at Stripe said compliance-related tasks for Web3 companies using the onramp will be handled by Stripe – such as conversion and authorization optimization, identity verification and fraud prevention – in an effort to help "customers start using Web3 services quickly and safely."
It was noted that built-in tools for fraud detection and identity verification were implemented to support companies in meeting its Know Your Customer (KYC) and compliance requirements.
We’re introducing a Stripe-hosted fiat-to-crypto onramp (no code required) and unlocking the waitlist for the embeddable onramp. https://t.co/U9OW2cjFrZ pic.twitter.com/jjmkDUiOqc
— Stripe (@stripe) May 4, 2023
The implementation of the new onramp service is aimed at supporting Web3 companies provide a user-friendly way for customers to top up their crypto wallets. It noted:
“Companies interested in offering cryptocurrency and blockchain-enabled experiences often face a cold start problem: Their customers don't have the crypto in their wallets to carry out transactions.”
Several Web3 companies including privacy-focused browser Brave, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol 1inch and blockchain protocol Lens Protocol, have implemented Stripe’s fiat-to-crypto onramp, according to the statement.
James Mudgett, vice president of Web3 products at Brave stated that the service will allow the platform to “reach new Web3 users.”
Meanwhile, Sergei Kunz, cofounder at 1inch, highlighted the importance of building “bridges between Web2 and Web3," adding that Stripe's experience with Web3 companies makes it "well positioned to help."
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Speaking to Cointelegraph, Ohm Shah, co-founder of Wallet Guard stated that Stripe’s new offering could “allow for many people to easily enter into Web3.”
However, Shah stressed the importance of conducting due diligence before purchasing digital assets, even if the customer is familiar with the company providing the fiat-to-crypto onramp. He noted:
“While on-ramping with Stripe to purchase your very first NFT can be exciting, it’s important to consider how easy it is to lose your assets as all it takes is one malicious signature.”
This comes after mobile payments service Venmo announced its own fiat-to-crypto payment service on April 28.
During an interview at Consensus 2023, PayPal executive Jose Fernandez da Ponte said the new feature would provide a use-case for digital assets, because now crypto will be used for “fast and free near-instant transfers between Venmo wallets and PayPal wallets, which is basically connecting two of the largest networks and wallets in the country.”
Meanwhile, a day earlier at Consensus, Robinhood announced its own fiat-to-crypto on-ramp on April 27 – Robinhood Connect – allowing users to directly purchase and sell crypto using a credit or debit card, either in their self-custody wallet or natively in Decentralized applications (DApps).
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10 Big Money Airdrops Are Coming to Savvy Crypto Traders, According to Analyst – Here’s How to Capitalize
A widely followed crypto analyst is bringing attention to 10 upcoming airdrops and advising investors on how to capitalize on them. In a lengthy thread, crypto strategist Miles Deutscher tells his 257,000 Twitter followers to keep an eye out for the following 10 airdrops. According to the trader, airdrops are a great way for investors […]
The post 10 Big Money Airdrops Are Coming to Savvy Crypto Traders, According to Analyst – Here’s How to Capitalize appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Time to switch from LinkedIn to MetaMask? Not yet, but soon
Thanks to NFTs, crypto wallets will soon enable users to prove their credentials without using third-party background checks.
The function of crypto wallets has changed significantly over the last few years. They initially secured token holdings or served as art galleries with nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Today, they’ve become like bank accounts for many, and soon, they will offer even more functionality by enabling digital curriculum vitae (CVs).
In a May 2022 paper, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and others introduced the concept of “Soulbound tokens” (SBTs). Buterin and his co-authors argued that credentials on a blockchain offer many advantages to establishing provenance and reputation.
Nonfungible tokens will serve as essential building blocks
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SBTs are like PoAPs, but they are non-transferable and, therefore, bound to a wallet. That’s because people should not be able to buy credentials that do not represent their own accomplishments. Thus, those tokens should not have a direct monetary value. Binance announced in September that it would introduce the Binance Account Bound (BAB) token as proof of identity for Binance users.
Increasing the utility of DeFi lending
Another interesting project is the Lens Protocol, which was built by the Aave team. Lens is a composable and decentralized social graph that allows the hosting of various social media applications. Users receive a Lens handle in the form of an NFT, which is their user account for all decentralized applications (DApps). Every interaction with the Lens account is saved and linked to the handle.
One might wonder why a decentralized finance (DeFi) giant like Aave is suddenly starting a social media platform, but it makes sense. Aave, like all DeFi lending and borrowing platforms, only allows overcollateralized loans. The reason for this is that there is a lack of information from the users compared to loans in traditional finance (TradFi), which do not have to be overcollateralized because banks have more information about their clients.
By creating Lens and a trusted reputation mechanism for user wallets, Aave can start offering uncollateralized loans as in TradFi once reputations have been established. This is just one of the many benefits of on-chain reputations.
The gig economy will drive adoption
While many are skeptical that this usage will become popular, it makes perfect sense. The number of people who work in the so-called gig economy, such as freelance coders, designers and bloggers, is constantly growing. Projects have to pick the right talents for their needs.
Establishing a culture of confirming credentials on-chain and holding them in a wallet will help such people build up a reputation faster and allow employees to check on the CV, as trustworthiness can easily be verified. For this, the concept of SBTs makes much sense, as those NFTs should not be tradable.
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Many Web3 projects have small teams without a professional HR department to check candidates’ credibility. But with digital CVs, it will become much easier to verify credentials. One could even imagine automatic employment becoming feasible if a candidate’s wallet holds the required credentials.
It’s unclear if Web3 CVs will win mainstream adoption, as that also depends on the general adoption of crypto-related infrastructure and improvements in UI and UX. But we can predict with great confidence that, at least within crypto, they will become the norm.
Darius Moukhtarzadeh is a cryptocurrency entrepreneur focused on decentralized social media applications. He previously worked as a researcher for Sygnum, a digital asset bank. He also worked for Ernst & Young in blockchain consultancy and for several startups in the Swiss Crypto Valley.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
What is Lens Protocol, and how does it work?
In this guide, we share all you need to know about Lens Protocol, a decentralized social graph that simplifies building Web3 social platforms.
The innovation and, as a result, the booming popularity of social media started at the beginning of the century with the concept of the online social graph. This specific data structure draws a line between social networks’ users and the people, places and things with which they interact. However, time has shown that the major social media platforms have several disadvantages related to centralization. The flagships of the change are likely to be sprouts of current Web3 projects.
What is Lens Protocol?
Lens Protocol is a blockchain-based open-source social graph created to reshape the future of social media concepts in the era of Web3 and decentralization. Unlike contemporary Web2 social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook that use social graphs to develop interconnections among users of social networks solely in a centralized manner, Lens Protocol is designed to be permissionless and composable of empowering content creators to "own their digital roots" and enable people to uncompromisingly own the connections between themselves and the communities.
As a result, Lens Protocol development led to the emergence of the decentralized social graph that users totally own, giving them back control of their information and links and even providing features to monetize their content.
Lens Protocol was introduced in early 2022 and gained a lot of attention in the blockchain and crypto communities due to the social networking product’s revolutionary nature and the well-known Aave (AAVE) team developing it. As a branch of one of the significant lending platforms in the Ethereum ecosystem, Lens Protocol seeks to address considerable flaws in the current social media environment, which it does quite successfully, gradually gaining a base of dedicated users of a Web3-ready community.
How does Lens Protocol work?
Lens Protocol’s social graph is established through a graph database (GDB). Such databases utilize graph structures that contain individual nodes, edges as connection points between them, places, things and other properties to store data. These graphs show network members and the relationships between them.
However, Lens Protocol’s smart contracts-based social graph differs from the centralized social media graphs since, in the second case, access to the data is available only for the centralized services. Specifically, users, third parties and even projects that might want to integrate with the service do not have access to it. Profiles, content and connections are locked up and kept by the centralized network operator.
Furthermore, it is known that any centralized service may lightly become a single point of failure when the single server becomes inaccessible. Focusing on building social networking decentralized applications (DApps), Lens Protocol's open social graph architecture allows any blockchain-based social media platform or DApp to plug into it.
Moreover, unlike the structure of centralized services, which cannot be customized, the flexible design of Lens Protocol is based on modularity concepts, allowing the latest features and fixes to be implemented and, at the same time, securing social relationships and user-owned content. Lens Protocol is built on top of the Polygon (MATIC) eco-friendly proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. It is also compatible with cryptocurrency wallets like MetaMask, Gnosis Safe and Argent, stimulating interoperability across platforms.
What makes Lens Protocol unique?
Two core concepts make the Lens Protocol world unique: nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and modularity. Establishing users' profiles as NFTs is central to the protocol. With it, Lens Protocol’s decentralized social network members are empowered to create, maintain and own their content and profiles represented through NFTs, while Polygon’s low-fee layer 2 scaling solution stores all the data.
Such architecture helps to transfer full rights and complete ownership of content into the hands of users. Any content posted, whether a text, a picture, or even a change of avatars is available on-chain. Modularity as a system property refers to innovation, availability and connectivity, meaning that the Lens Protocol’s social graph is open to all creators who are willing and ready to propose and implement new features.
At the same time, community members have the power to consider whether to endorse such users agreeing upon which features to integrate in the most decentralized and open way. Due to these mechanisms and no central actor controlling the information, new social media networks can emerge, maintaining freedom of speech.
The benefits of Lens Protocol
The protocol’s advantages lie at its very foundation and the Web3 principles. First and foremost, Lens Protocol’s permissionless independent network creates a censorship-resistant environment that can not be interrupted. No third party, including centralized authorities, could remove or censor any content or ban any profile.
With it, Lens Protocol users own their content and data and can utilize them in any social media platform or DApp built on top of the protocol. Furthermore, building a full-fledged Web3 social platform with Lens Protocol is possible. Lens Protocol-based applications benefit from the flourishing ecosystem and profit from the protocol’s modularity and easily customized features.
Last but not least, Lens Protocol’s PoS algorithm makes its blockchain energy-efficient and affordable, especially in comparison with the proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm that consumes large amounts of computational power.
Risks involved with Lens Protocol
Despite the apparent Lens Protocol advantages, the several disadvantages involved should not be ignored. Blockchains are often limited in the amount of on-chain storage capacity, and as a result, not all content and NFTs are stored on this level and require another storage solution.
Lens Protocol publications have a special ContentURI pointing to the content the publications contain, whether it is a text, an image, a video, et cetera. All original files are stored in distributed file storage systems such as IPFS, Arweave or even providers like AWS S3. Thus, any users’ content can be potentially manipulated.
The storage problem is deeply connected to security issues. If original files are not recorded on a blockchain, they might be lost or damaged. There is also a risk of smart contracts and NFT maintenance as there are several scenarios where hackers can attack decentralized finance (DeFi) networks.
How to use Lens Protocol
Lens Protocol’s design replicates social media functionality in a Web3 context and on the grounds of blockchain technology, smart contracts and NFTs. Thus, the network’s users have profiles; they can post, share and comment on different types of content and follow profiles of friends and opinion leaders.
A Lens Protocol user's journey begins with the creation of the Profile NFT. Ownership over this NFT allows users to add content, link and communicate with others and gives users control over their data. Specifically, the Profile NFT contains the history of all of the users’ publications, reposts (also known as “mirrors”), comments and other content generated.
The Profile NFT includes an unique Follow feature that allows users to track other profiles. On the Lens Protocol, it slightly varies from the same option in traditional Web2 social media. Its logic enables different accounts to mint Follow NFTs to record their connections. When Lens Protocol users follow a profile, they are given a Follow NFT, which creators and communities can encode with additional value.
The Collects feature allows Lens Protocol users to monetize their content. This way, they can set a Collect option when posting a publication to their Profile NFT. As creators fully own their content via the Lens Protocol, they can allow their followers to purchase it under the conditions determined by the original creator.
The key part of the Lens Protocol is modules that refer to smart contracts with code running under specific conditions. Lens Protocol modules allow users to introduce unique, custom functionality on features like Follow, Collect and Reference, including interaction with other users’ content, mirrors and comments.
The future of Web3 social media
In the twenty-first century, people use social media all the time and everywhere, even though social networks are full of cons in their centralized version. The main issues with the current social media ecosystem are the lack of rights to users' data as content that users generate does not belong to them, and censorship, meaning the platforms have the right to censor any information or ban any profile that does not comply with their policies.
The benefits of Web3 and blockchain for social media are clear and can have a significant impact by offering new patterns of ownership and customization. They accelerate the revolution currently led by Lens Protocol’s community-owned social graph and similar projects in the social media space. They empower their users and give them control and the ability to decide how they want their social graph to be built and monetized, bringing considerable influence to the communication paradigm.
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Aave DAO Approves the Launch of a Collateral-Backed Stablecoin Called GHO
On Sunday, the non-custodial market protocol Aave announced that the Aave DAO has approved a new stablecoin for the ecosystem called “GHO.” Aave Companies proposed the stablecoin during the first week of July and the collateral-backed stablecoin will be pegged to the U.S. dollar’s value. A New collateral-Backed Stablecoin Crafted by Aave Companies Is Due […]Web3 will unite users from social media platforms, says Aave exec
At this year’s NFT.NYC conference, Aave executive Christina Beltramini shared detailed insights into the platform’s recent launch and future vision.
Web3, the third iteration of the internet, is rapidly approaching the consumer mainstream with the promise of disrupting the status quo of digital interactions and creating a new paradigm for democratic engagement.
Lens Protocol is a decentralized social graph built by Aave with the vision of cultivating a Web3 environment in which creators are the primary point of focus.
Centered around nonfungible tokens (NFT), Lens hosts capabilities for developers to build applications analogous to social media, as well as analytic tools, integrations of decentralized finance (DeFi) functions, such as loans and staking, and user-governed decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO).
A Lens Protocol mission statement was cryptographically signed and endorsed by a number of high-profile figures from within the crypto and DeFi space, including Ryan Selkis, Ryan Sean Adams, Gmoney, Camila Russo, Andrew Wang and Josh Ong, among others.
Cointelegraph sat down with Christina Beltramini, head of growth and partnerships at Aave, during the NFT.NYC in June to discuss the intentional growth trajectory of Lens, social graphs in the era of Web3 and the future of content creation.
After working for the likes of JPMorgan and Tidal, Beltramini assumed the role of global business development of music partnerships at prominent social media platform TikTok in mid-2019.
It was during this time she witnessed what she described as an innate lack of autonomy and bureaucratic constrictions that TikTok content creators experience when using the platform, most notably during the frequent requests to reinstate mistakenly deactivated accounts.
The evolution of Web3, coupled with her intrinsic desire to support the artistic expressions of content creators, was enough to convince Beltramini to pursue contributions toward a decentralized social future.
Excited to welcome Christina, coming from TikTok to Aave fam to lead the growth for the decentralized social graph, and all the innovation coming out of Aave. 2022 is going to push web3 closer to the mainstream https://t.co/SksQVdq2QQ
— stani.lens (,) (@StaniKulechov) December 21, 2021
Over the last few years, the industry has witnessed the emergence and adoption of digital identity services such as Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains, Solana Name Service domains and NFT.com, among others. Beltramini shared her thoughts on how the profile aspect of Lens Protocol compares and differs from those examples:
“Name services don’t connect wallets to wallets or social signals. With ENS, I will know what your wallet is and I’ll be able to transfer to you, but I won’t actually be able to see the connections within your wallet. So, with Lens, your profile’s an NFT, [and] when you follow someone, that’s an NFT as well. And that’s what ties the association together.”
Profile NFTs are one of the core components of the Lens model. Issued to an individual’s wallet address, they aim to serve as a Web3 headquarters of sorts, enabling self-custody of data, the ability to publish authentic pieces of content on-chain, and built-in governance capacities should users wish to construct their own DAO.
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Modules and logic functions open up an entire ecosystem of interoperable NFTs. Other users of the platform can attain a FollowNFT for following a profile and CollectNFT for collecting unique pieces of content. Additionally, mirroring enables users to share, or essentially reblog, content while acknowledging the original owner.
By democratizing user data and attaching NFTs to the individual action, Lens considerably advances upon the traditional experiences of social media, commerce and digital consumer interaction.
Digital roots
The name Lens was inspired by the Lens Culinaris, the green flowering plant whose seeds produce the lentil.
Beltramini expressed that this choice of branding was a conscious, deliberative decision to metaphorically symbolize “owning your digital roots” and nurturing a ground-up ecosystem that “we cultivate together as the community” before stating:
“We are the application layer, and having multiple protocols that speak together to build different experiences and applications on Lens is really with the community from the decision making and how the protocol will be governed.”
Societal concerns around the environmental expenditure of Bitcoin (BTC) mining and NFT minting have sparked decisive behaviors from crypto companies seeking to remain at the cultural forefront. Lens Protocol was built on the Polygon network to focus inherently on “scalability and environmental” factors, Beltramini said.
She also added that there was a pre-existing “deep relationship between Polygon and the Aave companies on the DeFi side” so that “when the protocol was being built a year and a half ago, it was really the only scaling solution.”
The social graph
Beltramini noted the concept of social graphs, an interconnected map of connections formed by people and mutual friends in a dispersed network. An application built within the Lens ecosystem called Cultivator depicts this network as an observatory of night-sky constellations.
Decentralized social media has arguably become a buzzphrase within Web3 over the past few years, but according to Beltramini, the vision for Lens incorporates the truest values and principles of Web3.
“We believe at the Aave companies that your social content and network should be a public good, and there shouldn’t be large moats that gatekeep you to different platforms,” she said.
Beltramini also raised the significance of users being able to control parameters of privacy, maintaining numerous personas across different platforms on a single social graph. In traditional social media, this would be understood as one type of personality for work contacts on Linkedin, while others for family and friends on Instagram.
Asserting the point of self-custody, she continued, “We won’t be only using three platforms. We can use whatever platforms we decide and have the ability to truly digitally exit a platform.”
“I still have Facebook purely because I have my contacts from 10 years ago at college, but not because I align myself with the values of that platform, or I want to be on Facebook. It’s because my social graph is there. So, we’ll dispel the notion of being tied to a platform just because your social graph is there.”
Lens has registered over 100 applications on its server to date. Often, such protocols can have strict application processes or eligibility criteria for developers to pass. The Lens model does have some basic entry points but is largely open. Beltramini said:
“Right now in Web2, it’s very hard to start a new social application because you essentially have the cold start issue bringing people into the funnel. So, the idea [with Lens] is that developers will be able to more easily build for the experience versus growth hacking for the social graph and spending millions of dollars in CPA [cost per action] spend.”
The most popular application on Lens at the time of writing is Lenster, a permissionless, decentralized social media most closely comparable to Twitter in terms of its user interface and everyday experience but gaining traction as an alternative model in the space.
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In principle, Web3 social platforms will grant creators the liberal autonomy to own and govern their work like never before. Artists and even journalists will not be stringently tied to the platforms or publications they publish on but will have the opportunity to foster and sustain their own communities.
Integrating NFTs enables the creator to fully capitalize on the data metrics extracted from their profile, offering a more tailored, personable and unique experience to their audience, while retaining monetization rewards in instances of virality.
Beltramini concluded by stating that “Web3 social is going to accelerate different experiences because of the growth hacking, community building, and open-source nature.”
Aave Launches Social Media Project Lens Protocol With Over 50 Apps Built on Polygon
The blockchain firm Aave has launched the Lens Protocol, a social media project with applications built on the Polygon blockchain. Lens is similar to the social media platform Twitter but Lens profiles are linked to a non-fungible token (NFT) that can be ported into decentralized applications. Lens Protocol Is Live – Aave Founder Believes People […]