DeSoc: Vitalik Buterin Buys ANON, Privacy Token Jumps 600%

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's $250 investment on Wednesday sent privacy token Super Anon (ANON) soaring. Blockchain data shows Buterin acquired 30,303 ANON tokens (0.082 ETH), shortly followed by Base creator Jesse Pollak, who purchased 31,529 tokens (0.333 ETH, $993).

According to DEXScreener data, trading volume surged from 105,000 to 5.6 million within an hour of Buterin's purchase, boosting ANON prices by around 600%. The token's market capitalization rose to over $36 million, though the price has since stabilized at around $0.031, maintaining a significant increase from pre-announcement levels.

ANON powers Anoncast, an application on the Farcaster decentralized social network (DeSoc) that enables anonymous posting through zero-knowledge proofs. Buterin has been a fervent user of Farcaster since last year and has repeatedly endorsed the platform.

Anoncast, developed by former OpenSea Head of Protocol Kartik Patel, originated from an artificial intelligence prompt on Farcaster suggesting an anonymous, autonomous self-sovereign token on Base. It has since expanded to include AnonColors, which allows users to mint with Base Colors, an NFT color palette collection, and its signature zero-knowledge proof posting system.

Users need 15,000 ANON tokens to post anonymously, down from the previous 30,000 requirement. Promoting posts to Farcaster and Twitter and deleting posts require 1 million tokens.

The investment marks Buterin's first known purchase of a token on Base, the Layer 2 network incubated by Coinbase. This attention from Ethereum's co-founder represents a significant milestone for Base's growing ecosystem.

This surge comes amid challenges for Farcaster. The DeSoc platform, which achieved a peak monthly revenue of $415,900 in February, has struggled to maintain its growth trajectory. New protocol developments have stalled, and daily active user numbers have dropped alongside the 96% revenue decrease to $15,825 in October, according to Dune analytics data.

Despite its $150 million Series A funding secured at a $1 billion valuation in May, Farcaster has yet to successfully expand beyond its initial crypto-focused user base. The platform's revenue model, built around blockchain-powered rewards and engagement systems, hasn't translated into sustainable growth, even with innovations like Warpcast and its tipping system.

The emergence of ANON and its rapid adoption, however, shows there is still potential for more projects within the Farcaster ecosystem, particularly those focused on privacy features.