Mask Network takes over Lens Protocol, aiming to create a "truly user-driven product"

BlockBeats News, January 21 — The future of Lens Protocol will no longer be led by its original team. The SocialFi project announced on Tuesday that Mask Network will “host and lead” the next phase of Lens’s development.

Lens Protocol was launched in early 2022 by Aave founder Stani Kulechov, initially positioned as “Twitter built on Ethereum.” On Tuesday, Kulechov posted on X stating, “We built Lens Protocol and its underlying on-chain infrastructure, including a smart contract-governed decentralized content data storage. Our goal is to create a neutral social infrastructure for developers to build consumer applications that reach mainstream users.”

About a year after launching on Polygon, the official disclosed that Lens has supported over 110,000 social accounts and spawned hundreds of applications. On the same day, Mask Network also outlined its plans for Lens’s future on X, saying, “The next phase is not more protocols, but creating truly usable products, as well as the culture we shape together and a truly thriving community.”

Mask Network is also known for supporting the decentralized social ecosystem Mastodon. As early as 2022, Mask Network acquired the second-largest Mastodon server as part of its strategy to expand the SocialFi ecosystem.