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Farcaster

Decentralized social protocolUSA
New to Unitard
πŸ’€ Dead / Bankrupt
PeakΒ $1 BillionToday
~-100%
from peak
  1. πŸ¦„
    Became a unicorn
    May 2024
  2. πŸ“ˆ
    Peak valuation
    $1 Billion ’24
  3. πŸ’”
    Became a Unitard
    Jan 2026
  4. πŸ’Έ
    Last valuation
    Wiped out
Capital raised
$180M
Total raised
$88.9K/day
Raised per day

Total raised averaged per day over approximately 5.5 years from founding to bankruptcy or shutdown. This is not measured cash burn. Methodology

Funding: Paradigm / a16z (~$180M: $150M Series A + $30M)
Current status
Merkle Manufactory wound down and returned its ~$180M to investors (Jan 2026); protocol handed to Neynar, which sought a new operator (Aug 2026)

The rise & fall

6 moments Β· 2020–2026

The key moments.

2020
Merkle Manufactory founded
Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan start Merkle to build the open Farcaster social protocol.
TechCrunch
May 2024
$150M Series A at a reported ~$1B$1B
A Paradigm-led round values Farcaster around $1B amid the early-2024 Frames boom.
Bloomberg
2025
Usage and fees fade
The Frames-driven surge cools and protocol activity contracts through 2025.
The Defiant
Jan 21 ’26
Wound down; capital returned
Merkle hands the protocol to Neynar, winds down, and returns its ~$180M to investors; the protocol lives on.
Cointelegraph
$1Bof peak value erased Β· 6 years

How it happened

Farcaster was a decentralized social protocol built by Merkle Manufactory, the company Coinbase alumni Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan founded in 2020. A $150M Series A led by Paradigm in May 2024 reportedly valued it around $1B. Its early-2024 surge, driven by in-feed 'Frames,' faded, and usage and fees fell through 2025.

In January 2026 Merkle handed the protocol, code and app to the developer platform Neynar, wound down its own operations, and returned its roughly $180M of venture funding to investors; Neynar said in August 2026 that it too was seeking a new operator. The protocol lives on under new stewards, but Merkle, the venture-backed unicorn, is gone β€” a rare solvent wind-down rather than a wipeout.

Source: Cointelegraph / Bloomberg Law (Mar 30, 2024): $150M Series A led by Paradigm at a reported ~$1B valuation (co-founder Dan Romero declined to confirm the figure); lifetime funding ~$180M including a $30M a16z round in 2022. Cointelegraph / Decrypt / The Block (Jan 21, 2026): Merkle Manufactory transferred the Farcaster protocol, code and app to Neynar, wound down its operations and returned the ~$180M to its investors; the protocol continues. The Defiant (Aug 17, 2026): Neynar said it was seeking a new operator. Founded 2020 by Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan.

Where they went

  • Dan Romero
    co-founder & CEO, Merkle Manufactory
    GTM at Tempo
    LinkedIn β†—
  • Varun Srinivasan
    co-founder & CTO
    Engineering at Tempo
    LinkedIn β†—

Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-10-13. See our methodology.

Disclosed investors (16)

Historical funding participation; lists may be incomplete and do not establish current ownership or investor losses.

* Lead in a funding round Β· Crunchbase β†— Β· 2026-10-13 Β· Methodology Β· Leaderboard

πŸ¦„