DeSo Foundation

What DeSo Foundation does

DeSo Foundation operates a layer-1 blockchain purpose-built to host storage-heavy applications, with decentralized social media as the anchor use case. Its distinguishing technical feature is an infinite-state architecture that stores and indexes the full social graph — profiles, posts, comments, threads, private messages, likes, follows, creator coin and NFT activity, and on-chain order-book exchange data — directly on-chain, addressing the cost limitations that make finite-state DeFi chains (Ethereum, Polygon, Solana) economically unviable for social workloads. Storing 200 characters on DeSo costs approximately $0.000017 versus $78.75 on Ethereum.

The product portfolio spans the blockchain itself plus a layered consumer and developer stack. End-user applications include Diamond (a decentralized Twitter-style social feed), Openfund (a Web3 fundraising platform for DAOs accepting ETH, SOL, BTC, DESO, and USDC), and Desofy (mobile app). Infrastructure modules include DeSo Identity (self-custodial wallet with MetaMask and Google login), the DeSo Wallet, DeSo Dollar (a stablecoin), MegaSwap (a 'Stripe for Crypto' fiat on-ramp), and an Exchange Listing API for tokenizing $DESO on third-party venues.

The business model is a not-for-profit foundation structure sustained by a $200M treasury raised in 2021 from Sequoia, Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, Pantera, Polychain, Winklevoss Capital, Social Capital, and others. Revenue is structurally limited to DESO token transaction fees and a minor layer of infrastructure services; no enterprise SaaS revenue, ARR, or transaction-fee revenue is disclosed. The go-to-market is product-led, targeting two primary segments — content creators seeking monetization and ownership of their social graph, and Web3 developers building social apps — through open-source SDKs (deso.js), documentation, Discord, GitHub, and distribution integrations including MetaMask. The company reports 85M+ on-chain transactions, 2M wallets, $2B cumulative transaction volume, and $30M in creator earnings, with operations headquartered in Los Altos, California, and headcount in the 11–50 range.

Name

DeSo Foundation

Legal name

DeSo Foundation

Website

https://deso.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DeSo Foundation builds and operates a layer-1 blockchain with an infinite-state architecture purpose-built for storage-heavy decentralized social applications, serving content creators, Web3 developers, and end users via on-chain social graphs and an app ecosystem including Diamond and Openfund.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Infrastructure

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Privacy-First & Decentralized Social Networks (BPAMABAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Smart Contract Wallets / Account Abstraction (MPC/AA, social recovery, paymasters) (FSAPACAB)

Keywords

• Layer-1 blockchain
• Decentralized social media
• Creator monetization platform
• Web3 social infrastructure
• Infinite-state blockchain

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Altos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. DESO Token Transaction Fees: Users pay transaction fees in DESO tokens for on-chain operations including posting, liking, following, NFT transactions, and other social interactions. The native token serves as the primary medium of exchange on the network.
2. Blockchain Infrastructure Services: Node operation and blockchain infrastructure services enabling decentralized network participation and data storage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

DeSo Foundation builds and operates the DeSo blockchain, the first layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for decentralized social media and storage-heavy applications. The platform offers on-chain storage of all social data (posts, profiles, messages, likes, follows, NFTs, creator coins), end-to-end encrypted messaging, developer SDKs/APIs, and a consumer ecosystem including Diamond (decentralized Twitter alternative), Openfund (DAO fundraising), and Desofy (mobile app).

Product overview

DeSo Foundation offers a unified platform architecture anchored by the DeSo blockchain, a layer-1 blockchain specifically designed for social media decentralization. The ecosystem comprises core applications including Diamond (decentralized Twitter alternative), Openfund (Web3 fundraising), and Desofy (mobile app). Supporting infrastructure includes DeSo Identity (self-custodial wallet), DeSo Dollar (stablecoin), MegaSwap (crypto on-ramp), Exchange Listing API, and the DeSo Wallet. All content, profiles, posts, and social graphs are stored directly on-chain with 100% open-source and permissionless data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DeSo Blockchain The first layer-1 blockchain built to decentralize social media and scale storage-heavy applications to billions of users, featuring an infinite-state architecture that stores all posts, profiles, social graphs, NFTs, and exchange data directly on-chain.
• Diamond Decentralized Twitter-style social app built on DeSo where creators and communities engage, post content, and earn through Web3 social primitives including creator coins and NFTs.
• Openfund Web3 social fundraising platform for DAOs and online communities, enabling fundraising with multiple cryptocurrencies including ETH, SOL, BTC, DESO, and USDC, with USD treasury support.
• Desofy Mobile application enabling users to experience decentralized social on DeSo from their mobile devices, including posting, profiles, and social graph interactions.
• Exchange Listing API API enabling cryptocurrency exchanges to list $DESO and associated trading assets on their platforms, with a dedicated listing information sheet for onboarding.

Quantifiable outcome

• Storing 200 characters costs $0.000017 on DeSo vs $78.75 on Ethereum (4.6M+ times cheaper)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Project Liberty / Frequency BlockchainminorOthers · 1 October 2025Project Liberty collaborated with Free Our Feeds campaign in October 2025 to advance decentralization of Bluesky's AT Protocol ecosystem through integration with the Frequency blockchain. Demonstrates competitive landscape developments in decentralized social media.
• Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (Truth Social)minorOthers · 1 August 2025In August 2025, Trump Media partnered with Foris DAX MT to integrate blockchain rewards and wallet infrastructure into Truth Social and Truth+ platforms. This is a market development showing blockchain-social integration trend relevant to DeSo's market.
• MetaMaskcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Integration launched enabling one-click signup to over 30 million Ethereum users. DeSo Identity supports MetaMask as a login option, providing frictionless onboarding for mainstream users into the DeSo ecosystem.
• OpenfundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023DeSo Foundation launched Openfund as a social-first web3 fundraising platform. Supports raising money by accepting ETH, SOL, BTC, DESO, USDC with USD treasury support. Enables DAOs and online communities to fundraise.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Farcaster: Decentralized social network protocol with Frames and Warpcast client, building a portable social graph. Directly competes with DeSo as a Web3-native social platform, though running as an Ethereum L2 rather than a dedicated L1.
• Lens Protocol: Decentralized social graph protocol built by Aave Labs on Polygon, offering portable profiles and follow NFTs. Comparable to DeSo in targeting Web3 creators and portable social identity, with a similar monetization toolkit.
• Bluesky: Decentralized social network built on the AT Protocol with portable identities. Direct competitor for censorship-resistant, portable social graph, though non-blockchain at the user-facing layer.
• CyberConnect: Web3 social graph infrastructure enabling portable profiles, content, and connections across apps. Comparable to DeSo Identity and DeSo's on-chain social graph approach.
• Mastodon: Federated, decentralized social network using ActivityPub. Comparable as a decentralized alternative to centralized social media, though non-blockchain and governance-based rather than token-incentivized.
• Steemit: Pioneer blockchain-based social platform with token rewards for content curation. Direct comparable as an early decentralized social network using on-chain rewards—DeSo positions itself as the next generation of this model.

Emerging players

• Friend.tech: Social-token-based platform enabling traders to buy shares of influencers. Comparable creator-economics angle to DeSo's creator coins and social tokens, but as an app rather than infrastructure.
• Mirror.xyz: Web3 publishing platform for writers using NFT-based posts and DAOs. Comparable as a decentralized content/social primitive, with overlap in long-form publishing on-chain.
• Audius: Decentralized music streaming platform with token-incentivized creator monetization. Comparable as a decentralized creator-economy platform using on-chain primitives for content distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Solana: High-throughput L1 blockchain that hosts many social and creator apps at lower cost than Ethereum. Comparable as the underlying L1 infrastructure competing for social-app developers, with significantly higher throughput but a general-purpose rather than social-specialized design.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/desoprotocol
• GitHubgithub.com/deso-protocol
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@desoblockchain

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors20 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DeSo Foundation