Niche

What Niche does

Niche Protocol, Inc. is a blockchain-based social networking platform founded in 2022 and headquartered in Los Angeles, with the legal entity incorporated in Delaware. The platform enables users to create and join exclusive social communities called Clubs, which are deployed as self-executing smart contracts on the NEAR blockchain. Users access these communities by minting Membership Card NFTs into a proprietary Niche Wallet; the cards are explicitly non-transferable and non-sellable, and members exit a Club by burning their card. The platform targets consumers seeking interest-based, ad-free social communities, with stated differentiators including no advertising, no third-party data selling, and no use of cookies, beacons, pixels, or fingerprinting.

The product surface comprises the iOS Niche mobile app, the Clubs (smart-contract-based communities with preset membership caps), Membership Card NFTs, and the Niche Wallet. Club Creators deploy smart contracts defining membership limits and governance, while designated Administrators can kick members or initiate votes. Clubs may offer extrinsic benefits such as early access to creator content, merchandise discounts, and gated access to physical or virtual events. Content policy prohibits investment clubs, gambling, mature content, MLMs, and hateful or illegal activity.

The company is pre-revenue and in a public Beta test phase. The stated forward revenue model allows Club Creators to charge one-time or recurring fees for minting and holding Membership Cards, but this feature is not yet active and pricing has not been publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is community-led with organic presence on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, supplemented by newsletter-based outreach. Cumulative disclosed funding is approximately $5 million across a 2022 seed round led by MetaWeb Ventures and a 2023 SEC Form D exempt offering (with Basecamp Fund participation), plus a 2025 Keiretsu Forum Spain investment.

Name

Niche

Legal name

Niche Protocol, Inc

Website

https://niche.club

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Niche Protocol operates a pre-revenue, blockchain-based social networking platform built on NEAR where consumers create and join exclusive interest-based communities called Clubs by minting non-transferable Membership Card NFTs, with no advertising or data selling.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Networking Platform

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Metaverse Virtual World Platforms (social worlds, land, UGC) (FSAPAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Consortium Networks & Governance (network setup, onboarding, rules, node operations) (FSAPAIAB)

Keywords

• Social community platform
• NFT membership tokens
• Blockchain social network
• Member-owned clubs
• Exclusive online communities

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Club Creator Fees: Club Creators will be entitled to set one-time or recurring fees in connection with minting and holding a Membership Card NFT. This feature is not yet available during the Beta test phase. Additional terms will apply to monetized Club Creators in the future.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Niche Protocol operates a social networking platform built on the NEAR blockchain where users create and join exclusive communities called Clubs. Access to each Club is gated by minting a Membership Card NFT deployed through self-executing smart contracts on the NEAR blockchain. The platform distributes through an iOS mobile application and web presence.

Product overview

Niche is a social networking platform built on the NEAR blockchain that enables users to create and join exclusive communities called Clubs. The platform operates through a mobile app where users mint Membership Card NFTs to gain access to Clubs. Club Creators deploy smart contracts to the NEAR blockchain that define Club parameters including membership limits. The ecosystem includes the Niche App (iOS mobile application), Clubs (the core community product), Membership Card NFTs (blockchain-based access tokens), and the Niche Wallet (for NFT management). The platform does not currently support selling or transferring Membership Cards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Niche App A mobile application for iOS that enables users to discover and join exclusive social communities called Clubs, mint Membership Card NFTs, and access Club forums and content.
• Clubs Exclusive social communities deployed as smart contracts on the NEAR blockchain that allow members to share content, connect with people sharing interests, and support creators. Each Club has a pre-set number of Membership Card NFTs that grant access.
• Membership Card NFTs NFT-based membership tokens deployed on the NEAR blockchain that grant holders access to Club forums, content, and other member benefits. Cards must be burned to leave a Club.
• Niche Wallet A digital wallet integrated within the Niche app for storing and managing Membership Card NFTs, used to mint new memberships and access Club features.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Farcaster: Decentralized social protocol that uses on-chain identity (NFT-based profiles/hubs) to enable user-owned social graphs and interest-based communities. Direct competitor in the Web3 social networking category with similar target users (creators and community builders).
• Lens Protocol: Open-source Web3 social graph built on NFT-based profiles and follows, enabling portable social identities and community building. Directly comparable to Niche's NFT-membership, on-chain social model and creator/community target audience.
• Phaver: Web3 social application that uses tokenized profiles and communities to enable content sharing and monetization. Comparable as a mobile-first, blockchain-based social platform targeting Web3-native creators and users.
• Mirror: Web3 publishing and social platform built on on-chain primitives with tokenized membership and creator monetization. Comparable business model around NFT-gated content and community access, targeting similar creator-driven audience.
• DeSo (Decentralized Social): Decentralized social blockchain purpose-built for social applications with tokenized profiles and creator coins. Direct competitor as a Web3-native social infrastructure layer with comparable NFT-based identity and content distribution.
• CyberConnect: Web3 social graph protocol enabling portable NFT-based identities, content, and connections. Direct peer in the on-chain social networking category with similar architecture and creator/community target market.
• Geneva: Group-based community platform offering interest-driven spaces with member management. Comparable in offering exclusive, group-centric social experiences for niche communities, though without Web3/NFT architecture.

Broad incumbents

• Discord: Largest community-centric social platform with servers/channels organized around shared interests. Comparable use case (interest-based communities) but a much broader incumbent with server-based (non-Web3) architecture and ad/community monetization.
• Reddit: Interest-based community platform with subreddit structure and creator monetization via awards/coins. Comparable at the user-experience layer (community membership around interests) but a broad incumbent without blockchain or NFT-based membership.

Emerging players

• Bluesky: Decentralized social network built on the AT Protocol with portable user identities and community feeds. Comparable as an emerging decentralized social platform targeting users seeking alternatives to ad-driven incumbents, though not NFT-based.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nicheprotocol
• Instagraminstagram.com/nicheclubs
• TikToktiktok.com/@nicheclubs
• Xx.com/nicheprotocol

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors6 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Niche