Share this article
Lens, Aave's Decentralized Social Media Platform, Launches Major Upgrade on Polygon
The open source protocol spearheaded by DeFi giant Stani Kulechov has released a bevy of new monetization features.
Nov 13, 2023, 10:20 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Lens Protocol, a decentralized social media platform a sister project to the lending protocol Aave, has released its "V2" upgrade on Polygon's main network – introducing a range of new features including multisig-managed profiles and tipping on "smart posts."
Lens is among a handful of blockchain-oriented startups aiming to capitalize on what experts have characterized as drawbacks of so-called "Web2" social-media platforms managed by big centralized companies such as Facebook and Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter). "Web3" is the catch-all term for decentralizing these projects with blockchain technology.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
“The goal of V1 was to bootstrap early Web3 social networks, resulting in creativity, experimentation and new discovery tools that benefited the Lens ecosystem," Aave founder Stani Kulechov, who also serves as CEO of Lens Protocol, said in a press release.
Lens V2, he said, moves "progressively towards a more modular" design, giving users "greater autonomy and flexibility" in their social media experiences. This could eventually include things like being able to move around your "social graph" (a term of art for your following and followers) between interactive platforms.
Unveiled in February 2022, the Lens project raised $15 million from investors including IDEO CoLab Ventures, General Catalyst, Blockchain Capital and Palm Tree as well as individual contributions from Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams, OpenSea co-founder Alex Atallah, entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.
According to the press release, the Lens upgrade introduces new features including Profile Manager, which "allows Profiles to be managed by one or more persons, multisigs and DAOs," along with Handles, which creates another identity layer that distinguishes “profiles” from “handles” on the platform.”
Another feature is "Pay to read the rest" where developers can post previews of posts and then set payment options to read the entire piece, which seems to draw influence from the paid “subscriber” feature on X/Twitter. Lens "smart posts," another way to monetize content using the protocol, supports tipping, voting, subscribing and donating.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Ethereum Foundation makes post quantum security a top priority as new team forms
EF researcher Justin Drake says a new post-quantum team will drive wallet safety upgrades, research prizes and test networks as quantum timelines shorten.
What to know:
- The Ethereum Foundation has elevated post-quantum security to a top strategic priority, forming a dedicated Post Quantum team led by Thomas Coratger with support from leanVM cryptographer Emile.
- Researcher Justin Drake said Ethereum is shifting from background research to active engineering, including biweekly developer sessions on post-quantum transactions and multi-client post-quantum consensus test networks.
- The foundation is backing new cryptography with funding and outreach, launching two $1 million prizes, planning post-quantum community events and education, and stressing that blockchains must prepare early for quantum threats despite their long-term nature.
Top Stories
