Peepeth
Share what matters.
The decentralized social network on Ethereum 2018-2025
50,000+users β’ 420,000+peeps β’ 2,331mosquito nets funded
β¨ See your Peeps & Stats β¨
Enter a Peepeth username (like `vbuterin`) or Ethereum address to view their stats and peeps.
Shutting Peepeth Down
April, 2025
After an incredible adventure building the first usable blockchain-based social network, I made the difficult decision to shut down Peepeth.
Peepeth was a community that valued meaningful content over endless scrolling, privacy over surveillance, and user control over corporate interests. We argued about the name, debated features, and tried to figure out what "microblogging" even meant. Vitalik was peeping, and we were even discussed on Joe Rogan.
Thank you to every user, supporter, and ally who joined us, and to the haters and challengers who made it a rich story. Technical and usability advancements aside, it was a lot of fun to connect with people all over the world.
Making this "memorial site" was a bit sad, remembering the whole process and missing the community that once was. But also a reminder that those connections were real for everyone who experienced them. I hope it had a positive impact.
Testing Peepeth (https://t.co/w5Pe4xGg9X) for the first time! Lots of things I'm impressed by!
β vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin)July 21, 2018
* Good UI
* "Opinionated features"
* Charity stickers, going to the Against Malaria Foundationhttps://t.co/3T5LfixW45
* Ability to peep and tweet at the same time
Badge Sponsors
The Sponsors Who Kept Peepeth Alive
Peepeth was kept alive longer thanks to these generous accounts who purchased badges. Their support helped me pay off my Peepeth-related credit card debt and made it possible to continue building and improving the platform longer than would have otherwise been possible.
Mosquito Warriors
A Roll Call of Effective Altruists
One of Peepeth's proudest experiments was the Mosquito Badge initiative. By donating to the Against Malaria Foundation, users earned a badge and helped fund life-saving mosquito nets.
Together, this amazing group funded 2,331 nets, protecting thousands of people. A huge thank you to:
How Mosquito Badges Worked
The Against Malaria Foundation has been consistently ranked as one of the most effective charities worldwide. Statistically, AMF can save one life for around $3,500.
Benefits of the Mosquito Badge:
- Prevent illness and death and spread awareness of effective altruism
- Elevated visibility in follower suggestions
- Special features like bookmarks and enhanced formatting
- Longer character limits for peeps
How badges were earned:
- Donate to the Against Malaria Foundation
- Include your Peepeth username or address in the donation message
- Get your badge on-chain through the Peepeth Badge smart contract
Mosquito Badges were one of the first examples of "proof of good" - using a blockchain product to acknowledge real-world positive impact.
How It Worked (Briefly)
A Peek Under the Hood
Peepeth wasn't just another social site; it was an experiment in decentralized tech, constantly evolving. Data lived on IPFS, linked and timestamped via Ethereum smart contracts.
Initially, every action (peeping, following) required an on-chain Ethereum transaction. Freedom wasn't free! This ensured decentralization but wasn't exactly user-friendly (or cheap).
I quickly iterated, introducing a "free peeping" model. Users could simply sign actions with their Ethereum key, and the Peepeth server would batch these signatures and submit them to the blockchain periodically. This made usage practically free and much faster.
The final evolution involved client-side batch signing. You could queue up multiple actions (peeps, follows, likes) and sign them all at once in your wallet, saving the whole batch to IPFS and linking it via a single, efficient blockchain transaction. Smooth! It was a journey of optimizing user experience while staying true to decentralized principles β a constant balancing act for me as a solo developer!
Opinionated by Design
The Quirks That Made Peepeth, Peepeth
Peepeth wasn't just about decentralization; it was an experiment in fostering mindful engagement. I tried some... unusual things:
- The Daily EnsΕ: Forget infinite likes. You got *one* EnsΕ (εηΈ) per day to bestow. Its rarity encouraged appreciating truly timeless content. And no take-backs!
- The #politics Hashtag: Used this tag? Your peep was hidden behind a click-to-reveal interstitial, gently suggesting that maybe, just maybe, 280 characters wasn't the best place for nuanced political debate.
- Charity Badges: Buying a Mosquito Badge (funding nets via AMF) wasn't just charity; it boosted your profile in follow suggestions and unlocked features. Doing good had perks!
- Pin Others, Not Yourself: You could pin a peep to your profile, but only someone else's. The goal? Less self-promotion, more honoring others' contributions.
- "Are You Sure?": Peeps were forever. Gentle, periodic reminders encouraged reviewing your words before committing them to the immutable ledger.
- No Ads, Ever: Accountable to users, not advertisers. Period.
- Right Speech TOS: My short Terms of Service was adapted from Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings on mindful communication.
These features aimed to cultivate responsibility, respect, and a less reactive online environment. Some worked better than others, but they all contributed to Peepeth's unique character.
Why Did the Peeping Stop?
The Reality of Web3 Social
Building and growing a decentralized social network presented unique challenges. Peepeth launched during that interesting phase when the initial "crypto will change EVERYTHING" euphoria was starting to meet reality. I genuinely thought dapps were the next big thing (sound familiar, AI friends?). While we achieved a lot, several factors contributed to my decision to wind down Peepeth.
- Sustainable Growth: Achieving mainstream adoption for a web3 social platform, especially one with early friction like gas fees (even when minimized), proved difficult.
- Resource Constraints: As a largely solo-bootstrapped project, keeping up with infrastructure costs, development demands, and the evolving web3 landscape became increasingly demanding for me.
- Shifting Focus: My personal interests and the market opportunity shifted towards new challenges in the AI space, leading to the creation of Strawberry. (Yes, I jumped from one hype train to another!)
Closing Peepeth was tough for me, but it paved the way for new innovations. The lessons I learned continue to inform my work.
#buidlbali
Building community, code, and connections in paradise
In the fall of 2018, a group of Peepeth's most active contributors and community members gathered in Bali, Indonesia for a unique retreat. The #buidlbali hackathon and community event brought together developers, designers, and blockchain enthusiasts from around the world.
Highlights included:
- Collaborative coding sessions improving Peepeth's infrastructure
- Workshops on sustainable blockchain development
- Beach sessions brainstorming the future of decentralized social
- Cultural excursions around the beautiful island of Bali
- Deep conversations about how to build technology with purpose
The energy and ideas generated during #buidlbali helped shape Peepeth's development and cemented the strong bonds in our community. Many friendships and professional collaborations that started there continue to this day in other web3 projects.
But the story continues...
From web3 social to AI video assistance
I'm thrilled to announce my newest project: strawberry.tube
Strawberry is a revolutionary Chrome extension that transforms how you experience YouTube videos. In a world fighting for your attention, Strawberry helps you reclaim your time and focus on what truly matters.
β¨ Watch Less, Become More β¨
- 1 Get instant summaries by hovering over any YouTube thumbnail
- 2 Detailed video summaries with interactive timestamps
- 3 Chat with videos to extract exactly what you need
- 4 Privacy-first, with no tracking of your YouTube activity
With π from Bevan
All good things evolve. Join me on the next adventure.
Peepeth Archives | 2018 - 2025
We were discussed on Joe Rogan for five minutes.