Mask Network takes over from Lens in a new chapter: decentralized social networking moves from infrastructure to large-scale user practice.

For years, decentralized social networks have promised a future where users control their own identities, creators capture more value, and platforms break free from single-corporation dominance. Yet, few projects have delivered this vision at scale—Lens has.

Launched as a bold experiment, Lens has accomplished what many in Web3 once thought impossible: it has proven that a user-owned, decentralized social network can be built on open, composable, permissionless infrastructure—and it works in practice.

With its core mission fulfilled, Lens is entering a new chapter, and Mask Network will take the baton. Mask, a team renowned for turning decentralized ideals into consumer-grade products, is the perfect successor.

Mask’s Long-Term Commitment to Decentralized Social

Founded by Suji Yan in 2017, Mask set out to build an accessible bridge from Web2 to the decentralized Web3 era. As early as late 2019, the Mask browser extension allowed users to securely access decentralized social messaging, payment networks, and file storage directly on mainstream social media platforms.

Mask has been deeply rooted in the decentralized social ecosystem since its inception. The team has long supported Mastodon, a leading decentralized social network with around 1.9 million monthly active users. Mask operates Mastodon’s two most active instances—mstdn.jp and mastodon.cloud—and in 2022, acquired Pawoo.net, one of Mastodon’s largest servers.

Mask’s expansion has been swift. Its ecosystem now spans shared infrastructure and consumer-grade applications. In 2022, Mask launched its venture fund, Bonfire Union, managing two funds totaling $100 million and investing in over 120 projects across decentralized social networks, core infrastructure, and the creator economy.

Mask positions itself as “the Tencent of Web3”—not a single platform, but a network of interoperable social products governed by MaskDAO.

Mask founder Suji Yan said, “Mask is dedicated to making decentralized social more accessible, intuitive, and suitable for everyday users—perfectly aligned with Lens’s next chapter.”

From Infrastructure to Mass Adoption: Partnering with Lens and Orb

Lens founder Stani Kulechov noted that Lens has laid the foundation for a new generation of SocialFi applications, spanning protocol, ecosystem, and its dedicated blockchain.

Lens began as a community experiment and evolved into open social infrastructure. After several protocol iterations, it transitioned from early developer adoption to production-ready social rails, ultimately becoming a permissionless, high-performance network supporting consumer-grade applications. In doing so, Lens proved its core thesis: user-owned decentralized social can operate at real-world scale while delivering the expected experience.

The next challenge is moving from infrastructure to mass adoption, from protocol to product.

Mask Network is the ideal successor for Lens’s next phase. This transition is exemplified by Mask’s acquisition of Orb, a Web3-native social app built on Lens.

By early 2025, Orb’s monthly active users exceeded 50,000. Leveraging viral mechanisms like sticker packs, collectibles, and competitions, Orb pioneered an immersive (“you had to be there”) experience focused on creator-first monetization. Now part of MaskDAO, Orb joins a growing suite of decentralized social products including Web3.bio and Firefly.social. Firefly.social has partnered with leading ecosystem projects such as Fileverse, Snapshot, Polymarket, Mirror, Paragraph, and eth.limo, earning public praise from Vitalik Buterin for its outstanding user experience.

Mask Network founder Suji Yan said, “Lens proved the viability of the infrastructure. Orb demonstrated what’s possible atop it. MaskDAO exists to bring decentralized social out of the lab and into daily life, building products that can scale to millions while preserving user ownership.”

Orb founder Kimmo Sirén said, “Lens Chain lets us rethink the shape of social. Through MaskDAO, we’re truly bringing culture and ownership onchain.”

Why Mask Is Lens’s Best Successor

Lens has fulfilled its original mission: proving that decentralized, user-owned social networks can be built and scaled. The infrastructure is now open, high-performance, and ready for use.

What the ecosystem needs next is not more protocols, but outstanding consumer-grade products.

Mask, like Lens, is deeply committed to user-owned social and brings years of experience operating large-scale consumer platforms. From Mastodon to Firefly to Orb, the Mask team has consistently shown its ability to turn open infrastructure into polished, mainstream applications.

Lens Chain and Avara founder Stani Kulechov said, “Lens was built to give people ownership of their digital lives, and we’ve proven this model works at scale. The infrastructure is now open, resilient, and ready to support real consumer-grade products. The next step is mainstream adoption, and Mask’s product leadership is essential for bringing decentralized social into everyday use.”

Going forward, Stani and Avara will continue to advise Suji Yan and the Mask team. Both believe that in the coming years, social and DeFi will increasingly merge into the internet’s economic layer.

Lens laid the foundation. Mask is building the community, bringing decentralized social from the lab to daily life.

About Mask

Mask Network is a leader in the decentralized social ecosystem, connecting Web2 and Web3 by enabling users to directly access decentralized applications, messaging, and payment tools on mainstream social platforms. Governed by MaskDAO, its ecosystem includes decentralized social apps like Web3.bio, Firefly.social, and Orb.club. Through its venture arm Bonfire Union, Mask strategically invests in decentralized social networks, infrastructure, and creative content, aiming to make Web3 more accessible for everyone. Learn more at mask.io. Contact us.

About Lens

Lens is a Layer 2 blockchain optimized for SocialFi, delivering scalability and cost efficiency for decentralized SocialFi apps. With modular social protocols, onchain content storage, and stable gas fees via GHO, Lens is driving Web3 adoption. https://x.com/LC

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