a16z-backed onchain messaging platform Towns officially launches

As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience observing the digital landscape, I must admit that Towns’ launch has piqued my interest. With its impressive backing from Andreessen Horowitz and the pedigree of its founder, Ben Rubin – who has already made waves in the social networking sphere with Houseparty and Meerkat – this new blockchain-enabled communication platform seems poised to challenge the status quo.


In light of increasing concerns about privacy and content management within the social media sector, a new blockchain-based option called Towns is being introduced today as an alternative.

Following the successful completion of a Series A funding round worth $25.5 million in February 2023, spearheaded by Andreessen Horowitz (A16z), Towns formally unveiled its debut on October 15th.

Established by Ben Rubin, who is known for his roles in creating the social networking platform Houseparty and the live video streaming app Meerkat, Town aims to establish a fresh benchmark in digital interaction, incorporating blockchain technology.

Towns is running on the messaging protocol River

The recently developed messaging platform operates using the River messaging standard, a system that includes a blockchain layer compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), decentralized nodes, and smart contracts running on the underlying Base protocol.

The very team responsible for developing Towns has also introduced the River Protocol, debuted in May 2023. The River Protocol offers a platform for developers to emphasize end-to-end encryption (E2EE) as a means to boost privacy and security within communications.

Towns resembles platforms such as Discord or Slack in its user interface, but unlike them, it empowers users with “complete autonomy and management over their data”. This empowerment is facilitated by River Smart Contracts on the platform, ensuring transparency throughout.

a16z-backed onchain messaging platform Towns officially launches

In towns, individuals retain complete control over their data, as stated by a representative from this platform to CryptoMoon. Moreover, they emphasized that blockchain technology plays a vital role in communication due to its properties of transparency, security, and decentralization. This allows for trustless interactions between parties without the need for intermediaries.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Read More

2024-10-15 16:12