BlockBeats news: On January 23, in response to recent market rumors, Farcaster founder Dan Romero posted a clarification stating that Farcaster is not shutting down, the protocol is currently operating normally, and it will continue to operate in the future. Data shows that Farcaster had approximately 250,000 monthly active users (MAU) in December 2025, with over 100,000 funded wallet addresses recorded on-chain.
Romero said that Neynar, the acquirer of Farcaster, is a venture capital-backed startup, and its future plans are to move Farcaster toward a more developer-oriented direction rather than shutting down the project.
In addition, Romero also mentioned another project, Merkle, stating that the team has decided to return the full $180 million in funding to investors. He noted that over the past five years, the team has consistently strived to be responsible stewards of investors' capital.
Romero also clarified that the funds used to purchase the property came from the proceeds of the Coinbase IPO, in response to speculation.