Building a Token‑Driven Social Network

CHALLENGE

Scaling a Web3 community

Web3 communities are changing how online value is created and distributed. Instead of platforms monetizing user activity, decentralized ecosystems aim to reward creators and contributors directly.

DEGEN emerged from this shift as a grassroots token experiment within the Farcaster ecosystem. Initially designed to reward valuable community contributions, its popularity accelerated rapidly – transforming the initiative from a lightweight token into a fast‑growing Web3 community with ambitions beyond its original scope.

As adoption increased, so did complexity. DEGEN faced the challenge of evolving from an experimental, community‑driven project into a scalable product platform. This required:

a production‑ready backend capable of supporting rapid user growth

token‑based reward mechanisms tightly integrated with social engagement

stable deployments despite constant experimentation and fast iteration

senior engineering capacity able to deliver independently while shaping long‑term architecture

To meet these demands, DEGEN needed experienced specialists who could move at startup speed – without sacrificing engineering quality.

SOLUTION

Senior specialists embedded

7N supported DEGEN by embedding a team of senior specialists who became a natural extension of the client’s core product team.

Three 7N consultants joined the initiative – a Senior Node.js Developer, a React Native Developer, and a Senior UX Designer – working in a hybrid setup across Poland. Together with the client’s engineers, they built a mobile application from the ground up: a decentralized social client running on Farcaster and extended with Web3 logic.

Operating in a true greenfield environment, the team was responsible for shaping the platform’s technical foundation, including:

A distributed Node.js backend architecture

Scalable AWS infrastructure with ECS, Lambda, EC2, and CloudFront

PostgreSQL and DynamoDB for data storage

A React Native mobile client designed entirely in Figma

CI/CD pipelines optimized for rapid iteration and stability

Beyond delivery, 7N’s role was to contribute senior‑level judgment. Consultants helped design scalable infrastructure, improve deployment workflows, and implement the foundational elements required for token‑driven engagement mechanics – enabling DEGEN to experiment while remaining production‑ready.

DEGEN summarizes:

“7N brought strong value by helping us identify and onboard highly qualified engineers who matched our specific needs. As a web3 startup, accessing that level of specialized talent is challenging, but their network and process made it efficient. This allowed us to accelerate product development and begin shipping new initiatives much faster than we otherwise could have. In a fast-moving environment where speed and quality are both critical, 7N consistently delivered on both”.

IMPACT

Built to scale

With a strengthened engineering backbone and senior specialists embedded directly in the product team, DEGEN was able to move confidently from experimentation to execution.

The collaboration resulted in:

Faster feature delivery across the DEGEN ecosystem

Improved system reliability and deployment stability

A scalable foundation supporting expanding Web3 use cases

Clear progress toward a full‑featured social platform centered on creator rewards

Dark background with golden sculpture in the front in the Copenhagen office in Denmark.

What began as a small community token has evolved into one of the most recognizable Web3 communities, powered by technology enabling genuine, creator‑driven engagement.

For 7N’s consultants, the impact was equally tangible. Working on a fully greenfield Web3 platform provided deep ownership and accelerated growth:

“We aren’t just implementing templates – we invent new features and shape the direction of the product. It’s rare to have a project built 100% from the ground up, and it significantly accelerates both technical and soft‑skill growth,” one 7N consultant on the project states.

“Working with Web3 and designing the entire infrastructure from scratch was a completely new challenge. This project gives me real influence over the product and exposes me to architecture, design, and smart‑contract‑driven innovation,” the consultant elaborates.

By supplying experienced specialists capable of thriving in an evolving Web3 environment, 7N helped DEGEN transform a fast‑growing community experiment into a scalable, long‑term platform.