1000 Mayflowers

Ryan Kaneryan.fora

August 23, 2025

The mission of Fora is to build a crypto SocialFi app that makes launching a real special economic zone (SEZ) from a group chat as easy as pushing a button, ultimately blooming 1000 new 21st century city-states.

Before laying out the initial plan, it's important to understand the long-term trends I'm betting on playing out over the next 20 years. If you see these like I do, you'll get why this network could be worth 1T and why I'm stoked to pour the rest of my life into it.

Theses

First, financially embedded network effects crush those based solely on size, what I call the country club effect or rule of quality. This is contra Reid Hoffmans N^2 network effect thesis. Crypto is particularly great at this. Second, Virtual and Physical Balkanization: the multi-polarization of the world will not only be physical but also digital; the group-chatification of the internet has just begun and there is already massive demand for “Network States” to go IRL. Third, the Fat App Thesis: contra the Fat Protocol Thesis; the breakout consumer app will eat DeFi, DEX, and CEX value. Pump Fun's already doing it, ditching Raydium; a big breakout consumer app is coming. Last, crypto networks are AI tool moats and AI tools bootstrap crypto networks. When codegen's cheap and apps are a few vibe coded days away, user co-ownership builds real moats. The synergy is two-way, AI tools help bootstrap crypto networks by solving the cold start problem. There are even more underexplored synergies here you get for free: identity (World Coin); and IP (Story Protocol). SamA's building World Coin alongside OpenAI for a reason. Maybe you heard the rumors they're thinking about social networks too?

Strategy

Equip the emerging creator counter-elite with new tools for influence acceleration, capital formation, and ultimately sovereign territory.

Tactics

Phase I-A - Consumer Crypto App

We need users, revenue, eyeballs for the long-term viability of the project and to onboard into the network state scene. To solve the cold start problem, we're starting with aligned financial incentives, some fun speculation to bootstrap the network, and gamification to keep folks hooked and fund SEZs. The heart of it is a new SocialFi primitive: a Fora, named after the ancient town square where social life meets markets. It's a tokenized group chat on The Fora Curve, a fixed-price bonding curve that kills rug-pulls, market manipulation, and scams. One price, one button press—simple UX, better network effects. It drives up price, dilutes holders, caps upside, and blocks dramatic downsides. Each mint issues slightly less token, mimicking VC where founders and backers take dilution for more funding at a higher price.

Foras are tokenized group chats on the Fora Curve, proto-SEZs where users:

• Co-own the group by buying into the token.
• Build community in private E2E encrypted chats.
• Distribute tokenized content to connected social accounts across the internet.
• Generate fees from tokenized content.
• Convert to real SEZs once enough money's pooled.

We're also launching complimentary new primitives: Content and Profile Tokens on the Fora Curve and a Fora Name Service mapping to subdomains, achieving a full protocol for a viral SocialFi app MVP.

Phase I-B - Build Tools

The next step to attack the cold start problem is to build tools - come for the tools, stay for the network. Our first tool is content distribution tools are important to handle the objection of having not wanting to "start over", no need to start from scratch. And also introduce viral tentacles into where everyone already is back to Fora. Our second, admittedly less defined tool will be an AI creator tools. The focus on these tools likely will not end for the remaining duration of the project. Plus, it powers creators to spread more effective project propaganda across the web. This phase never really stops.

Phase II

Long-term, Fora's “The Colonization App” (yeah, it's a spicy subheading for virality). A fun, daily-use app to build new, real societies. We'll offer in-app services to turn capital into real SEZs. Sounds nuts? We've already done it.

Investment

The FORA token shares revenue from every network transaction, either using a fully on-chain mechanism or hybrid—details TBD. It's live now. We've got a Cayman Foundation and a US C-Corp to capture value beyond crypto, speeding up Fora's growth. The C-Corp opens doors for value capture beyone crypto rails, enabling Trad SocialFi features and other SAAS functions to capture value for the FORA token. Accredited investors, slide into my Fora DMs for token warrants.