Sanctum's Bet on Personal LSTs: The Future of Solana's Social Layer?

Following the announcement of the $CLOUD token launch on July 18th, Sanctum, a Solana-based protocol, has shared a detailed roadmap outlining its post-TGE (Token Generation Event) plans. The roadmap encompasses three key initiatives: Sanctum Profiles V2, Sanctum Launchpad, and Sanctum Pay.

FP Lee, Sanctum's co-founder, tweeted his detailed vision of the roadmap on Monday morning.

Sanctum Profiles V2, a standout feature in the roadmap, introduces a novel concept in social media by allowing users to create personalized LSTs (Liquid Staking Tokens). This innovative approach aims to revolutionize content monetization and community engagement. Users will have the ability to offer exclusive access to content, such as private Discord or Telegram chats, to holders of their LSTs. Sanctum has hinted at taking advantage of Solana's recently launched Blinks feature, which removes friction between apps.

Sneak peek of LSTs gated content

Sanctum Profiles V2 enters a crowded landscape where numerous crypto social apps, like Friend.tech and Farcaster, have struggled to achieve lasting success.

Friend.tech activity shrinks to the lowest levels (Dune)

These platforms experienced initial surges of interest but ultimately failed to maintain momentum and user engagement. Sanctum's challenge lies in creating a social platform that not only attracts users but also fosters a thriving community that sustains long-term interest. The concept of LST-based exclusive content is intriguing, but its long-term viability and user adoption remain to be determined.

Sanctum Launchpad intends to leverage LSTs to support new projects and products within the Solana ecosystem. By utilizing LSTs as working capital, the platform aims to foster a circular economy where successful projects contribute to the growth of future endeavors. This initiative could potentially drive innovation and diversity within the ecosystem.

In collaboration with BasedApp, Sanctum is also developing the first LST-powered debit card. This concept proposes to enable users to spend directly from their staking yields, potentially streamlining the transition between crypto and fiat currencies.

While the roadmap paints an ambitious vision for the future of Sanctum, the practical implementation and adoption of these initiatives remain to be seen. The success of Sanctum Profiles V2 as a social platform, in particular, will depend on its ability to learn from the shortcomings of previous crypto social apps and deliver a compelling user experience that fosters lasting engagement.