Lens Mainnet is about to launch, new features are eye-catching.

In the on-chain social space of Ethereum, there are currently two projects dominating the market. One project sees a daily active wallet count that is about 4 times that of the other, with around 1 million IDs, while the latter has an account count of approximately 640,000.

It is worth noting that this data comes from the old system. Even in the transition phase, the project has facilitated quite a lot of activity. The new version of the protocol is set to launch later this year on a new dedicated chain, which is expected to bring a series of innovations and opportunities to the field.

Let's take a look at the latest developments, the Mainnet is coming soon.

New Version Features

In November 2024, a new version will be launched. This upgrade represents a significant leap compared to previous versions, supporting on-chain social interactions through a more flexible and modular infrastructure.

A part of the restructuring includes launching protocols on a new custom chain. This is a Layer 2 network based on ZKsync with Avail data availability, designed for low-cost social trading.

The new version also introduces social features, which serve as building blocks on the chain, allowing developers to mix and match. These features include:

• Account: An ID based on smart contracts, replacing tokenized personal profiles, providing greater user control and portability.
• Username: Fully transferable NFTs that allow users to maintain multiple identities across different applications.
• Chart: Redesigned attention system, developers can set custom rules.
• Information Stream: On-chain content center that defines the permissions for publishing, monetizing, or planning content.
• Group: A community based on membership, with governance tools for access, review, and exclusive content.

Pay Gas Fees with Stablecoins

In February 2025, the project announced that it would use a decentralized stablecoin as the native gas token for its dedicated chain. This innovation aims to bring more predictability and accessibility to transaction fees.

Most chains rely on volatile assets to pay gas fees. By using stablecoins, the new version aims to keep transaction costs stable and simple. Technically, the stablecoin will be integrated through ZKsync's shared bridge, which will make it the primary liquidity pool for users.

Data Migration Progress

In February 2025, the project will migrate its old data from the original chain to the smart contract on the new testnet, taking another significant step towards the Mainnet.

As part of the transition, more than 125GB of data has been successfully transferred, including existing profiles, 28 million follower connections, 16 million posts, and 360 applications.

Therefore, once the new chain Mainnet goes live, users do not need to take any manual steps to prepare - their social graphs will remain completely intact, and popular applications will be available from day one.

Meanwhile, the development team has started to phase out the old protocol and previous custom data solutions.

Proposal to Join the Interoperability Ecosystem

Finally, the development team has just submitted a proposal to the ZKsync community governance aimed at incorporating the new chain into the Elastic Network (ZKsync's L2 interoperation ecosystem).

The proposal has now entered the official on-chain voting stage. Generally, it can be initiated here without governance, but in this case, governance is needed because the new chain aims to migrate with its custom genesis state, which requires a special vote.

The voting period will end on March 10, 2025, and the results will be announced shortly. If approved, it will pave the way for the launch of the new version and open the next important chapter for the community.