Highlights:

  • Mask Network bought Pawoo.net, a server on the decentralized social media platform Mastodon.
  • Pawoo, administered from Japan, is the second-largest Mastodon instance, with over 800,000 users, in the aftermath of concerns surrounding billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition of social media company Twitter Inc.

Mask Network bought Pawoo.net, a server on the decentralized social media platform Mastodon. Mask Network is a privacy-based protocol that enables users to transfer encrypted messages and cryptocurrencies across social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

As a social media network, Mastodon functions as a decentralized platform where servers grant access to its network as peers and users can decide where to enter. It maintains a microblogging network comparable to Twitter, and individual server instances can choose their own policies while still having access to the entire network.

Pawoo, administered from Japan, is the second-largest Mastodon instance, with over 800,000 users, in the aftermath of concerns surrounding billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition of social media company Twitter Inc. This has resulted in a significant transfer of users from the social networking platform to Mastodon, causing its monthly active user count to increase from 300,000 to 2.5 million between October and November.

The maintenance and operations of the server will be taken over by The Social Coop Limited, a business linked with Mask Network, with no effect on current users. According to the firm, this acquisition is part of its efforts to create a decentralized social network and a free, open internet. The parties did not reveal the acquisition’s particulars, including its cost.

Mask Network was developed in 2017 by a group of developers to connect traditional web applications to decentralized Web3 applications. The firm produces a browser plugin that offers users encrypted chat, decentralized social networking, payment networks, file storage, and file sharing through popular social media networks. According to Crunchbase, the firm has garnered about USD 50 million in investment since its inception.

According to the firm, Pawoo was chosen since it is a large Mastodon instance with ample room for expansion inside the network. Consequently, it is essential to develop advanced decentralized infrastructure and applications of Mask Network’s own tools for its clients, who will enjoy safe encrypted communications and payments over a new and quickly expanding social network.