In October 2023 the dormant domain Friendster.com resurfaced with ad pop‑ups. The author, founder of park.io, traced the WHOIS record to a buyer who had acquired the name for $7,456 through a gname.com auction. After a back‑and‑forth negotiation, the seller accepted a Bitcoin payment of $20k plus a domain generating roughly $9k a year in ad revenue, handing ownership of the historic social‑network address to the author as a strategic asset in the United States.

With the domain secured, the creator launched a minimalist social platform on Friendster.com and opened a waitlist, but early users showed little enthusiasm. A Hacker News thread sparked the idea of physical‑proximity friend verification, leading to an iOS app that requires two phones to tap together before a connection is confirmed, to prove the concept viable.

Apple initially rejected the app for violating minimum‑functionality guidelines, forcing a redesign that allowed open sign‑ups while preserving the tap‑to‑friend mechanic. After a month‑long review, the app entered the App Store, where the developer plans to experiment with features like friend‑of‑friend discovery and time‑based fading of connections, aiming to encourage real‑world meetups rather than endless scrolling and measure engagement metrics.