The 'Community Architect': Designing Social Systems for...

Short version: Retention happens when your community primitives are engineered for trust, speed, and compounding value—at the protocol level. We design those primitives (AA wallets, ZK attestations, mini‑apps/open actions, token‑bound accounts) to drive measurable lift in WAU/MAU, K‑factor, and LTV:CAC—without brittle “growth hacks.”

Target audience: Heads of Product and Growth at consumer crypto apps shipping on Farcaster/Lens (Base, zkSync/Lens Chain, Polygon), plus Procurement leads who must justify spend via SLAs, security reviews, and ROI. Required lexicon you care about: WAU/MAU sticky ratio, Day‑1/7/30 retention curves, K‑factor, CPVU (cost per verified user), TTFT (time‑to‑first‑transaction), sponsored gas policy (paymaster), session keys, EntryPoint versioning, EAS schemas, token‑bound accounts, Mini Apps/Open Actions, DPA/SLAs.

—

Hook — The specific headache product teams are living with

Your Farcaster Frames spec changed three times while you were mid‑sprint; third‑party Frame Chain/APIs you used were sunset December 17, 2025, and you’re refactoring to Mini Apps while your launch clock keeps ticking. (frame.syndicate.io)
Lens moved from Polygon + Momoka to Lens Chain on mainnet (ZKsync stack + Avail DA, GHO for gas), bringing a 125GB migration and new infra choices that your team must internalize before you can forecast WAU/MAU properly. (theblock.co)
World ID “Sign in with World ID v1” deprecates on January 31, 2026; your anti‑Sybil gate and referral eligibility checks have a hard kill switch if you don’t migrate to IDKit. (docs.world.org)
AA wallets promised fewer drop‑offs, but EntryPoint versions differ across providers (v0.6 vs v0.7/0.8), and Shared Mempool behavior affects inclusion guarantees for your sponsored ops—your telemetry isn’t version‑aware. (alchemy.com)
Your Farcaster storage expires; pruning will silently nuke older follows and casts if units lapse—torpedoing cohort re‑engagement and long‑tail content. (caststorage.com)

Result: launches slip, CPVU spikes, CFOs ask where the retention is, and Procurement stalls SOWs over unclear security posture and ROI.

—

Agitate — The business risk if you “ship and pray”

Missed deadlines cascade: a Mini App refactor + auth migration + telemetry fixes easily eats 4–6 weeks. Meanwhile, Lens Chain and Farcaster audience are moving—DAUs don’t wait for your roadmap. (blockworks.co)
Bot‑driven incentive drains: If your “quest/referral” lacks attestations or PoP/PoH, paymaster spend and inventory bonuses will be farmed. EAS is at 8.7M+ attestations and is now table stakes for eligibility/merit badges—if you’re not there, your incentives leak. (attest.org)
Authentication friction kills growth: passkeys deliver ~93% sign‑in success vs ~63% for legacy auth and cut auth time materially; teams that don’t implement passkey‑first AA or OTP fallback see lower TTFT and higher abandonment. (expertinsights.com)
Security regressions from rushed AA: EIP‑7702 introduces new phishing vectors if you delegate execution without tight policy and UX guardrails—an incident erodes brand trust and retention for months. (arxiv.org)
Data integrity decay: Farcaster unit pricing and expiry are dynamic; if Procurement doesn’t contract auto‑top‑ups, Hubs prune data (~60 minutes post‑overage; ~30 days grace on expiry) and you permanently lose graph equity. (caststorage.com)

—

Solve — 7Block Labs’ Community Architecture for Retention (CAR) methodology

We don’t do “growth hacks.” We engineer retention primitives across identity, actions, incentives, and observability—mapped to your P&L.

Identity and access with measurable conversion

Passkey‑first smart accounts with OTP/TOTP fallback:
- Base Account/Smart Wallet supports email OTP + passkeys; we implement passkey‑first + fallback for desktop/mobile parity, and we track login success, TTFT, and A/B cohorts. (help.coinbase.com)
- Target uplift: adopt passkeys to approach 90%+ login success; FIDO’s 2025 index reports 93% passkey success and ~30% conversion lift vs passwords. We treat these as “north‑star” benchmarks, not promises. (expertinsights.com)
Account abstraction done right:
- EntryPoint version‑aware clients and alerts; ensure v0.7 compatibility and dual‑stack support where providers are deprecating v0.6 in 2026. (alchemy.com)
- Shared Mempool readiness—use bundlers with P2P propagation on Ethereum/Arbitrum/Optimism; monitor inclusion by “included_by_bundler” and re-broadcast logic. (etherspot.io)
Anti‑Sybil and private proofs without killing UX:
- World ID v1 sunset by Jan 31, 2026—migrate to IDKit or substitute with on‑chain attestations. (docs.world.org)
- EAS schemas for eligibility, reputation, and verified actions. We ship schema registries + explorer dashboards so marketing can iterate without dev bottlenecks. (attest.org)
- ZK Email for private domain‑based allowlists/referrals (DKIM‑verified email proofs in ZK circuits; audited 2024) to accept “alice@partner.com” without exposing the email. (docs.zk.email)

Social substrate and execution environments

Farcaster (Mini Apps + on‑chain registries):
- We integrate with Id/Storage/Key Registry contracts on OP Mainnet; implement storage auto‑top‑ups and unit monitoring to prevent pruning; pre‑flight Mini App transition. (docs.neynar.com)
- We now avoid deprecated third‑party Frame chains; use platform‑supported Mini App paths and first‑party validated actions. (frame.syndicate.io)
Lens (Open Actions, token‑bound accounts):
- Ship Open Actions directly from content, and model asset inventories via ERC‑6551 Token‑Bound Accounts—letting a profile own rewards, boosts, and cross‑app items that compound retention. (theblock.co)
- Lens Chain mainnet (April 4, 2025): zkSync stack, Avail DA, Aave GHO as gas token—optimize fee policies and content settlement to target sub‑second UX while keeping DA verifiability. (theblock.co)

Incentive design that resists farming and compounds value

Replace one‑off “quests” with attested journeys:
- Every milestone emits an EAS attestation under a versioned schema (e.g., “Completed Onboarding v2,” “Referred KYC‑verified user,” “7‑day active streak”). Marketing can roll these up to “status NFTs” inside a token‑bound account for a single, portable membership state. (attest.org)
Referrals with privacy and real accountability:
- Use ZK Email to verify partner‑domain referrals or IRL event codes without doxxing PII on‑chain; proofs verify DKIM and selected fields only. (docs.zk.email)
Sponsored gas policies with guardrails:
- Paymaster budgets bound to verified actions (attestations), session keys scoped by function selectors/time, and Shared Mempool inclusion metrics to prevent private‑relay capture. (docs.erc4337.io)

Observability—log what matters for retention

AA telemetry: userOp lifecycle, bundler origin, EntryPoint version, simulation outcomes, revert codes—mapped to funnels: “Auth → Mini App/Open Action → First On‑chain Act → Repeat Act.” (alchemy.com)
Social graph health: Farcaster storage unit utilization, prune risk SLA, DA verification status on Lens/Momoka historical content (if applicable), and Open Actions completion rates. (caststorage.com)
Growth accounting: CPVU, TTFT, paymaster $/activated user, K‑factor (viral coefficient), WAU/MAU, D7/D30 retention. Benchmarks for login success/time draw from the Passkey Index so Procurement can validate targets. (expertinsights.com)

Security hardening without velocity loss

EIP‑7702 guardrails: we add UX interlocks and policy checks to prevent “single‑tuple permanent delegation” phishing—e.g., explicit scope/time caps, post‑op monitors, and cross‑chain replay controls per the 2025 research. (arxiv.org)
Contract review for Open Actions, token‑bound accounts, and attestation handlers, including re‑entrancy around voucher redemption and external call trees.
Continuous secrets and key‑rotation posture for Mini Apps; documented incident runbooks for Procurement sign‑off.

—

Practical build patterns (you can ship this sprint)

One‑tap onboarding with passkeys + smart wallet

Flow: user lands in Farcaster Mini App → passkey signup (Base Account) → gas‑sponsored follow + first action.
Targets: >90% login success, <20s TTFT on first action, <10¢ sponsored TX budget per activated user (chain‑dependent). Benchmarks reference FIDO’s 93% success and substantially faster auth times. (expertinsights.com)
7Block Labs deliverables: auth widgets, AA glue (EntryPoint v0.7), paymaster policies, funnel dashboards.

Verified referral without PII

Flow: issuer emails invite; referee proves “email domain == partner.com” via ZK Email; smart contract mints EAS “Verified Referral” attestation; TBA of the profile receives tiered benefits.
Why it works: no emails on‑chain; fraud‑resistant via DKIM in‑circuit verification; auditors can replay proofs. (docs.zk.email)

Storage‑safe Farcaster retention

Flow: scheduler monitors each FID’s units and auto‑rents before expiry; we log prune risk to PagerDuty; cohort re‑engagement jobs avoid pruned followers.
Spec details: unit capacity changed July 16, 2025 (per‑unit quotas, 1‑year validity; ~$0.30; price set in USD via Chainlink and paid in ETH on OP). We align SLAs and budgets accordingly. (caststorage.com)

Lens content that converts

Flow: publish posts with Open Actions that execute an on‑chain join/purchase; token‑bound account accrues status and benefits; attested milestones unlock tiered perks.
Infra: Lens Chain L2 (zkSync stack), Avail DA, GHO gas—fee and DA choices reflected in your CAC math. (theblock.co)

—

Proof — What GTM metrics we put on the executive dashboard

We commit to instrumenting and reporting the metrics Procurement and Finance care about—mapped to SOW milestones.

Authentication performance
- Login success rate by method (passkey vs OTP fallback) and device; benchmark against FIDO’s 93% success rate. (expertinsights.com)
- Time‑to‑login and TTFT (time‑to‑first‑transaction).
Acquisition and conversion
- CPVU (cost per verified user) by channel; paymaster $/activated user; referral K‑factor (verified, not self‑reported).
- % of actions executed via Open Actions/Mini Apps vs link‑outs.
Cohort retention and compounding value
- D1/D7/D30 retention, WAU/MAU sticky ratio, repeat Open Actions, benefit redemption from token‑bound accounts.
Network reliability and inclusion
- Shared Mempool inclusion rate (% included by non‑origin bundlers), simulation → inclusion latency, version‑skew alerts. (docs.erc4337.io)
Data integrity
- Farcaster unit coverage and prune‑risk SLA breach count; Lens DA verification checks (for historical Momoka content). (caststorage.com)
Security posture
- EIP‑7702 delegation scope/time anomalies, session‑key abuses, attestation forgery attempts (EAS schema misuse). (arxiv.org)

—

Why this works now (and didn’t two years ago)

Account Abstraction is operationally real: shared mempools on major L2s and standardized EntryPoint addresses remove single‑RPC fragility; providers are converging on v0.7 with 2026 timelines for v0.6 deprecation. (etherspot.io)
Passkeys crossed mainstream thresholds—meaningful, quantifiable conversion and lower abandonment at the auth gate. (expertinsights.com)
Social stacks matured: Farcaster solidified on‑chain registries + Mini Apps; Lens Chain landed with zkSync + Avail DA and Open Actions that push transactions from content. (docs.neynar.com)

—

How we engage (Procurement‑friendly, ship‑ready)

Architecture + GTM design (2–3 weeks): stakeholder workshops, target metrics, infra choices (Base vs Lens Chain vs multi‑chain), fraud‑model, EAS schema plan, passkey+AA auth design.
Build sprints (4–8 weeks): Mini App/Open Actions, AA integration, ZK Email flows, token‑bound accounts, dashboards, auto‑top‑ups for Farcaster storage.
Security + data (parallel): targeted reviews for Open Actions/TBA/attestations; EIP‑7702 policy hardening; DPA/SLAs and runbooks.
Ongoing optimization: A/B on incentives, sponsored gas policy tuning, inclusion and prune‑risk ops.

—

Where to start with 7Block Labs

Need end‑to‑end implementation? See our custom blockchain development services and web3 development services.
Shipping Mini Apps/Open Actions with AA and passkeys? Our blockchain integration team handles auth, paymasters, and analytics.
Designing loyalty with attestations and TBAs? Explore smart contract development and asset tokenization.
Cross‑chain user journeys? Our cross‑chain solutions practice aligns UX with cost and inclusion guarantees.
Risk controls and audits? Use our security audit services.
Building a DeFi/community flywheel? See DeFi development services and dApp development.

—

Brief, in‑depth detail on key components

Farcaster on‑chain contracts you should know (OP Mainnet): Id Registry (FIDs), Storage Registry (USD‑priced, ETH‑paid units via Chainlink), Key Registry (EdDSA app keys). We integrate and monitor all three. (docs.neynar.com)
Farcaster storage economics: as of July 16, 2025, units last 1 year with reduced per‑unit capacities; current guidance shows ~$0.30/unit; Hubs prune on overage after ~60 minutes and post‑expiry after ~30 days. We automate top‑ups. (caststorage.com)
Lens Chain realities: April 4, 2025 mainnet with zkSync stack and Avail DA; Open Actions + ERC‑6551 let content drive transactions and let profiles own inventories of benefits—our preferred pattern for durable retention. (theblock.co)
Passkey‑first auth: treat FIDO’s Passkey Index as a planning baseline (93% success). Combine with smart account TTFT controls and UX fallbacks (OTP/TOTP) to reduce CPVU. (expertinsights.com)
EIP‑7702 risk management: phishing via persistent delegated code is real; we confine scopes/time, expose human‑readable policy prompts, and add monitors across 4337 pipelines. (arxiv.org)
ZK Email: DKIM‑anchored proofs let you validate sender domain and content patterns without revealing PII; multiple audits completed and active SDK/registry for pattern design. (docs.zk.email)

—

The bottom line

Retention is a systems problem. It’s about building identity, action, incentive, and observability layers that compound value and resist fraud—on day one.
With AA maturity (shared mempool, provider convergence), mainstream passkeys, Farcaster Mini Apps, and Lens Chain + Open Actions, the stack is finally ready—if you implement it intentionally. (etherspot.io)

—

Personalized CTA for you: If you’re the Director of Product at a consumer app targeting a Farcaster Mini App launch before March 31, 2026—and you haven’t yet (1) migrated off World ID v1, (2) implemented storage auto‑top‑ups, and (3) set passkey‑first AA with Shared Mempool metrics—book a 45‑minute working session. We’ll review your auth, incentive, and inclusion pipelines against the benchmarks above and deliver a concrete SOW within 72 hours.