It seems there is very little on-chain for Farcaster?

Farcaster intentionally minimizes the amount of data stored directly on-chain. This is a deliberate design choice aimed at balancing the core tenets of decentralization with the practical needs of a scalable & user-friendly social network.

While it's true that the vast majority of user activity—such as posts (casts), likes, and follows—happens off-chain on the network of Hubs, the on-chain components are absolutely critical to the entire system's security and function.

Here’s a breakdown of what is on-chain versus what is off-chain, & why this distinction is so important.

TL;DR: Farcaster uses the blockchain as a root of trust. The on-chain components guarantee that you own your identity and control who can post on your behalf. The off-chain Hubs then handle the high-volume, lower-stakes data of everyday social interactions, always verifying actions against the foundational rules established on-chain. 

Both credibly neutral & practically usable.

10X Chris

@10xchris