Web3 vs Fediverse: A comparative analysis of DeSo and Mastodon as decentralised social media ecosystems

Abstract

The rise of centralised social networks has consolidated power among a few major technology companies, raising critical concerns about privacy, censorship, and transparency. In response, decentralised alternatives, including Web3 platforms like Decentralised Social (DeSo) and Fediverse platforms such as Mastodon, have gained increasing attention. While prior research has explored individual aspects of decentralised networks, comparisons between Fediverse and Web3 platforms remain limited, and the unique dynamics of Web3 networks like DeSo are not well understood. This study provides the first in-depth study of DeSo, characterising user behaviour, discourse, and economic activities, and compares these with Mastodon and memo.cash. We collected over 3.1M posts from 13K users on DeSo and Mastodon, along with 11M DeSo on-chain transactions via public APIs. Our analysis reveals that while DeSo and Mastodon share similarities in passive content engagement, they differ in their use of URLs, hashtags, and community focus. DeSo is primarily oriented around Decentralised Finance (DeFi) topics, whereas Mastodon hosts diverse discussions with an emphasis on news and politics. Despite DeSo’s decentralised social graph, its transaction graph remains centralised, underscoring the need for further decentralisation in Web3 platforms. Additionally, while wealth inequality exists on DeSo, low transaction fees promote user participation irrespective of financial status. These findings provide new insights into the evolving landscape of decentralised social networks and highlight critical areas for future research and platform development.