Farcaster

Founders

There are 3 business models for apps.

1. Free with ads
2. Subscription
3. Transaction fee

The common thread for all three models is the user—a person, business or AI—has money to spend. 

That’s obvious for 2 and 3 since the model involves spending money directly with the app.

But for 1, if your user base doesn’t have money to spend, the ability to monetize via ads will be low.

By embedding rewarded interactions (like minting a frame or joining a cast-specific drop), users voluntarily engage with sponsored actions. This is the “free with ads” model, but crypto-native where ads are onchain actions, not banners. You can also tap into affiliate links for protocols, earning a cut when users bridge, swap, or mint via your frame. So even broke users can generate yield just by interacting.