SocialFi platforms, once heralded as the future of social media, have dramatically collapsed by early 2026, with creator coins losing between 90% and 99% of their value. Platforms such as Friend.tech, RLY, CYBER, DESO, and DEGEN are struggling or have disappeared entirely. The downfall is attributed to speculative capital, bot farming, and short-term trading dominating these communities, leading to a rapid decline in user engagement once financial incentives waned. The initial promise of SocialFi was to merge Web2 frustrations with crypto's ownership ethos, allowing creators to earn directly and users to control value. However, the monetization of social interactions distorted culture and community dynamics, as warned by Vitalik Buterin. The focus on trading and reputation pumping overshadowed genuine content sharing and relationship building. Additionally, complex onboarding processes involving wallets and gas fees deterred everyday users accustomed to simpler Web2 applications. Despite the collapse of SocialFi apps, decentralized infrastructure like wallets and identity layers continues to survive. Future iterations are expected to separate financial elements from social interactions, prioritizing community development over monetization. This shift aims to enable natural social connections without treating them as financial assets.