Key Takeaways
Towns is a decentralized messaging protocol built on blockchain technology, designed to enable secure, private, and programmable group communication.
It operates on an Ethereum Layer 2 (Base) and utilizes a decentralized network of Stream Nodes to manage encrypted messages.
Towns features ownable, programmable communication Spaces with on-chain memberships, flexible pricing modules, and an extendable reputation system.
The Towns DAO governs the protocol through community-driven decisions, using the TOWNS token for staking, delegation, and governance.
Introduction
Towns (TOWNS) is a messaging platform built on blockchain technology. Built on a Layer 2 network (Base), Towns offers a secure, scalable, and permissionless messaging framework. It empowers users to create programmable and private group chats (called “Spaces”), with fully customizable membership and governance structures backed by smart contracts.
What Is Towns Protocol?
Towns Protocol is an open-source infrastructure designed for building decentralized real-time messaging applications. At its core, it connects an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain (Base) with decentralized off-chain Stream Nodes and smart contracts to enable encrypted, private group communication.
Towns allows anyone to create Spaces, which are programmable communication groups with on-chain membership gating, reputation scoring, and end-to-end encrypted messaging. Each Space is an on-chain asset owned by its creator, who can control governance, subscription pricing, and access permissions.
Key Features of Towns
1. Customized spaces
Every Space in Towns is a unique on-chain asset represented by an ERC-721 token owned by its creator. Owners have full control over their Spaces, from setting membership rules to managing who can join and what roles members play. This means Spaces can be transferred or even managed by groups like DAOs, providing flexibility and digital property rights. Spaces can also be integrated with other decentralized applications (DApps).
2. On-chain memberships
Joining a Space requires holding a membership token, which serves as a digital subscription. These memberships often have expiration dates (typically one year), but members have the option to renew them before expiring.
This system prevents long-term members from being priced out as demand increases. Space owners can control how many membership tokens they issue, adjust prices using custom smart contracts, and even gate access based on ownership of other blockchain assets.
3. Encrypted messaging
All messages sent within Spaces are encrypted end-to-end to ensure that only the sender and authorized members can read them. Even the nodes that route and store these messages are unable to decrypt the content.
4. Scalable Layer 2 architecture
Towns runs on Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 chain built with OP-Stack technology. This allows the protocol to leverage Ethereum’s security while improving transaction speed and reducing gas fees. The distributed network of Stream Nodes manages message delivery, validation, and storage without the need for centralized control.
5. Decentralized Governance with Towns DAO
The Towns protocol is governed by the Towns DAO (Towns Lodge), a decentralized autonomous organization where community stakeholders (including Space owners, Node Operators, and token holders) vote on proposals. Governance uses the TOWNS ERC-20 token, which enables staking, delegation, fee distribution, and voting rights.
Pricing and Permissions
Towns Spaces use Pricing Modules to set membership costs. These can be dynamic (e.g., increasing logarithmically with membership growth) or fixed flat fees. Typically, memberships are paid in ETH, and fees are distributed to Space Owners, the Towns DAO, and referrers.
User permissions within Spaces are governed by a system of Roles and Entitlements, defining capabilities such as reading, writing, creating channels, and minting memberships. Entitlement Modules allow flexible eligibility logic based on token holdings, addresses, or custom on-chain criteria.
Towns Token (TOWNS)
The TOWNS token serves multiple roles in the Towns ecosystem:
Staking and delegation: Token holders can delegate TOWNS to Node Operators or Spaces to support the network.
Governance: Token holders can vote on protocol upgrades, inflation adjustments, and other major decisions.
Economics: TOWNS features an inflationary supply model starting at 8% annually, tapering over 20 years to a 2% inflation rate, controlled by DAO governance.
Reward distribution: Inflation rewards are allocated biweekly to Node Operators and their delegators, incentivizing network participation.
TOWNS tokens are issued as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and bridged to Base for protocol interaction.
Towns on Binance HODLer Airdrops
On August 4, 2025, Binance announced TOWNS as the 30th project on the Binance HODLer Airdrops. Users who subscribed their BNB to Simple Earn and/or On-Chain Yields products from July 14 to 17 were eligible to receive TOWNS airdrops. A total of 305,848,461 TOWNS tokens were allocated to the program, accounting for 3.02% of the total token supply.
TOWNS was listed with the Seed Tag applied, allowing for trading against the USDT, USDC, BNB, FDUSD, and TRY pairs.
Closing Thoughts
Towns (TOWNS) offers a new way to chat privately and securely using blockchain technology. It gives users true ownership of their chat groups with flexible rules and strong encryption. The decentralized design and community governance make it different from traditional messaging apps.
With its scalable Layer 2 blockchain and decentralized nodes, Towns aims to offer fast, private, and user-controlled communication for communities around the world.
Further Reading
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