Wunder began not with a business plan, but with a simple act of kindness.

During the pandemic, Jay Boisvert found himself helping vulnerable people who couldn't access basic necessities.

Wunder, a new decentralized social platform aiming to disrupt the Web3 social landscape, has emerged from stealth mode with a focus on user experience, ownership, and a unique take on the blockchain social media concept.

The platform, still in public presale ahead of a May launch, is offering a glimpse into its vision for a more equitable digital future, combining the familiarity of Web2 with the control offered by Web3.

The journey began during the pandemic when Jay Boisvert, now CEO of Wunder and previously a partner at Together Ventures, found himself helping vulnerable people who couldn't access basic necessities.

Seeing the disconnect between the digital world and real human needs, he started to imagine a new kind of social media, one rooted in authenticity, ownership, and community.

"I had a vision for a platform where people could come together, express themselves freely, and truly own their own destiny online," Boisvert said.

From that vision, Wunder was born.

To realize his technical vision, Boisvert approached Kayne Brennan, now CTO of the platform. The two shared a frustration with current platforms that they feel extract value from users without offering anything meaningful in return.

"Existing social platforms are failing users in several ways," said Brennan. "They prioritize ad revenue over user experience, leading to algorithms that manipulate and atomize people.

"There is no transparency in how data is used or how decisions are made. Ultimately, these platforms don't respect or empower users; they exploit them."

Wunder is their answer to that imbalance: a decentralized social platform that blends Web2 usability with Web3 principles to create a more engaging and equitable online experience.

"Wunder is what social media should have been from the beginning—real people, real content, and real ownership," said Brennan.

The platform has been in development for several years with a small team that is taking a measured approach, focusing not just on building software but on understanding user sentiment and the deeper issues within current digital ecosystems.

"We're not trying to be fast; we're trying to be good," said Brennan.

"We're thinking critically about the problems we're setting out to solve and making sure we're building something that people will love and want to use."

Bridging the Gap Between Web2 and Web3

Wunder aims to bridge the gap between the familiarity of Web2 and the control offered by Web3. It allows users to own their identity, control their data, and participate in a real token economy.

Unlike many blockchain-based social media projects that aim to replicate existing platforms on-chain, Wunder rethinks the user-platform relationship entirely.

The platform's architecture supports a self-custodial identity system. Each user has a unique, verifiable ID, stored as a nontransferrable token in their wallet, which grants them access to content, enables them to mint creations and participate in governance and monetization, all while maintaining privacy.

Content can be tokenized, licensed, and protected using smart contracts, giving creators complete control over how their work is used and how they choose to monetize it.

"We wanted to give people the power to manage their own identity and content, including the ability to monetize their creations, license them to others, and prevent any unauthorized use," said Brennan.

Recognizing that most people are not yet familiar with blockchain technology, the team has partnered with Dynamic to streamline the onboarding process and designed features like one-click logins and embedded wallets to minimize technical friction.

"Most people don't care about blockchain jargon; they care about great experiences, and we're focused on delivering that. Web3 should just work in the background, providing value to users at every touchpoint."

This philosophy underlies what the team describes as a "Web2.5" model: combining the usability of traditional apps with the ownership and transparency of decentralized systems.

At launch, users will be able to reserve user names, complete the onboarding process with minimal friction and immediately start earning tokens for participation.

"We're not launching a token and hoping people will trade it. We're launching a product that people will love and use, and the token is an integral part of that product experience."

Battling Bots, Toxicity and Algorithmic Bias

The platform is designed to combat many of the problems associated with today's social platforms, such as bot-driven engagement, an abundance of toxic content and algorithmic manipulation.

It leverages AI to help users curate their own feeds, highlight interesting content and identify any instances of harmful material that needs to be filtered out.

Because the platform is not reliant on ad revenue, its algorithm is designed to serve users by highlighting content that aligns with their interests and preferences.

"We're not focused on maximizing attention or building engagement traps. We're focused on creating a network that supports meaningful human interactions and a positive online community."

A Central Token for Diverse Use Cases

At the heart of the