Decentralised finance protocols are stepping away from public Discord servers, citing persistent phishing and scam activity that targets users seeking support.
The shift gained attention after DeFi lending protocol Morpho moved its public Discord to read-only mode and redirected users to alternative help channels.
Builders say Discord has increasingly become a liability rather than a community hub due to its difficulty to secure against impersonation and direct-message scams.
Morpho co-founder Merlin Egalite said the decision was difficult but necessary as users continued to be targeted despite heavy moderation efforts.
Morpho has been testing structured tools such as ticketed help desks and AI-assisted support to improve user protection and response efficiency.
DefiLlama founder 0xngmi said the platform has reduced its reliance on Discord in favour of live chat and email tickets to better safeguard users.
“Even if you ban scammers instantly, they still DM users directly to scam them,”
Oxngmi said.
Industry figures argue that always-on chat rooms prioritise engagement over safety and offer little value compared with clear documentation and structured support.
Dragonfly talent partner Richard Rodairos described public Discord servers as “one of the lowest signal surfaces in the space,” and urged projects to rethink their use.
Aavechan Initiative founder Marc Zeller said Discord is “full of scammers,” calling Morpho’s move positive and encouraging other protocols to follow.
Nifty Gateway co-founder Duncan Cock Foster said moderating Discord was mentally draining and praised Morpho’s decision as sensible.
Some community members warned that abandoning Discord could weaken DeFi’s open and collaborative culture.
X user Llamaonthebrink said easy access to project Discords remains central to sharing feedback and following development progress.
Others argued that the issue lies in poor execution, with X users nft_dreww and Walter_Su11ivan saying well-run Discord servers can still be safe and effective.