Kickstarter Will Build A Blockchain-Based Version Of The Platform

Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter will build a blockchain version of the platform to get closer to DAOs and Web3 protocols. In our latest blockchain news, we are taking a closer look at their idea.

The crowdfunding platform Kickstarter will build a blockchain-based version of its platform and the new organization should start developing the platform earlier next year. Kickstarter plans to swtich over to a new platform when the protocol is ready and it is aiming for 2022 according to reports from Bloomberg. Founder Perry Chen and CEO Aziz Hasan wrote:

“We think bringing all that we’ve learned about crowdfunding since 2009 to inform the development of a decentralized protocol will open up exciting new opportunities for creative projects to come to life. In the coming weeks, a white paper will be released outlining the technology and plans for the protocol.”

There's still so much more we can do together to make new creative ideas become reality. https://t.co/dw2BkYdhyf

— Kickstarter (@Kickstarter) December 9, 2021

Kickstarter was one of the original web-based fundraising platforms and works quite simply. For example, someone has an idea but needs more money to make it a reality. Rather than lose equity to a venture capital firm or get a loan from the bank, they use Kickstarter to pitch their idea to the people. If the people like the idea and want it to become reality, they will invest some money in it, in exchange for an eventual version of the product and some other goodies as well. Pelton as a now publicly-traded company produced its first bike using Kickstarter as the Oculus virtual reality headset that is owned by Facebook parent company Meta which started off on the platform as well.

Decentralized autonomous organizations could be getting into the Web2 platforms’ market share fast and just like crowdfunding platforms, DAOs can be used as mechanisms for pooling money together to purchase something like. DAOs raise millions by selling their own digital tokens via the Ethereum blockchain which represents voting shares and the more tokens you have, the more sway over the decision in DAO you will have. DAOs have a potential advantage over legacy platforms. The fees for example on Kickstarted are 5% of the funds raised and that’s after getting 3-5% in payment processing fees per pledge. Blockchain tech has the potential to cut down on these numbers by making the payments more efficient and faster.

DAO members have to cover the on-chain transaction fees and the Ethereum rates over the past year make Kickstarter’s take look quite small. Kickstarter won’t be using Ethereum as it chose Celo because of its carbon-negative blockchain platform. The company intends to establish a governance lab that is run separately from the current as well as the new platform.