As DAOs redefine crowdfunding, Kickstarter is shifting its platform to the blockchain
Kickstarter, the crowdfunding site that helped Oculus VR and Peloton get off the ground, is switching to a blockchain, coinciding with the rise of decentralised autonomous organisations, or DAOs, which have gathered funds to buy everything from the US constitution to an NBA team.
In a blog post published Wednesday, Kickstarter’s co-founder and CEO, Perry Chen and Aziz Hasan, said, “We are entering a major time for alternative governance models, and we believe there is an enormous potential to further these initiatives utilising the blockchain.” Bloomberg was the first to report on the move’s plans.
Kickstarter, which has received more than $6 billion in pledges for projects since 2009, will launch a new, unnamed firm to develop a crowdfunding system based on the Celo blockchain. Kickstarter’s website will switch to the new blockchain system once that is completed. “Collaborators, independent contributors, and even Kickstarter competitors” will be allowed to use open-source technologies, according to Chen and Hasan.
DAOs have been soliciting cash for specific projects in the $2.4 trillion cryptocurrency market recently. ConstitutionDAO, a collection of people who banded together to bid for one of the 13 remaining copies of the US Constitution put up for auction by Sotheby’s last month, is one high-profile example.Ali Yahya, a crypto general partner at a16z, recently told Insider that a DAO “enables online communities to form, pool resources, and cooperate towards common goals – all run trustlessly via code.” This programming, which is based on blockchain technology, enforces the group’s regulations. It’s also less expensive and quicker to set up than a company like an LLC, he said.
A white paper explaining the technology and intentions for the protocol will be released in the coming weeks, according to Kickstarter.Ken Griffin, the founder of Citadel Securities, was the winning bidder at the Sotheby’s auction.
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