Crowdfunding veterans Kickstarter announced a move into the blockchain space with a decentralised crowdfunding site to be built.
Kickstarter announced it is moving on-chain
Pretty much everyone and their mother is moving to the blockchain now, so one shouldn’t be surprised by a crowdfunding site also joining the blockchain revolution. After all, raising money from lots of different investors is inherently a pretty decentralised undertaking, so what could go wrong?
Nothing, if you ask Kickstarter, the much often-used crowdfunding website. In its blog post titled “The Future of Crowdfunding Creative Projects,” it said that it wanted to move to a “more open, collaborative, and decentralised future.”
Kickstarter announced that it would bring all its learnings and lessons from the crowdfunding space since 2009 to inform the development of its decentralised protocol. A whitepaper was to follow in the upcoming weeks. Also, an independent organisation would be tasked with the protocol’s development, with the goal of the user experience staying the same but the end-user getting all the benefits from Kickstarter being on-chain.
The Kickstarter blockchain experience would kick off on Celo, “an open-source and carbon-negative blockchain platform.” The company also compared blockchain technology to the internet and stressed the benefits of Celo having a minimal environmental impact.
Users say “no thanks”
However, users are not quite as enthusiastic about blockchain technology as management is. The indie games niche where Kickstarter has a strong following reacted with scorn, with Reddit’s r/boardgames community slamming Kickstarter for not having a proper rationale for its blockchain move beyond raising investor money.
Others voiced equally harsh criticism, calling Kickstarter’s announcement “rather terrible” and compelled by the lure of money. Already having lost some of its popularity due to anti-union efforts a few years ago, critics aren’t in the mood to hold back, even more so after Kickstarter doubled down on its initial announcement.
Kickstarter doubling down
In a tweet, Kickstarter reacted to the community’s criticism but remained firm about its decision to move operations to the blockchain. It affirmed that “it will benefit creators, and exponentially expand […] the ability to help bring creative projects to life.”
That, however, provoked even more ire from the community, as it was seen as a condescending way of treating legitimate questions over the feasibility and applicability of blockchain technology to Kickstarter’s business.
Blockchain technology facing backlash
Although crypto companies have skyrocketed in popularity and funding for them is booming, not everyone is impressed by the new tech. More often than not, enthusiasm for crypto is not shared by non-tech people as much as by industry veterans and tech enthusiasts, with the reasons for that being manifold.
Companies like Kickstarter and Ubisoft, another one that has faced backlash over implementing blockchain technology, will have to ask themselves whether they really need blockchains or simply want them. The answer to that should dictate their actions, as their communities may not always agree about the necessity of blockchains for legacy companies.