Kickstarter, the public funding solution that was founded in 2009, is known for bringing ideas and projects to life. Recently, it announced that it is going to slow its planned shift to the blockchain. It will also form a user advisory board. Kickstarter’s leadership expressed a commitment to the blockchain, but the board also admitted that there are a lot of concerns regarding the pivot.
The transition to blockchain comes after Kickstarter received criticism about the move and how it will affect users of the service. Users took issue after the details of the plan were made public. In a blog post this month, Kickstarter accepted user arguments that the scams, environmental problems, and other issues over the move would have a negative impact on the site’s functionality. The blog post also detailed Kickstarter’s next steps in moving forward.
Kickstarter explained that it will not move to a new protocol on blockchain unless it has thoroughly tested the platform. It does not want to force a move onto creators or users who do not want or trust it. The company’s blog post went on to say that it will make sure there is a proof of concept. The leadership will also integrate pieces that deliver value to the community as a whole in the future. It will not make any changes without collecting user input.
The leadership at Kickstarter also committed to the establishment of an advisory committee that would consist of regular users of the site. The Kickstarter board said that it would work with the committee to prioritize features that users have been requesting for a long time. It will also turn to the committee for input on developing new solutions to existing problems.
Kickstarter stated that the blockchain part of its future plans would run as a separate entity. This would be called a Public Benefit Corporation under Kickstarter. It first unveiled the plan to shift its service to blockchain in December 2021. The board selected Celo as its service provider. Celo claims that it offers a carbon-negative blockchain service. When it made the announcement, Kickstarter said that the shift to blockchain would not cause a functional change in the site. It also argued that all users would benefit from the improvements that blockchain has to offer.
As of the start of the fiscal year in 2021, Kickstarter collected more than $6 billion in pledges from the public. It operates as an art patronage foundation. Many of the people who make a contribution to a project get some kind of a tangible reward from the project’s developer. For example, card game developers often send their patrons an early print of the game in exchange for a minimum pledge.
Kickstarter has not been without controversy. Over the past 10 years, it has had to pull some projects after policy violations and public outcry. One, a film, was partially removed because the creator offered an option that was essentially an investment. Investments are banned from the platform. Another project, which was a film about a controversial medical procedure, was pulled and moved to a rival site for funding purposes.
