Kickstarter’s Community Advisory Council helped steer it away from blockchain tech

polygon.com:

In December 2021 Kickstarter stunned customers when it unilaterally announced that it would transition its platform to blockchain technology. What followed was sharp and swift outcry from its community, a small but significant exodus of high-profile creators to competing platforms, and a $33 million (12.4%) decline in revenue from tabletop projects — a category that historically accounts for roughly a third of the crowdfunding giant’s income from backers. The company has since softened its stance, confirming for Polygon in an email on Thursday that it is “not committed to moving Kickstarter to the blockchain.”

“As we’ve shared with our community in previous blog posts,we’re exploring the opportunities that are in blockchain to alleviate some of the challenges that we face as a centralized crowdfunding company,” said a Kickstarter spokeswoman in a written statement to Polygon. “However, we’re not committed to moving Kickstarter to the blockchain or doing anything specific there. We are open to exploration and experimentation but want to do it in a way that feels tested, collaborative with our community and considerate of the experience they want from Kickstarter.”

Thursday’s statement follows a news post on June 22 that brought to a close Kickstarter’s inaugural Community Advisory Council. The council was announced in March 2022, just days before to the company’s previous CEO Aziz Hasan announced he would step down. In the news post, Kickstarter thanked the council members, who were selected from among its community of creators to serve a one-year term. It also said that because of their feedback the company has shifted its focus from blockchain tech to “the core business and needs of our creative community.”

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