How Lightning is Revolutionizing Crowdfunding – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion editorial by Kroum Kroumov, copywriter, editor and UX writer.
Crowdfunding has always been a great way to raise funds for your work and send your ambitions on the road. Most crowdfunding platforms on the internet have not kept up with changes in policy, technology and advances in online interaction, mainly the growth of online communities. Public censorship and overreaction have played a decisive role in arousing a need for innovation in crowdfunding.
Here we will explore how Lightning is redefining crowdfunding, what new features are becoming possible, and which crowdfunding platforms are taking the lead in innovation and lifting the bitcoin/Lightning ecosystem to new heights.
Traditional Crowdfunding platforms are outdated
Unfortunately, not everyone is keen on new technology, and many institutions and companies will fight to keep the status quo, as they benefit from it. Therefore, innovation often becomes a threat in their eyes. Governments, with their pressure to keep a fiat system going, are an example of this. Another example is the government’s attempt to digitize fiat currencies through CBDCs to keep their fiat system running.
Crowdfunding platforms have also been slow to adopt bitcoin. We can easily attribute the slow pace of bitcoin acceptance using crowdfunding platforms to the government’s rhetoric, which has sown the seeds of uncertainty. Regardless of their reasoning, platforms that do not adapt will become obsolete, because they will miss out on the opportunities that Lightning brings.
Public submission and censorship
Nothing has proven that we need funding for decentralization more than recent censorship incidents, such as the truck driver protest in Canada. A popular crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe, froze the donated assets of protesters, bowing to government pressure. This protest and the resulting government response, namely the censoring of donated funds, proved that governments will reach into people’s pockets to try to stop our right to dissent.
One bitcoin-only crowdfunding platform that stepped up to the plate during the protests was TallyCoin. TallyCoin enabled the protesters to receive funds in bitcoin. This showed the whole world the censorship-resistant properties that bitcoin carries with it. As long as the project remained open, the truckers could receive funds.
As unjustified as the government abuses were during the trucker protest, full decentralization of crowdfunding platforms is not something anyone wants to do. The funds are censorship-resistant, while the project is not. TallyCoin eventually shut down the project, but the truckers received their money and no one could take their money while the project was active on the site, since bitcoin transactions are peer-to-peer.
A crowdfunding platform cannot take responsibility for helping to fund illegal activity, in this case hosting projects they would consider criminal. Although we can decentralize money and make it censorship resistant thanks to bitcoin, decentralizing the content of the platform completely is a problem.
Lightning Enabled Crowdfunding
Bitcoin adds a layer of censorship resistance to crowdfunding. The crowdfunding platform hosts projects in the role of a third party, while bitcoin donations remain decentralized, as they are peer-to-peer. Therefore, the money a user receives is as censorship resistant as bitcoin itself.
The Lightning team is a game changer because it enables donations to come in through third-party websites and various social media platforms. For example, you can receive donations directly in your wallet by posting your static Lightning address or QR code on tweets and blog posts. This means that a user does not need to log into the crowdfunding platform to donate to your cause.
One platform pushing the agenda for Lightning integration is Geyser.fund. This platform is a good example of what the new generation of dynamic crowdfunding platforms looks like. It is a Lightning-native crowdfunding platform that takes advantage of innovation opportunities that Lightning offers, including:
- Lightning addresses: Every project on Geyser gets an integrated Lightning address that creators can take advantage of.
- Static QR codes. Creators receive money directly into their wallet from their social media accounts by posting the static QR code, eliminating the need to log into Geyser. This allows you to receive money from anyone, anytime and anywhere.
- WEBLN browser integration. If you don’t prefer QR codes, you can use WEBLN browser integrations like Alby to receive direct payments via your permanent Lightning address.
- Live fund updates. The project page will be updated as soon as the funds come in. This shows users how your project is taking off.
- Completely limitless crowdfunding. Thanks to Lightning, you can send and receive funds to your project wherever you’re based, and from anywhere users can scan your code to send you tips.
- Engagement with donors and the community. Project owners can write articles and post updates about their project page to keep the community updated and engaged. In this way, the project is in a recurring, living state.
- Interoperability with podcasting 2.0: Get tips for your crowdfunding campaign through the Fountain podcast app.
- Censorship-resistant funding. The funds go directly into your Lightning wallet without going through the third party, in this case Geyser. The platform only hosts the project, not the funds.
Dynamic Crowdfunding with Lightning
If you think about it, all traditional crowdfunding platforms look the same: they are static pages. There is no engagement between local communities and little or nothing happens live on screen.
On the other hand, Lightning-enabled crowdfunding sites are dynamic. Everything lives, engages, changes and interacts with users at both ends. Dynamic crowdfunding expands the project’s reach and brings in more funds through interaction and interoperability through social media platforms and browser integrations.
Conclusion
The traditional crowdfunding model has become obsolete due to the excessive reach of the government and the technological possibilities offered by the lightning layer of bitcoin. Now, bitcoin/Lightning native crowdfunding platforms such as Geyser.fund, TallyCoin, and OpenSats are leveraging the innovation opportunities that Lightning provides to revolutionize the field.
Through the Lightning layer, crowdfunding becomes decentralized, censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer and dynamic. We immediately reap the benefits of better marketing response through social media, diversification of ways to receive payments, interoperability and community engagement – all of which improve funding, viewership and accessibility.
So why not take advantage of it? If you want to help fund a cause, you can now do it from your favorite social media platform, and if you already have a project, share it on social media and get funding. It’s time for crowdfunding to evolve through Lightning interoperability and innovation.
This is a guest post by Kroum Kroumov. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
