Molly WhiteMar 11, 2024

Kickstarter's bizarre blockchain announcement in December 2021 makes so much more sense now that we know Andreessen Horowitz secretly promised them $100 million to pivot to a blockchain-based product built on the also-a16z-backed Celo blockchain.

At the time, I wondered why COO Sean Leow was so insistent on the move despite being apparently very confused about the whole concept.

https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/03/11/kickstarter-blockchain-a16z-crypto-secret-investment-chris-dixon/
(archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20240311124253/https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/03/11/kickstarter-blockchain-a16z-crypto-secret-investment-chris-dixon/)

#AndreessenHorowitz #crypto #blockchain #kickstarter

The untold story of Kickstarter’s crypto Hail Mary—and the secret $100 million a16z-led investment to save its fading brand

Inside the once-hot startup’s struggle to regain relevance despite a massive check from the crypto arm of venture giant Andreessen Horowitz.

Fortune
Show threadDoctor M. Popular

@molly0xfff so many frustrating parts of this article. The constant framing of Kickstarter as some sort of dying business, when it made $814 million in 2021 is wild. The idea that the business isn't succeeding if it doesn't double it's business YoY is such an ignorant take.

Kickstarter had built a sustainable business that was trending towards $1 billion a year. They destroyed it all with a pivot to crypto, yet the author at Fortune says "The pivot didn’t hurt Kickstarter". What?! WHAT?!!

Mar 11, 2024 at 11:26pmWeb
Show threadDoctor M. PopularMar 11, 2024

@molly0xfff and after covering the rampant fraud in the crypto-space and how much Kickstarter's users hate web3, the authors try to make the case that blockchain "could still present a solution to Kickstarter’s nagging issues. The immutable ledger of the blockchain, with its traceable addresses and transaction history, could help solve the platform’s difficulties with fraud and trust".

These folks are hopelessly crypto-pilled.

Show threadJeff CraigMar 12, 2024

@docpop
They hardly "destroyed it all." There is still a ton of money raised on Kickstarter, though there is more diversity of platforms today (with Backerkit and others getting into direct funding). It was a colossally stupid move, and there are absolutely people who won't fundraise there anymore, but their rate of growth wasn't really impacted by it.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/310218/total-kickstarter-funding/

@molly0xfff

Kickstarter: total amount of dollars pledged 2024 | Statista

Between July 2012 and January 2024, the cumulative amount of dollars pledged to project funding on Kickstarter worldwide grew steadily.

Statista