Geyser, a crowdfunding platform that uses Bitcoin’s Lightning Network for donations, launched in 2022 and, in only two years, has amassed over 50,000 contributors, 1,000 projects, and facilitated 30 BTC (~$2,125,000) worth of donations, most of which happened in the last year alone.
Traditional Crowdfunding and Its Shortcomings
During crises and novel projects, backers often lack clear channels to ensure their funds reach their intended beneficiaries, and this is where crowdfunding comes into the picture.
However, leading crowdfunding platforms still exclude over 80% of the world due to upholding US sanctions lists, stringent KYC/AML practices, high fees, and clunky payment channels. Ultimately, this limits those who can participate globally to North America and most of Europe.
Further, censorship plagues existing crowdfunding platforms, not just in terms of the kind of projects they allow. More importantly, the nature of traditional financial rails excludes large swaths of creators from around the world from participating in or receiving funding.
These are all standard problems acknowledged but seldom addressed robustly due to the financial component; such a solution will need a more democratized and open monetary channel, which we now have in the form of Bitcoin.
Geyser, Its Culture, And Unique Approach
Geyser began with this idea—using Bitcoin over the Lightning Network to ensure a smooth user experience and adopting a more modular and open approach to crowdfunding. As co-founder Mick Morucci explains, “Crowdfunding is the first primitive […]
one that can scale and show the power of Bitcoin and the power of open financial markets.”
To provide more open access and an honest flow of funding, Geyser offers the option to fund projects anonymously. This option ensures that those who prefer to keep their identity confidential have an avenue to support causes and projects they resonate with. It also absolves backers of the social pressures that could have prevented funding projects needing support.
Additionally, Geyser runs regular grant rounds, during which community members donate, and a regularly rotating panel of judges selects winners to provide a fair opportunity for overlooked projects to stand out.
Staying true to their mission of providing global access to crowdfunding, Mick shared the demographic breakdown of those who donate on the platform and the origin of the projects worldwide; according to Mick, “over 45% of funding comes from Africa, South America, Asia, and Oceania, with Africa and South America combined accounting for more than 70% of that.” Given the integration of Bitcoin payments over the Lightning Network, even the unbanked can participate, which is impractical with existing crowdfunding platforms today.
Moreover, as Mick put it, it is crucial to highlight to creators that on Geyser, “funds go from the sender to the recipient directly peer to peer. This means creators get paid instantly and not after weeks like other crowdfunding platforms,” and that “Geyser could never freeze funds.”
While Geyser is not perfect, still incredibly young, and not as well-resourced as other major crowdfunding platforms, it provides creators globally with an open alternative crowdfunding platform. They will continue to contend with balancing their aim of openness with ensuring they disallow projects that explicitly engage in illegal activity, such as selling illicit material, drugs, or arms.
The Future Of Geyser And Crowdfunding
Geyser’s co-founder, Mick, plans to expand the platform from crowdfunding to a creator platform featuring Nostr profile integration, rewards, funding through subscriptions, and eventually, in the long-term, access to lending and equity tools over Bitcoin to provide creators with even more financial primitives to support their projects.
Further, he foresees a future where crowdsourcing platforms become increasingly modular and rely on more open and decentralized protocols like Nostr to maintain and facilitate efficient global access to funding.
Disclosure: As of writing, I have served on previous Geyser Fund grant boards, but do not hold any equity or board position in Geyser personally or via Recursive Capital.
