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R&D Focus

When Blockchain Meets Crowdfunding

ITRI successfully integrated its blockchain and smart contract technologies into the Dodoker crowdfunding platform, making it Taiwan’s first nonprofit crowdfunding service that uses blockchain technology. The service was officially launched in the first quarter of 2017.

Unlike other crowdfunding platforms that use written forms of notification to inform the investors of the fund’s usage, blockchain platforms give investors instantaneous graphic notifications confirming the initial transaction, and later detailed information on where and how the investment is used. This new practice increases transparency in crowdfunding and enhances investors’ trust towards the project.

When Dodoker was established, the goal was to provide real-time transparency. Visualizing the project’s expenses helped boost public awareness and raise the project’s credibility, which may then bring about higher donation rates. Incorporating blockchain technology with the crowdfunding platform was an important milestone for both the public welfare and the fintech sectors.

Dodoker co-founder Roger Chuang pointed out that transparency is of utmost importance when it comes to crowdfunding for nonprofits. With the introduction of the innovative financial technology, project initiators can easily communicate with their donors on the latest project updates. Most importantly, all this could be achieved at lower costs.

Dr. Shiaw-Shian Yu, General Director of ITRI’s Computational Intelligence Technology Center, stated that blockchain is a decentralized online accounting technology that records and stores every single point of a transaction as “blocks.” An automatic coding mechanism then puts the data together to create a smart contract to regulate the rights and obligations of all parties involved. Once recorded, blockchain data cannot be altered, allowing donors to trace their funds and analyze whether project initiators have met their expectations.

The application of blockchain in crowdfunding for nonprofits is a brand new practice in Taiwan’s fintech sector. Hopefully, such a breakthrough will gain further consensus among the public and encourage the use of this new technology to benefit more crowdfunding projects.