Traditional crowdfunding platforms have a trust problem. Donors have no way to verify that funds went where a campaign said they would, platforms take a significant cut regardless of outcome, and there's no recourse when a campaign simply fails to deliver.
Traditional platforms typically charge 5–10% in combined platform and payment processing fees — taken whether or not a campaign succeeds. ChainFunder charges 2.5%, and only on campaigns that actually reach their goal. Failed campaigns cost creators and backers nothing beyond network gas fees.
Every donation, milestone release, and refund on ChainFunder is a verifiable on-chain transaction. Anyone can audit exactly where funds went, in real time, without asking the platform for records. Traditional platforms rely entirely on the creator's self-reported updates.
When a traditional campaign fails or a creator disappears, donors are largely dependent on the platform's discretion to investigate and refund. ChainFunder's smart contracts enforce refunds automatically and unconditionally when a deadline passes without the goal being met — no support ticket required.
None of this is free of friction: donors need a crypto wallet and some familiarity with gas fees, and the ecosystem is younger than incumbents with decades of brand trust. But for the true cost of intermediated trust, on-chain crowdfunding is a meaningfully better deal for both creators and backers.