Decentralized Crowdfunding Platform Lighthouse.cash Launches

Just recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on the development of a decentralized crowdfunding application powered by the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network called Lighthouse.cash. The project was first initiated by Mike Hearn years ago, but Lighthouse was abandoned after he left the cryptocurrency community. This week the Lighthouse.cash project developers have officially launched the open source platform for multiple operating systems.

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Lighthouse.cash: Manage Your Own Crowdfunding Campaign Without Any Middle-Men

Typically when people crowdfund online they use services like Gofundme, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo. However, the problem with these crowdfunding outlets is that they are centralized, and they can be censored. So back in January of 2015 the Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn designed a BTC-powered application called Lighthouse, but dropped the project when he left due to scaling debate frustrations. Now an anonymous developer has resurrected the project from its ashes and this week the first version of Lighthouse.cash is available to the public.

Lighthouse.cash allows users to pledge to many different kinds of projects and users can also create their own funding page in a decentralized manner.

“Meet Lighthouse, a bitcoin-cash-powered app to create and manage your own crowdfunding campaign without any middle-men,” explains the Lighthouse development team.  

Lighthouse provides a wallet and a way to build crowdfunding campaigns without relying on a trusted third party.

Lighthouse.cash users can choose between server assisted or fully decentralized settings.

The Open Source Project Repository Can be Found at Gitlab

The first release of the Lighthouse.cash platform is now available for Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. The anonymous developer is being helped by the Cryptonize.it and Cashpay wallet through Toshi’s Fund, explains the latest announcement. The decentralized crowdfunding project Lighthouse.cash and its source code can be found on the Gitlab website.      

“We decided to maintain the project at Gitlab because Microsoft does not believe it is possible to scale on-chain, it only made sense to us to move this project to a platform that has a better vision,” details the Lighthouse programmers.

News.Bitcoin.com testing out the application on Mac OS after launch.

Uncensored, Distributed Crowdfunding and More Features to Come

News.Bitcoin.com tested the platform first hand, and setting up a crowdfunding project took very little time. At launch, Lighthouse has three projects which include a P2P classified ads platform, Toshis.fund, and Gifter.cash. So far the project features no platform fees to start a crowdfunding project, the system is powered by smart contracts and because Lighthouse uses BCH microtransactions can be pledged with ease.

Three initial crowdfunding projects on the Lighthouse.cash platform.

“Projects can be distributed however you want. It’s envisioned that galleries will pop up that will host projects and help them reach a wider audience,” says the Lighthouse creators.  

The first gallery of this kind is going to be on lighthouse.cash

In addition to the initial launch features, the project’s roadmap has a lot to offer going forward as well. Besides the typical code polish, the team plans to add a development collaboration tool, mobile phone support, threshold signed software updates, Tor mode, and more features are being developed for the platform. Lastly, the team has released two instructional videos for people who want to either pledge to a project or create a project on Lighthouse.cash which can be found here and here.

What do you think about the new Lighthouse.cash project powered by the Bitcoin Cash network? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comment section below.

Images via Shutterstock, Lighthouse.cash, and Jamie Redman. 

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