Crowdfunding · Nervos CKB · all-or-nothing
Your funds live in a cell that only the outcome can unlock.
CrowdCell is a launchpad for CKB projects where the chain, not a company, decides what happens to every pledge. Goal met by the deadline: funds release to the creator. Goal missed: every backer is refunded. No custody in between.
- Custody
- None
- Settlement
- On-chain
- Fail-safe
- ~180 days
- Network
- Testnet
How it works
One campaign cell. Many pledge cells. Two exits.
CKB stores state in cells. CrowdCell uses that literally: a campaign is a cell, each pledge is a cell, and the scripts guarding them allow only the settlement paths below.
Settlement paths
Where a pledge cell can go after the deadline, and nowhere else.
1. Create
A creator publishes a campaign cell with a funding goal in CKB and a deadline block. Neither can be changed once it is on-chain.
2. Pledge
A backer locks CKB into a pledge cell, and the campaign's on-chain total goes up in the same transaction. A receipt cell lands in the backer's wallet as proof.
3. Settle
After the deadline the campaign is finalized against its on-chain total, then every pledge is released or refunded. The finalization bot does this automatically, and anyone else can too.
Trust model
Who can do what, and who can't
"Trustless" is a specific claim. Here is exactly what each party is allowed to do, as enforced by the scripts. They are referenced by code hash, so nobody can swap them out, including us.
| Action | Creator | Backer | Anyone / bot | Enforced by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pledge to a campaignbefore the deadline, 100 CKB minimum | yes | yes | yes, as a backer | campaign + pledge type scripts |
| Finalize as Funded or Unsuccessfulafter the deadline, must match total pledged vs goal | yes, if it verifies | yes, if it verifies | yes, if it verifies | campaign type script |
| Release funds to the creatoronly once finalized as Funded | yes | yes | yes | pledge lock script |
| Refund a backeronly once finalized as Unsuccessful | yes | yes | yes | pledge lock script |
| Send funds anywhere else | no | no | no | pledge lock script |
| Return an unsettled pledge to its backerfail-safe, ~180 days after the deadline | yes | yes | yes | pledge lock script |
| Reclaim a receipt's depositonce the campaign is finalized | no | yes, their own | no | receipt type script |
For creators
Launch a CKB project with terms the chain enforces.
Set the goal, set the deadline, publish. Backers can see there is no way for you, or us, to touch their CKB unless the goal is met. That is a better pitch than any promise.
- All-or-nothing, verified on-chain
- Automatic release and refund via the finalization bot
- A receipt cell for every pledge, and a ~180-day fail-safe
- Backers connect with JoyID or any CCC-supported wallet
Roadmap
Where CrowdCell is going
Live on testnet
Trustless crowdfunding
- All-or-nothing campaigns settled on-chain
- Automatic finalization, release and refund
- Receipts and the ~180-day fail-safe
Next
Dashboards
- A creator dashboard for your campaigns
- A backer dashboard for your pledges and deposits
Later
Mainnet
- An independent security audit
- Launch on CKB mainnet
Planned
Bitcoin backers
- Pledge from a Bitcoin wallet through RGB++
FAQ
Questions backers ask
What happens if a campaign misses its goal?
After the deadline it is finalized as Unsuccessful, and every pledge is refunded to the backer who made it. The finalization bot sends the refunds automatically, and anyone can also trigger them from the campaign page.
Who holds the funds while a campaign runs?
Nobody. Each pledge sits in its own cell, locked by a script that only lets it go to the creator once the campaign is finalized as Funded, or back to the backer once it is finalized as Unsuccessful or the fail-safe opens. There is no admin key.
What does pledging cost?
The minimum pledge is 100 CKB. On CKB every cell holds enough CKB to pay for its own storage, so a pledge also locks two deposits that come back to you: about 252 CKB for the pledge cell, returned when the pledge is released or refunded, and about 262 CKB for the receipt, which you reclaim once the campaign is finalized. The network fee is under 0.01 CKB and there is no platform fee. The exact breakdown is shown before you sign.
What if the finalization bot stops running?
Nothing gets stuck. Anyone can finalize a campaign and release or refund its pledges from the campaign page. And if a pledge is still unsettled about 180 days after the deadline, anyone can send it back to its backer without the campaign at all.
Can a creator change the goal or the deadline?
No. Both are fixed when the campaign is created, and the campaign script rejects any transaction that changes them.
Which wallets can I use, and is this real CKB?
JoyID, or any other wallet the CCC connector supports. CrowdCell currently runs on the CKB testnet, so it uses test CKB, which you can get for free from the Nervos faucet.