Venture capital has long been the gatekeeper of innovation, but in crypto, cracks are starting to show. Traditional allocations often arrive with steep discounts, lockups, and exclusivity that keep everyday contributors sidelined. Meanwhile, a new wave of large-scale crypto crowdfunding is flipping that dynamic, combining compliance with community. Platforms like CoinList, Republic, Kaito, and Pump.fun have proven the power of social and institutional crowdfunding alike. To understand what’s driving this shift — and where it’s headed — I sat down with a Solana veteran developer CryptoSheldon, who is also the co-founder of SeedList, a new large-scale crypto crowdfunding launchpad. CryptoSheldon Hello, CryptoSheldon! Can you briefly tell us about yourself and your professional background? Hello, CryptoSheldon! Can you briefly tell us about yourself and your professional background? I started working in crypto in 2017 as a programmer and trader but soon started developing in the Solana ecosystem. In 2018 I met the CoinList guys at my first crypto conference and ever since been very interested in decentralized fundraising through crypto. I’ve written about the subject, analyzing many coins in the crypto financial services sector on Binance global trading and Binance Square and in various Solana publications. I’ve also advised a handful of crypto projects in the Solana ecosystem, taking some from zero development to large market capitalizations on tier 1 exchanges behind the scenes. Doing so I’ve learned what it takes to start a project and grow it to become a tier 1 crypto unicorn. Venture capital has dominated tech funding for decades. Why is crypto crowdfunding gaining traction now? Venture capital has dominated tech funding for decades. Why is crypto crowdfunding gaining traction now? The short answer is that crypto doesn’t wait for board meetings. In traditional VC, founders spend months pitching, negotiating terms, and giving up equity for capital. In Web3, we’ve seen projects like Solana, Filecoin, and Flow raise hundreds of millions directly from the community through platforms like CoinList or Republic. Community sales happen faster and onboard real users immediately. Contributors aren’t locked into five-year exits, they participate in the ecosystem from day one. Token launches can scale globally overnight, instead of staying confined to Sand Hill Road. It’s a better fit for a technology that’s supposed to be decentralized. We’ve seen some massive token sales lately. Which ones stand out to you as proof that crowdfunding can rival VC rounds? We’ve seen some massive token sales lately. Which ones stand out to you as proof that crowdfunding can rival VC rounds? WalletConnect’s $10 million raise this year was a perfect example and something I've wanted to see for nearly 10 years. It wasn’t just on one platform, it spread across CoinList, Bitget’s Launch X, and Cobie’s Echo. That’s a multi-platform, multi-community raise where tens of thousands of people got involved. Echo itself is interesting, it sold $500K of WalletConnect tokens in just 11 seconds by combining AI-driven matching with community incentives and Kaito launched Espresso with reputation-based allocations. It’s now worth $300M on Binance with no end in sight. That’s the kind of traction VCs simply can’t match on their own anymore. Beyond scale, what makes SocialFi crowdfunding so different? Beyond scale, what makes SocialFi crowdfunding so different? It’s about who you are, not just how much you invest. Take Kaito — they allocate based on social reputation and analytics, not just wallet size. Pump.fun showed the opposite end of the spectrum: meme tokens going viral on social media before exchanges even noticed. Together, those experiments proved two things: Influence is capital. Attention itself can be a funding engine. SocialFi makes token launches more organic, more participatory, and in some cases, more viral than anything a VC syndicate could coordinate. That leads us to your project, SeedList. What gap are you trying to fill in this new landscape? That leads us to your project, SeedList. What gap are you trying to fill in this new landscape? If platforms like Kaito and Pump.fun proved that reputation and virality matter, SeedList is asking: why do we need VCs at all? We’re building a model where those passive allocations get redirected to KOLs, centralized exchanges, ecosystem foundations, and even retail micro-influencers. Our allocation model uses AI to measure things like: Technical contributions, Social reach and influence, Engagement from non-U.S. regions that often get excluded. Instead of rewarding the same privileged funds, we reward the people actually driving adoption. Some people argue VCs provide more than just money, mentorship, connections, governance. Can crowdfunding really replace that? Some people argue VCs provide more than just money, mentorship, connections, governance. Can crowdfunding really replace that? I spent years watching founders waste weeks in pitch rooms and board updates. In crypto, that’s unnecessary friction. Platforms like SeedList can give projects the same industry connections, exchanges like Bybit or Binance, ecosystem partners like Solana or Avalanche, influencers like Mr. Beast who reach tens of millions — but without founders giving up control. As I’ve said before: the old-school VC firm isn’t the only option anymore. We can deliver the capital, the community, and the global brand reach in a fraction of the time. How does this affect retail investors? Aren’t they still at a disadvantage compared to insiders? How does this affect retail investors? Aren’t they still at a disadvantage compared to insiders? That’s exactly what we’re trying to fix. Crowdfunding, when done right, means retail gets access earlier and with fairer terms. For example, Echo and Kaito already proved you can build transparent allocation models that reward contributors, not insiders. At SeedList, retail participants — even micro-influencers — get structured tasks, direct allocations, and better interaction with projects. Instead of being locked out, they’re part of the launch momentum from the start. What’s your long-term vision for SeedList and the broader crowdfunding movement? What’s your long-term vision for SeedList and the broader crowdfunding movement? By 2026, I believe crowdfunding will be the default for top-100 CoinMarketCap projects. VCs won’t disappear overnight, but their monopoly on early-stage capital is ending. We’ll see Launchpads that merge compliance, analytics, and liquidity, SocialFi models that amplify real communities, and a more global and inclusive contributor base, not just a handful of Silicon Valley funds. If SeedList can help push that forward, by making launches five to ten times more impactful in market value, adoption, and brand reach, then we’ve done our job. Final thought: Is this the death of venture capital in crypto? Final thought: Is this the death of venture capital in crypto? Maybe not death, but definitely dethronement. VCs will still exist, but they’ll no longer control who gets funded and who doesn’t. In crypto, the crowd is the kingmaker now. Thanks Sheldon or sorry, CryptoSheldon. Any last words? Thanks Sheldon or sorry, CryptoSheldon. Any last words? All good, you can call me Shels, like Machine Gun Kelly, they call him Kells. Thanks for having me today. The next 12 months are going to be very interesting. Plant the Seed and not the Privilege!”
