Origins and Development of Credit-Based Crowdfunding

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Abstract

Although the term “crowdfunding” was only recently coined in 2006, the more specific category of crowdfunding known as debt crowdfunding (or credit-based crowdfunding) is built on a much older concept. It represents the latest incarnation of social lending, which has existed for centuries. This paper examines the origins and development of credit-based crowdfunding from the “friendly societies” of the 18th century to the crowdsourced peer-to-peer lending platforms of today. This paper provides chronology and details about more than one hundred early debt crowdfunding sites.

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