Origins and Development of Credit-Based Crowdfunding

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.