The Fundn Litepaper

Fundn is a next-generation crowdfunding platform designed to eliminate the friction and high costs associated with traditional fundraising. By leveraging the power of Web3, Fundn offers a completely decentralized experience where creators and backers interact directly through smart contracts. We believe that raising capital for causes that matter should be transparent, secure, and most importantly, free from excessive platform fees.

Traditional platforms like GoFundMe, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo charge between 5–8% in platform fees plus an additional 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in payment processing fees. For a campaign raising $10,000, that means up to $1,100 never reaches the beneficiary. Fundn eliminates this entirely — our 0% fee model means every single cent donated goes directly to the cause.

Beyond fees, traditional platforms act as custodians. They hold your money, decide when (and if) to release it, and can freeze accounts without warning. Fundn inverts this model. Funds are locked in transparent, immutable smart contracts on the blockchain. No one at Fundn can touch, redirect, or freeze campaign funds. The rules are set in code, verified on-chain, and enforced automatically.

Fundn was born from a simple observation: the people who need crowdfunding the most are the ones who can least afford to lose a percentage of their donations to platform fees. Medical bills, disaster relief, community projects, open-source development — these causes deserve a platform that works for them, not against them.

Fundn is proudly #BuiltOnBase, Coinbase's secure, low-cost, developer-friendly Ethereum L2. Base is an optimistic rollup that settles on Ethereum mainnet, inheriting its world-class security guarantees while offering transaction costs that are orders of magnitude lower.

Why We Chose Base

We evaluated multiple Layer 2 solutions — Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon zkEVM, and zkSync — before choosing Base. The deciding factors were:

• Sub-cent Transaction Fees: Average gas costs on Base are under $0.01 per transaction. For a crowdfunding platform processing thousands of micro-donations, this makes the entire model viable. A $1 donation on Ethereum mainnet could cost $5–50 in gas; on Base, the same transaction costs a fraction of a penny.
• Coinbase Integration: With Coinbase Wallet's native Base support, millions of existing Coinbase users can interact with Fundn without bridging assets or configuring custom networks. This dramatically lowers the barrier to entry for non-crypto-native users.
• Ethereum Security: As an OP Stack rollup, Base inherits Ethereum's validator set and consensus mechanism. Every transaction on Base is ultimately anchored to Ethereum, giving donors confidence their funds are protected by the most battle-tested blockchain in existence.
• Growing Ecosystem: Base has rapidly become one of the most active L2 networks, with a vibrant community of builders, protocols, and users. This ecosystem gives Fundn access to composable DeFi primitives, identity layers, and social graphs that enhance the crowdfunding experience.
• EIP-4844 Blob Support: With the Dencun upgrade, Base leverages blob transactions for even cheaper data availability costs, pushing per-transaction costs even lower — often below $0.001 for simple transfers.

Base App Integration

Fundn is a registered Base App, meaning it appears in the Base ecosystem directory and benefits from Base's developer tooling, including:

• Base Paymaster (Gasless UX): Through account abstraction and sponsored paymasters, we aim to cover gas fees for end users. Donors shouldn't need to hold ETH just to make a charitable contribution. The paymaster sponsors the gas cost, and Fundn absorbs it as an operational expense.
• OnchainKit: We leverage Coinbase's OnchainKit for streamlined wallet connection, identity resolution, and transaction building — reducing development complexity while ensuring a polished UX.
• Base Name Service: Future integration with Basenames will allow campaign creators and donors to display human-readable identities (e.g., safya.base) instead of hex addresses.

Network Details

Social distribution is the single most important factor in a campaign's success. Traditional crowdfunding relies on sharing links on social media — a process riddled with friction. Users see a link, click through to a separate site, create an account, enter payment details, and only then can they donate. Each step loses 50–80% of potential donors.

Fundn solves this by deeply integrating with Farcaster, the leading decentralized social network built on the same crypto-native rails as our platform.

How It Works

• Farcaster Mini App (Frame): Fundn operates as a Farcaster Mini App (formerly Frame). When a campaign is shared in a Farcaster cast, users can view campaign details and donate directly within the feed — without ever leaving Warpcast or their Farcaster client. This removes the redirect, the account creation, and the payment setup from the donation flow.
• Context-Aware Auto-Connect: When a user opens Fundn inside a Farcaster client, our app detects the Farcaster context via the Frame SDK. We automatically read their FID (Farcaster ID), resolve their verified wallet address, and connect it — all without a single click from the user. The experience feels native and instant.
• Identity & Trust Layer: Farcaster provides a built-in identity layer. Campaign creators with verified Farcaster profiles display their username, avatar, follower count, and verification badges. This social proof dramatically increases donor confidence — you're not sending money to an anonymous hex address, you're supporting a real person with a social reputation.
• Viral Distribution: When someone donates, the act itself can be shared as a cast, creating organic viral loops. Each share is another Farcaster Mini App surface where others can donate. This network effect turns every donor into a potential campaign promoter.

Farcaster vs. Web Browser Experience

Fundn is a dual-surface application. The same codebase serves both experiences:

Technical: Frame SDK Integration

On app load, our Providers component asynchronously imports the @farcaster/frame-sdk and races a context detection against an 800ms timeout. If a valid Farcaster context with a FID is detected, we:

1. Set the app into "Farcaster Mode" (hiding external wallet UI, header, footer)
2. Dynamically import and instantiate the farcasterFrame wagmi connector
3. Auto-connect the user's wallet to the Base chain
4. Signal sdk.actions.ready() to tell the Farcaster client the Mini App has loaded

Trust is the foundation of crowdfunding. In traditional platforms, that trust is placed in a corporation. At Fundn, it's placed in code. Our smart contracts are the backbone of the entire system — they hold funds, enforce rules, and execute outcomes without any human intervention.

Contract Structure

Fundn uses a factory-vault pattern consisting of two primary contracts:

• CampaignFactory (Singleton): A single factory contract deployed once on Base. When a creator publishes a campaign, the factory deploys a new, dedicated Vault contract. The factory maintains a registry of all campaigns and their associated vaults, enabling on-chain discoverability and verification.
• CampaignVault (Per-Campaign): Each campaign gets its own isolated smart contract. This vault holds all donated USDC, tracks individual donor contributions, enforces the funding goal and deadline, and manages fund release or refund logic. Because each campaign is a separate contract, there is no risk of fund commingling.

Campaign Lifecycle

The lifecycle of every Fundn campaign follows a deterministic, on-chain flow:

Security Properties

• No Admin Keys: Once a CampaignVault is deployed, no admin, multisig, or Fundn employee can alter its parameters. The goal, deadline, and beneficiary are immutable.
• Non-Custodial: Fundn never holds, touches, or routes user funds. All USDC flows directly from the donor's wallet to the campaign's vault contract on-chain.
• Reentrancy Protection: All state-changing functions follow the checks-effects-interactions pattern and use reentrancy guards to prevent exploit vectors.
• USDC-Only: By accepting only USDC (a regulated stablecoin issued by Circle), we eliminate price volatility risk for both donors and creators. A $100 donation is always worth $100.
• Transparent On-Chain: Every donation, refund, and withdrawal is a public transaction on Base. Anyone can verify fund flows using a block explorer at any time.

Contract Addresses

Refunds are not an afterthought — they are a first-class feature of Fundn's smart contract system. The "All-or-Nothing" escrow model ensures donors are protected if a campaign doesn't reach its goal.

How Refunds Work

1. Deadline Passes: Every campaign has a fixed deadline set at creation. This deadline is stored on-chain and cannot be extended. When the block timestamp exceeds the deadline, the contract checks whether the goal was met.
2. Goal Not Met: If total contributions are below the goal amount, the campaign's state transitions to "Failed." This state change is automatic — no one needs to trigger it.
3. Refund Enabled: In the "Failed" state, the contract's refund function becomes callable. Each donor can submit a transaction to reclaim their exact USDC contribution. The contract tracks individual balances, so each donor receives precisely what they donated.
4. No Fees on Refund: Refunded amounts are the full original donation — no platform fees, no penalties, no deductions. The only cost is the Base network gas fee (~$0.001) to execute the refund transaction.

Donor Refund Panel

The Fundn frontend includes a dedicated Refund Panel accessible from any failed campaign page. The panel shows:

• The donor's total contribution to that campaign
• The campaign's final funded amount vs. goal
• A one-click "Claim Refund" button that triggers the on-chain refund transaction
• Real-time transaction status and confirmation

Edge Cases & Protections

• Double-Refund Prevention: The contract zeros out a donor's balance before transferring USDC, preventing double-claim attacks.
• Partial Goal Met: Even if a campaign reaches 99% of its goal, donors can still reclaim 100% of their contributions if the deadline passes.
• No Expiry on Refund Claims: There is no time limit to claim a refund. If a campaign failed three years ago, donors can still reclaim their funds — the smart contract holds the USDC indefinitely until claimed.
• Multi-Donation Tracking: If a donor contributes multiple times to the same campaign, all contributions are aggregated. The refund returns the total sum in a single transaction.

Traditional platforms charge 5–8% in platform fees, plus 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in payment processing. Fundn operates fundamentally differently.

The 0% Fee Model

Fundn charges zero platform fees. This is not a promotional offer — it is a permanent architectural decision. Here's how it's possible:

• No Payment Processing: Because donations are direct on-chain USDC transfers, there are no credit card processors, no Stripe fees, no PayPal cuts. The blockchain is the payment rail.
• No Custodial Infrastructure: We don't hold funds, so we don't need bank accounts, escrow services, compliance teams for money transmission, or insurance. The smart contracts replace all of this.
• Minimal Backend: Our backend is lightweight — primarily serving campaign metadata, managing notifications, and indexing on-chain events. The heavy lifting (fund custody, rules enforcement, refunds) all happens on-chain.

Who Pays For What

Infrastructure Stack

• Frontend: Next.js (App Router) deployed on Vercel. Statically generated where possible, with server-side rendering for dynamic campaign pages. Edge functions for API routes.
• Database: PostgreSQL (via Prisma ORM) for campaign metadata, user profiles, notification preferences, and analytics. All financial data lives on-chain; the database stores supplementary metadata only.
• RPC Providers: We use redundant RPC providers for Base (Alchemy, QuickNode) to ensure reliable on-chain reads and transaction submission. Fallback logic ensures 99.9%+ uptime.
• On-Chain Indexing: Campaign events (donations, refunds, releases) are indexed from contract event logs and synced to our database for fast querying and real-time UI updates.
• Wallet Integration: RainbowKit + wagmi for web browser wallet connections, supporting 100+ wallet providers including MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, Rainbow, Trust Wallet, and more.

Sustainability: Optional Tipping

If Fundn charges 0% fees, how does it sustain itself? The platform is sustained through:

• Optional Tips: During the donation flow, donors can optionally add a tip to support Fundn. This is never required, never pre-selected, and clearly labeled as optional. Tips go to the Fundn operational wallet, separate from campaign funds.
• Grants & Ecosystem Funding: As a public good #BuiltOnBase, Fundn applies for ecosystem grants from Base, Optimism RetroPGF, and other Web3 grant programs designed to support open-source public goods.
• Community Support Page: The /support page allows anyone to make a direct contribution to Fundn's operational costs.

The biggest barrier to Web3 adoption is not technology — it's user experience. Most blockchain applications require users to understand gas fees, token approvals, network switching, and wallet management. Fundn is designed to abstract as much complexity as possible while maintaining the security guarantees of on-chain execution.

Design Principles

• Web2 Simplicity, Web3 Security: The UI looks and feels like a modern Web2 crowdfunding site. Behind the scenes, every financial operation is on-chain. Users don't need to understand blockchain to use Fundn.
• Progressive Disclosure: Advanced details (contract addresses, transaction hashes, on-chain verification) are available but not front-and-center. Casual donors see a clean donation form; power users can inspect every transaction.
• Glassmorphism & Modern Aesthetics: Our design system uses glassmorphic cards, subtle gradients, grid patterns, and micro-animations to create a premium, modern feel that signals trust and professionalism.
• Mobile-First Responsive: Over 70% of crowdfunding traffic comes from mobile devices. Every page, modal, and interaction is designed mobile-first and tested across screen sizes.
• Accessibility: Focus-visible indicators, semantic HTML, proper ARIA labels, and keyboard navigation ensure Fundn is usable by everyone.

Creator Dashboard

Campaign creators get a dedicated dashboard showing real-time metrics: total raised, number of donors, time remaining, and a progress bar. They can update campaign descriptions, upload new images, and monitor the funding trajectory. When a campaign succeeds, a one-click withdrawal button releases funds to the beneficiary wallet.

Notification System

Fundn supports on-chain event notifications. Creators can opt-in to receive alerts when donations come in, when milestones are hit, or when their campaign deadline is approaching. Donors can track the campaigns they've supported and receive outcome notifications (success/refund available).

Fundn operates on a trust-minimized model. You don't need to trust Fundn — you only need to trust the code.

Trust Guarantees

• Immutable Campaign Rules: Once a vault is deployed, its goal, deadline, and beneficiary are set in stone. No admin override exists.
• No Data Collection: Fundn does not collect personal data. No email, no name, no KYC. Your wallet address is your identity, and that's already public on-chain.
• Open-Source Contracts: Our smart contracts are verified and readable on BaseScan. Anyone can audit the code, verify the logic, and confirm that the deployed bytecode matches the source.
• No Fund Access: Fundn has zero admin access to campaign vaults. We cannot freeze, redirect, seize, or delay funds under any circumstances.
• USDC Stability: By using USDC exclusively, we eliminate the risk of a donated $100 becoming worth $50 due to crypto volatility. USDC is backed 1:1 by US dollar reserves and regulated by Circle.

What Fundn Cannot Do

For complete transparency, here is what Fundn cannot do by design:

• Access, move, or freeze funds in any campaign vault
• Extend campaign deadlines
• Change a campaign's goal amount or beneficiary
• Prevent a donor from claiming a refund on a failed campaign
• Take a cut of any donation
• Identify users beyond their public wallet address

Audit Roadmap

The current smart contracts are in V1/beta. A comprehensive third-party audit by a reputable security firm is planned before wider launch. In the meantime, we encourage developers and security researchers to review our open-source code and report any issues.

Fundn is just getting started. The current V1 platform establishes the core crowdfunding loop — create, donate, release/refund. Here's what's coming next:

Phase 1 — Foundation (Current)

• All-or-Nothing campaign model with USDC on Base
• Farcaster Mini App integration with auto-connect
• Web browser support with full RainbowKit wallet connectivity
• Donor refund panel with one-click claim
• Creator dashboard with campaign management
• 0% platform fee with optional tipping

Phase 2 — Enhanced Campaigns

• Milestone-based fund release (funds unlock as creators hit predefined milestones)
• Flexible funding model (creators keep whatever they raise, even if goal isn't met)
• Multi-currency support (ETH donations auto-converted to USDC)
• Campaign categories and discovery features
• Social proof widgets (embed campaign progress on external sites)

Phase 3 — Identity & Governance

• Base Name Service integration for human-readable identities
• Reputation system for campaign creators (based on past campaign success)
• Community moderation and campaign verification badges
• Donor impact tracking (see the outcomes of campaigns you've supported)
• DAO governance for platform parameter decisions

Phase 4 — Scale & Interoperability

• Cross-chain campaign support (accept donations from multiple L2s)
• Fiat on-ramp integration (donate with credit card, settled in USDC on-chain)
• Campaign NFTs (donors receive commemorative NFTs as receipts)
• Third-party integrations (API for embedding Fundn campaigns in any dApp)
• Mobile app (native iOS/Android with push notifications)

Fundn represents a paradigm shift in how people raise and give money. By combining the speed and low cost of Base, the social connectivity of Farcaster, and the trustless nature of smart contracts, we are building the ultimate growth engine for creators, builders, and causes worldwide.

We envision a world where a disaster relief fund in one country can be set up in minutes and receive micro-donations from supporters across the globe — instantly, transparently, and without losing a single cent to intermediaries. Where an open-source developer can fund their next project directly from the community that uses their work. Where a family facing medical bills can receive support without a corporation taking a cut of their donations.

This is what crowdfunding was always meant to be. Transparent. Direct. Free.

This is Fundn. Built on Base. Built for everyone.