BelieveApp $1M Builder Fund Soured by Withheld Fees and IP Concerns

Desperate to bring users back and compete in Solana’s fiercely competitive launchpad wars, BelieveApp has announced a $1M Builder Fund.

BelieveApp’s new incentives come following a wrath of critical feedback from creators who’ve had their platforms withheld and intellectual property held to ransom.

Can BelieveApp’s Builder Fund renew faith in one of Solana’s more creative launchpads?

BelieveApp Under Fire for Blocked Payments

BelieveApp token creators came forward to air their frustrations earlier this week, claiming that the platform was withholding fees and coming after creators’ intellectual property. Initial reports indicate that BelieveApp has blocked creator payments, intending to resume distribution after creators sign a controversial, legally binding agreement. 

BelieveApp founder Ben Pasternak has responded to critics, assuring creators that the platform has “zero interest in owning any founder’s IP”. Reinforcing this sentiment, BelieveApp advocates insist that creators retain full rights over their original background IP. The contract suggests that anything created by BelieveApp itself, like the smart contract used to deploy the token, belongs to the platform.

While this distinction looks arbitrary at first glance, social media commentators are imploring BelieveApp token creators to reject the agreement. Detractors argue that BelieveApp is trying to absolve itself of legal liability.

Adding fuel to the fire, token creators argue that BelieveApp’s pivot from onchain fee distribution to TradFi routes like PayPal goes against crypto’s fundamental ethos. Pasternak insists that these restrictions only affect ~50 coins, and the BelieveApp team is resolving these issues onchain on a case-by-case basis.

Can a $1M Builder Fund Bring Users Back?

Despite its soured public image, BelieveApp appears to be ready to make significant investments in its ecosystem. On June 26, the launchpad announced a $1M Builders Fund to stimulate growth through grants, hackathons, and targeted incentives.

BelieveApp’s new ecosystem support fund comes at a critical time for the platform. Despite seeing explosive growth and adoption in mid-May, BelieveApp activity has plummeted in recent weeks. Aside from isolated instances, the platform has struggled to facilitate triple-digit token launches throughout June.

Though launch volume is undeniably low, BelieveApp-deployed projects are attracting attention in the wider market. AllianceDAO founder Imran Khan recently announced that the incubator was welcoming a second BelieveApp startup into its accelerator.

Meanwhile, crypto opinion leaders have suggested that Solana’s onchain economy is mispricing BelieveApp tokens. One commentator implies that crypto’s immature markets are yet to recognize the value in long-term, profitable business models.

$LAUNCHCOIN Holders Beg for Buybacks

While the $1M Builder Fund was met with enthusiasm by creators, $LAUNCHCOIN traders are eagerly awaiting some kind of value accrual mechanism for the platform’s native token. A rogue Pasternak tweet last month incited speculation that BelieveApp would implement some kind of flywheel using platform revenue.

DefiLlama data suggests that, as a result of diminishing activity, BelieveApp revenue is in a state of steady decline. 

While the platform briefly generated over $1M per day in mid-May, weekly revenue slumped to just over $145k last week. Since launching in late April, BelieveApp has generated $7.9M in cumulative revenue.

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