Konstantin Boyko Represents LenderKit at the 3rd International Conference on Alternative Finance Research

On June 5–6, 2024, the picturesque town of Krems an der Donau in Austria played host to the 3rd International Conference on Alternative Finance Research, drawing experts, academics, and industry professionals from across Europe. Among them was Konstantin Boyko, CEO at LenderKit, who participated in the event with a strong focus on advancing the dialogue around crowdfunding technology and investment platforms.

The conference, hosted by IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences, served as a critical platform for exploring new academic findings and facilitating in-depth discussions on the evolving landscape of alternative finance. One of the key highlights was the presentation of the latest European Crowdfunding Market Report — the result of a multi-institutional collaboration between the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder, LenderKit, and CrowdSpace.

Co-authored by a distinguished team including Rotem Shneor, Karsten Wenzlaff, Prince Baah-Peprah, Ana Odorović, Olga Okhrimenko and Konstantin Boyko, the report delves deep into platform trends, operational models, and technological adoption across the European crowdfunding ecosystem.

Reflections on Technology in Crowdfunding

In his remarks during the event, Konstantin Boyko offered insightful takeaways from the technology section of the report:

• Internal vs. Outsourced Technology
  
  Around 60% of investment platforms (equity and debt) prefer to internalise their technology stack, compared to 50% of non-investment platforms (donation and reward), which tend to outsource it. This divergence aligns with their strategic priorities. Investment platforms often build toward potential exits and prefer tighter control and customisation, while donation-based platforms lean toward cost-efficiency.
  
• Incremental Feature Development
  
  Investment platforms typically adopt an incremental approach to feature development, focusing first on community-building tools like referral systems. Once traction is gained, more advanced capabilities such as mobile apps, auto-investment options, and secondary markets become feasible.
  
• Blockchain: More Talk Than Action
  
  Despite years of industry conversation, over 75% of surveyed platforms do not use or plan to use blockchain technology. The most cited potential use cases such as asset tokenization and secondary trading remain niche, with practical implementation still lagging behind theoretical discussion.

Industry and Academia: Bridging the Gap

The presentation of the Crowdfunding Market Report marked another milestone in the ongoing collaboration between academia and industry. The joint research effort aims to bridge the gap between empirical market data and theoretical frameworks, offering valuable insights for both platform operators and regulators.

Konstantin Boyko’s participation underscored LenderKit’s commitment to not just providing technology for crowdfunding platforms, but also actively shaping industry discourse and supporting evidence-based development.

“It’s vital for industry players to stay close to research. Our collaboration ensures that our insights into platform operations and technology trends are grounded in real data and shared knowledge,” Konstantin noted during the panel.

Looking Forward

As alternative finance continues to grow and mature, conferences like this serve as vital nodes of exchange, bringing together technology providers, regulators, researchers, and practitioners. The LenderKit team’s contributions to this research reinforce their position not only as a tech vendor but also as a thought leader in the investment crowdfunding space.

For those who haven’t yet explored the European Crowdfunding Market Report, the full version is available for free download via the link shared during the event.

Stay tuned for future updates from LenderKit as the conversation around crowdfunding, compliance, and platform technology continues to evolve.