{"id":2175,"date":"2025-03-20T13:24:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T13:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/03\/20\/venmo-co-founder-iqram-magdon-ismael-launches-jellyjelly-a-social-platform-built-on-blockchain\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T13:25:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T13:25:03","slug":"venmo-co-founder-iqram-magdon-ismael-launches-jellyjelly-a-social-platform-built-on-blockchain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/03\/20\/venmo-co-founder-iqram-magdon-ismael-launches-jellyjelly-a-social-platform-built-on-blockchain\/","title":{"rendered":"Venmo Co-Founder Iqram Magdon-Ismael Launches JellyJelly: A Social Platform Built on Blockchain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iqram Magdon-Ismail hopes JellyJelly can be \u201can antidote\u201d to the tech world\u2019s obsession with rapid scaling. Courtesy JellyJelly<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Iqram Magdon-Ismael<\/a> co-founded the payment app Venmo<\/a> with his college roommate Andrew Kortina<\/a> in 2009, something in his brain chemistry began to change. \u201cI\u2019m addicted to making startups, going from something very tiny to something that impacts lots of people,\u201d he told Observer. At first glance, his latest endeavor\u2014a social media platform with built-in authenticity guardrails and an integrated memecoin\u2014seems like a dramatic departure from Venmo. But the two ventures have more in common than it appears. \u201cFrom my time at Venmo, I learned a lot about how money movement works,\u201d Magdon-Ismael explained. Combining the blockchain\u2019s ability to move assets with a system for tipping creators, the result resembles a modern street performer with QR codes linked to their Venmo profile taped to their guitar case.<\/p>\n

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Magdon-Ismael\u2019s new platform, JellyJelly<\/a>, allows creators to publish largely unedited short-form videos\u2014known as \u201cjellies\u201d\u2014that can go live instantly. Artificial intelligence handles the transcription and captioning. When a video is posted, the app activates a phone\u2019s front and back cameras, letting users share an almost 360-degree view of what they\u2019re doing in real-time. It\u2019s like BeReal meets TikTok but with a transactional twist.<\/p>\n

Running in tandem with the app is Jelly-My-Jelly (JMJ), a memecoin built on the Solana blockchain. Users can access their JMJ wallets through their JellyJelly profiles, and the team is actively developing crypto-enabled e-commerce features\u2014including tipping creators directly with JMJ. To generate revenue, JellyJelly charges a 1 percent transaction fee.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs with all products, you figure out ways to monetize,\u201d said Magdon-Ismael. \u201cAs we were brainstorming ways for our user base to monetize either their content or for us to make money as an app, we were exploring multiple angles for how to integrate payments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Memecoins, once considered a fringe element of the crypto world, have steadily gained traction in recent years as both speculative assets and community-building tools. Magdon-Ismael recognized their potential as a way to generate buzz and loyalty around a product. \u201cAnd it relates to payments, transactions, collectibles and commerce the way people want to do it in a modern way,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where you throw jelly at the wall, and this one stuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the platform\u2019s name isn\u2019t just a nod to sticky marketing\u2014it\u2019s actually inspired by the immortal jellyfish, or Turritopsis dohrnii, a Mediterranean species capable of reversing its aging process through cellular transformation known as transdifferentiation. In theory, it can repeat this cycle indefinitely\u2014unless something external interrupts it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a nice little compliment to the everlasting jellyfish,\u201d said Magdon-Ismael. \u201cHopefully, it\u2019s a forecast for how Jelly will be. We don\u2019t want to die, and we don\u2019t want your jellies to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best content wins.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

That kind of longevity is a tall order in an ecosystem known for\u00a0big promises and often little follow-through.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the social media front, Bluesky<\/a> and Threads are steadily gaining ground on X<\/a>, formerly known as Twitter. Then there are apps like Clubhouse, which briefly captivated global attention before fading from the cultural radar. \u201cOne of the things that I don\u2019t like about Twitter, even though we have to use it sometimes to talk to a lot of these crypto people, is that it\u2019s very obvious to me that it is run in an unfair manner,\u201d Magdon-Ismael said. \u201cThere\u2019s almost a nepotistic judgment call inside the product.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Magdon-Ismael, JellyJelly is a direct response to the overly produced, addictive environments fostered by platforms like Instagram and TikTok. \u201cImagine if every Zoom meeting you had was filled with filters and over-produced content, and we had to do all these crazy things to even show up to a video meeting. I think that\u2019s people\u2019s frustration with social media now,\u201d he said. \u201cOur take at Jelly, we don\u2019t have any filters, none of that. We make it a level playing field for everyone to do that. The best content wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRule number one, you\u2019re not going to see all my posts, like you see Elon Musk\u2019s posts by default, whenever he decides you have to see it,\u201d he added. JellyJelly\u2019s feed is strictly chronological and based on who users follow\u2014much like the early days of Instagram. Content moderation is designed to be community-driven, with users able to flag inappropriate material, while A.I. moderation will be scaled up as the platform grows.<\/p>\n

A memecoin backed by a real product<\/h3>\n

On the cryptocurrency side, the stakes are even higher. The space is riddled with rug pulls\u2014from memecoins to non-fungible tokens (NFTs)\u2014that have wiped out savings and shattered trust, even in projects that initially seemed legitimate. HAWK, the token tied to the now-infamous Hawk Tuah Girl, is just one recent example in a sprawling digital graveyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the community is kind of traumatized from people that put out coins and then just disappear,\u201d said Magdon-Ismael. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of that, but I have to say, there\u2019s a lot of that in everything. Most things start in unregulated, uncharted territory, in a way that\u2019s so unrestrictive, and then the true signs of humanity show up.\u201d Where bad actors lurk, he said, so too can builders\u2014people committed to creating real value and community.<\/p>\n

JMJ sets itself apart by being directly tied to a functioning platform with a real product and company behind it. \u201cWhen we take money from our investors, we must deliver on certain timelines and give them quarterly updates. I think the crypto community craves that more than ever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Though early adopters are largely drawn from the crypto world, Magdon-Ismael wants JellyJelly to expand beyond that core base. He believes users shouldn\u2019t need to understand the mechanics of crypto to participate. \u201cWe will present it as just, you\u2019re swapping currency back and forth without even knowing what you\u2019re doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

JellyJelly is backed by investors, including Observer Capital<\/a>* and Sam Lessin<\/a>\u2019s Slow Ventures<\/a>. Observer Capital has been involved since the beginning, supporting the team as they built their marketing strategy and shaped their approach to crypto. Joseph Meyer<\/a>, chairman of Observer Media and founder and managing partner of Observer Capital, calls Magdon-Ismael a \u201cvisionary leader driving real change.\u201d Meyer told Observer, \u201cIqram\u2019s expertise in building transformative social payment ecosystems makes JellyJelly an exceptionally compelling opportunity.\u00a0His ability to integrate frictionless payments and community-driven value creation mirrors what he achieved with Venmo, and we are honored to partner with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love having investors that are involved and really want to see you succeed, as opposed to just cutting your check,\u201d Magdon-Ismael said. He meets with Lessin weekly to discuss product development.<\/p>\n

Other backers include Karman Ventures<\/a>, led by a team of former Uber (UBER)<\/a> executives; A* Capital, co-founded by Eventbrite\u2019s Kevin Hartz<\/a>; and Betaworks, which Magdon-Ismael called \u201cthe OG New York City incubator.\u201d Influencers like Nas Daily and Joseph Yaeger<\/a>\u2014best known for MyTechCEO\u2014also have equity in the company. His former Venmo co-founder, Andrew Kortina, now serves as an advisor.<\/p>\n

JellyJelly is still in beta, operating on an invite-only basis and not yet available for Android users. Even so, the platform is cultivating an early community by rolling out features iteratively and distributing JMJ coin drops to active participants. Magdon-Ismael said he hopes JellyJelly can be \u201can antidote\u201d to the tech world\u2019s obsession with rapid scaling. His Venmo experience, he added, left him with a lasting desire to \u201chelp somebody,\u201d rather than dominate markets at all costs.<\/p>\n

Observer Capital, an affiliate of Observer Media, is an investor in JellyJelly. This relationship is noted for transparency.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Venmo<\/p><\/div>\n