Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-ImSael launches Jellyjelly: a social platform built on blockchain

When Iqram Magdon-Impael co-founded the payment app Venmo in 2009 with his college roommate Andrew Kortina, his brain chemistry began to change. “I’m addicted to entrepreneurship, from a small thing to something that affects a lot of people,” he told Observer. At first glance, his latest effort (with built-in authenticity guardrails and integrated memorials) seems to be a dramatic departure from Venmo. But the two joint ventures have more in common than they seem. “Since my time at Venmo, I learned a lot about how the currency movement works,” Magdon-Impael explained. Combining blockchain’s ability to combine assets with a system of tip creators results in a similar way to modern street performers whose QR codes are linked to their guitar boxes with their Venmo profiles.

Magdon-Impael’s new platform, Jellyjelly, allows creators to publish largely unedited short form videos (called “Jellies”) that can be played immediately. Artificial intelligence processes transcription and subtitles. After the video is posted, the app activates the front and rear cameras of the phone, allowing users to share their work in real time. It’s like Bereal met Tiktok, but there was a trading turn.

Running simultaneously with the app is Jelly-Jerry (JMJ), a meme built on the solana blockchain. Users can access their JMJ wallet through their Jellyjelly profiles, and the team is actively developing encryption-enabled e-commerce features, including using tip creators directly with JMJ. To generate revenue, Jellyjelly charges a 1% transaction fee.

“As with all products, you’ll find ways to monetize,” Magdon-Impael said. “As we are brainstorming to get our user base to monetize their content or as a way to make money from the app, we are exploring multiple angles of how to integrate payments.”

Once considered a fringe element of the cryptocurrency world, Memecoins has steadily gained appeal in recent years due to speculative assets and community-building tools. Magdon-Ismael recognizes their potential as a way to generate buzz and loyalty around the product. “It has to do with payments, transactions, collectibles and commerce that people want to do in a modern way,” he said. “It’s one of the things you throw jelly on the wall, and it’s one thing.”

But the name of the platform is not only a nod to the sticky marketing idea, it is actually inspired by the immortal jellyfish or Turritopsis dohrnii, a Mediterranean species that is able to reverse its aging process through a cellular transformation called transdifferentiation. In theory, it can repeat this cycle indefinitely unless something outside interrupts it.

“This is a great addition to eternal jellyfish,” Magdon-Impael said. “Hope this is a prediction of jelly. We don’t want to die, we don’t want your jelly to die.”

“The best content wins.”

This lifespan is a well-known ecosystem Huge commitments, usually rarely followed.

On social media, Blues and Threads have grown steadily on X, formerly known as Twitter. Then there are apps like Clubhouse, which briefly attracted global attention before cultural radar gradually faded away. “Even if we have to use it sometimes to talk to a lot of these crypto people, one thing I don’t like about Twitter, and it’s obvious to me that it runs in an unfair way,” Magdon-Immael said. “There is almost nepotism within the product.”

For Magdon-Impael, Jellyjelly is a direct response to the addictive environment of overproduction promoted by platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok. “Imagine if every zoom meeting you’re at is full of filters and overproduction of content, then we have to do all this crazy thing to be able to go to a video conference. I think that’s the frustration people are now on social media,” he said. “What we think on jelly, we don’t have any filters, we don’t have it. We make it possible for everyone to do it. The best content wins.”

He added: “The first rule, you don’t see all my posts, just like you see Elon Musk’s posts by default, whenever he decides he has to see it.” Jellyjelly’s feeds are arranged strictly in chronological order and based on the identity of the person the user is following, just like the early days of Instagram. Content moderation is designed to be community-oriented, with users being able to mark inappropriate materials, and AI audits will scale up as the platform grows.

Memorials supported by real products

When it comes to cryptocurrencies, the bet is even higher. The space is filled with carpet pulls, from memes to non-killable tokens (NFTS), which removes the trust of accumulation and broken even in projects that seem legitimate in the beginning. Hawk is a symbol of tied to the now-notorious Tuah Girl, just one example of a huge digital cemetery.

“I feel like the community is traumatized by people who throw out coins and then disappear,” Magdon-Impael said. “There are a lot of things, but I have to say, there are a lot of it all. Most things start with unregulated, unknown areas, and this way is so unlimited, and then there are real signs of humanity.” He said bad actors lurk, and so are builders, and that’s the people who are committed to creating real value and community.

JMJ sets itself apart by binding directly to a functional platform with real products and the companies behind it. “When we make money from investors, we have to deliver on certain timetables and give them quarterly updates. I think the crypto community is eager to be more eager than ever before,” he said.

Although early adopters were attracted primarily from the cryptocurrency world, Magdon-Impael wanted Jellyjelly to go beyond that core foundation. He believes that users do not need to understand the encryption mechanism to participate. “We’ll use this as a representation, you don’t even know what you’re doing, exchange currency back and forth,” he said.

Jellyjelly has been backed by investors, including Observer Capital and Sam Lessin’s slow adventures. Observer Capital has been involved since the beginning, supporting the team when developing marketing strategies and shaping cryptocurrencies’ approaches. Magdon-Impael said he meets Lesein every week to discuss product development. “I love having investors involved and really want to see you succeed, rather than just cutting checks,” he said.

Other supporters include Karman Ventures, led by a team of former Uber executives; *Capital, co-founded by Kevin Hartz of Eventbrite; and Betaworks, known as the “OG New York City Incubator,” known by Magdon-Impael. Influential people like Nas Daily and Joseph Yaeger (the best known for mytechceo) also have the fairness of the company. His former Venmo co-founder Andrew Kortina is now a consultant.

Jellyjelly is still in Beta, only invites jobs and is not available for Android users yet. Even so, the platform was launched through iterative features and dripping JMJ coins to active participants to foster an early community. Magdon-Imsael said he hopes Jellyjelly can be the “antigen” of obsession with the rapid expansion of the technology world. He added that his Venmo experience kept him going to “help someone” instead of dominating the market at all costs.