I really like this idea of the blockchain bringing about a new Renaissance. I never thought of delegations as a comparable form of patronage but you're absolutely right. In a way delegation is an even stronger/safer concept than patronage (or more recently: venture capital) because the money never really leaves the account of the patron. The patron gets all the benefits with less of the risk, and the project still gets to benefit from the power of having more capital. Sndbox is the perfect example of that! Your delegation benefits Sndbox, the delegator/patron, and us sndboxers all at the same time.