Web3 firms to support ecosystem development through grants amid market uptick

As Bitcoin (BTC) soared past the $40,000 mark and brought the total crypto market capitalization to $1 trillion, Web3 firms have started to roll out grants to support the development of the blockchain ecosystem. 

On Dec. 6, the Worldcoin Foundation, the organization behind the popular Worldcoin (WLD) project backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announced a $5 million community grants program dubbed “Wave0.” The grants will be disbursed through WLD tokens or stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC).

The grant program focuses on various projects such as community organizers, event sponsorships and hackathons. In addition, the organization also has other grant tracks that will focus on funding bigger projects. 

The Worldcoin Foundation has launched its Community Grants Program.https://t.co/bWb3jdl69V

— Worldcoin (@worldcoin) December 6, 2023

Apart from Worldcoin, other companies are also starting to release grants to support the developments of the Web3 infrastructure. In a press release sent to Cointelegraph, layer-2 protocol Coinweb announced a $10 million grant to support developers who will build Web3 services and decentralized applications (DApps) on its infrastructure platform. 

According to the announcement, the grants may go up to $300,000 depending on the types of DApps and the stages of development. The protocol also highlighted that the grant program’s focus includes decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized exchanges (DEXs), wallets, gaming, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and social finance.

Meanwhile, the Fantom Foundation has also launched an accelerator program and allocated 1 million Fantom (FTM), worth over $300,000, to support five projects. In a press release sent to Cointelegraph, the protocol highlighted that the program will include mentorship from its leadership, including its director Andre Cronje. 

Related: Web3 gaming trends in 2024: Execs weigh in on blockchain gaming future

Earlier this month, the Arbitrum community expanded its grant program budget, passing an extra $23 million to fund all grant applicants. The new development puts the Arbitrum grant program budget at over $70 million, supporting 56 projects.

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