Polygon, the layer-2 scaling network, has recently launched a Community Grants Program with the allocation of 1 billion POL tokens (formerly known as MATIC) to support ecosystem developers over the upcoming decade.

The program was officially announced by Polygon Labs, which stated in a blog post that the Community Treasury had been established following community agreement. This initiative entails unlocking 1 billion POL tokens gradually over the span of 10 years, equating to approximately 100 million POL tokens per year, all designated for the benefit of builders within the ecosystem.

The current phase, Season 01, of the program has been initiated with the allocation of 35 million MATIC tokens for projects that are constructing on the L2 network. At the present value of MATIC, this amounts to around $23 million earmarked to assist builders who are keen on expanding Polygon's ecosystem.

The responsibility of distributing the funds rests with the neutral Community Treasury Board, as communicated by the platform. Additionally, Polygon will adhere to an open and community-aligned funding approach, facilitated by professional Grant Allocators responsible for distributing the Season 01 funds.

Eligibility Criteria

Projects seeking to leverage the grants program must satisfy specific requirements. Firstly, they should either be actively developing on Polygon or express a willingness to migrate their projects to the blockchain platform. Furthermore, it is crucial for the projects to demonstrate long-term growth potential.

Polygon has introduced two avenues for potential projects to engage with the initiative: the "General Grant Track," catering to developers focusing on tooling and infrastructure on Polygon, and the "Consumer Crypto Track," which targets consumer-centric projects such as gaming, decentralized social platforms, gamified commerce, AI and blockchain integration, and NFT innovations.

Purpose of the Community Grants Program

The primary goal of the Community Grants Program, as outlined by Polygon Labs, is to provide support to developers during the critical development phase rather than post-project completion. The essence of true innovation lies in taking calculated risks during the early stages of development. Polygon's CGP aims to offer dynamic early-stage builders the necessary funding precisely when it is required.

Applications for Season 01 are now open, commencing on June 11 and scheduled to conclude on August 31, 2024.