The distribution of 20 million Starknet (STRK) tokens to the most advanced projects on the network will be carried out by the Starknet Foundation.
According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the Starknet Foundation will distribute approximately $25.2 million worth of Starknet tokens to the top 21 performing projects in the ecosystem as part of its new Catalyst program.
The Stark Foundation, in collaboration with an independent third-party, has chosen to reward the top user-facing protocols based on various factors, as stated by Diego Oliva, the CEO of Starknet Foundation.
Oliva explained to Cointelegraph that the grants program aims to accelerate innovation on Starknet’s Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, which is based on zero-knowledge rollup technology. The grants will be divided into two categories, distinguishing advanced-stage projects from emerging projects building on the network.
The first six projects that have qualified for the grants are Ekubo, AVNU, Influence, Realms, Nostra, and ZKX. Ekubo is a token launch platform, AVNU is a DeFi protocol with gasless trading, Influence is a fully on-chain grand strategy game, Realms is an on-chain gaming universe, Nostra is a DeFi protocol with an upcoming crypto super app, and ZKX is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange.
Starknet continues to focus on web3 gaming as one of the leading emerging use cases on its network. The aim is to build high-speed infrastructure with low transaction fees to support this sector. Oliva expressed his hope that the grants program will also inspire more creative blockchain use cases on the network, expanding beyond gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi).
According to L2beat, Starknet is currently the seventh-largest Ethereum layer 2, with a total value locked (TVL) of over $1.08 billion and a 2.32% market share. Cumulative TVL across Ethereum layer-2 networks exceeds $46 billion.
This new funding program for developers comes after the Starknet Foundation’s announcement of a $5 million seed grants program, which aims to support 200 promising teams with $25,000 USD Coin (USDC) each. The goal is to provide a final push for final-stage projects to launch on Starknet.
The Starknet Foundation plans to introduce future grant programs within the framework of the Catalyst program.
Starknet Unveils $25 Million Token Incentive Targeting Leading Projects