The Starknet Foundation has unveiled a fresh grant program that will provide $5 million worth of USDC to support emerging projects on the network. The Seed Grants Program aims to assist at least 200 promising teams by offering them $25,000 in USDC each, serving as a final boost to help them launch their projects on Starknet. Starknet is an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution that utilizes zero-knowledge rollup technology. The decision to establish the $5 million grants program was driven by the challenges faced by current Starknet developers, according to Starknet Foundation CEO Diego Oliva. He explained that the grants are specifically targeting projects related to Starknet that have already developed a minimum viable product or proof-of-concept, with the ultimate goal of fostering more innovation in the blockchain space. The popularity of Starknet has been steadily growing, with the number of monthly developers surpassing 22,400 in December 2023, marking a 113% increase over the past three years from 10,500 in December 2020, as reported by Electric Capital’s 2023 Developer Report.
When asked about the most exciting projects and protocol categories being built on Starknet, Oliva highlighted blockchain gaming as a prominent use case. According to DappRadar data, blockchain gaming accounted for 35% of total decentralized application activity, with over 2.2 million daily unique active wallets. Oliva’s statement aligns with the growing significance of web3 gaming in driving utility and adoption in the broader blockchain space.
In summary, the Starknet Foundation’s new $5 million Seed Grants Program aims to provide financial support to emerging projects on the network, with a focus on those related to Starknet that have already reached the minimum viable product stage. The goal is to foster innovation in the blockchain industry, with particular emphasis on the growing importance of blockchain gaming.