The Starknet Foundation, the organization behind the altcoin project Starknet (STRK), has unveiled a grant program worth $5 million in USD Coin (USDC) to support the development of projects on the network. The funding aims to assist blockchain developers in the final stages of their projects and promote innovation within the blockchain ecosystem.
Details of the $5 Million Grant Program for the Altcoin Project
The new grant program, totaling $5 million, will provide a final push for end-stage projects on Starknet, a ZK-rollup based Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution. The program aims to support a minimum of 200 promising project teams with $25,000 each.
Diego Oliva, CEO of the Starknet Foundation, explained that the grant program was introduced to address the fundamental challenges faced by developers on Starknet. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Oliva stated, “We carefully listen to developers and understand the challenges they encounter. These projects are incredibly creative and visionary, but often struggle with funding to bring their ideas to life. We have responded with a grant program that directly solves this issue with minimal bureaucracy.”
The grant program will target projects related to Starknet that have already developed a minimum viable product (MVP) or proof of concept. Oliva emphasized that the main goal is to encourage more blockchain innovation, stating, “Our aim is to reduce the barriers and obstacles that young teams face when considering launching a project. We want to pave the way for innovation.”
Starknet’s Growing Developer Community
Starknet has been successful in attracting an increasing number of developers to its ecosystem. According to the latest developer report, the total number of active developers per month has grown from 10,500 in December 2020 to over 22,400 in December 2023, representing a remarkable 113% increase over three years. With the introduction of the $5 million grant program, it is expected that more developers will be drawn to the ecosystem.
Emphasis on Blockchain-Based Gaming
When asked about the most exciting projects and protocol categories being built on Starknet, Oliva highlighted blockchain-based gaming as the standout use case. He stated, “Starknet is at the forefront of fully on-chain gaming. Key projects in this field include Realms, Influence, and Dojo. The gaming sector is rapidly expanding, with more teams adopting the Dojo standard on Starknet. Gaming is not only important for players, but it also drives demand for the network, tests its capabilities, and showcases its strength.”
According to data from DappRadar, blockchain-based games account for 35% of total decentralized application (dApp) activity, with over 2.2 million unique active wallet addresses daily.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article should not be considered as investment advice. Investors should be aware of the high volatility and risks associated with cryptocurrencies and should conduct their own research.