an interconnected network of public blockchains, has published a detailed guide on the financing options available to projects and individuals at various stages of development.
The guide includes venture capital, ecosystem-wide grants, specialized development grants, community-driven funding initiatives, project-specific grants, and bounties. It also outlines opportunities ranging from small grants to multi-million-dollar funds, focusing on areas such as DeFi, gaming, and infrastructure.
Specifically, Scytale and Harbour Industrial Capital have stood out for providing capital and expertise to accelerate Polkadot-based projects. Scytale, which has invested in projects such as Astar and Centrifuge, recently introduced a dedicated Polkadot Ecosystem Fund.
Harbour, for its part, focuses on DeFi, NFT and metaverse projects, participating through Parachain auctions.
Specific grants were also awarded to specific projects. Moonbeam launched a $10 million Moonbeam Innovation Fund to boost development in the realm of gaming and real-world assets. And the Acala Grants Program backed a few pre-seed and seed-stage startups integrating with the Acala network, while Aleph Zero offered funding across multiple avenues to support developer innovations.
Separately, the Web3 Foundation Grants Program provided funding for software development and research efforts related to Polkadot and Kusama, with the opportunity to win up to 993,286.08 DOT in prizes.
“This effort is funded exclusively through Polkadot’s on-chain Treasury, which is managed by the network’s token holders through an on-chain governance system, OpenGov. With over 20 million DOT, the Treasury is dedicated to supporting projects that benefit the Polkadot ecosystem, representing a new paradigm in decentralized financial governance,” the report details.
Community-driven funding initiatives such as Polimec, a decentralized funding protocol, allow interested parties to participate in funding rounds. Additionally, Polkaport East plans to establish a central hub for Polkadot in Hong Kong, which will attract new teams and institutional investors.
Polkadot has also introduced rewards to incentivize contributions. The Polkadot DeFi Infrastructure & Tooling Bounty allocated $4 million to develop tools and infrastructure to overcome barriers to Polkadot adoption. Additionally, the Polkadot Games Bounty offers grants to game developers based on their achievements.
Earlier this year, Polkadot simplified its governance model to allow simultaneous voting on multiple issues, all managed directly by the community.
Staying true to its blockchain reputation, Polkadot, along with its “canary” network Kusama, has taken cues from earlier platforms like .
