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There's a growing recognition that for DeFi to truly go mainstream, it needs to offer attractive yields – but more so it needs to provide intuitive experiences, robust security and compelling use cases. Reality, though, has often fallen short of that dream. Unsustainable yields and speculative tokens have drawn criticism that some projects are more focused on enriching insiders than building lasting value.
Clearly, we need a solution to fix these issues head-on. Perhaps, we need a platform built from the ground up to support the unique needs of DeFi developers and users. After analyzing layer-1 blockchains, it’s clear that several players are vying to become the foundation for this next chapter of DeFi growth. One such developer-friendly platform is Radix.
Over the past many months, we've seen Radix gain significant traction – from gamifying user participation, incentivizing ecosystem engagement and more. Now the company is unlocking the next phase of its ecosystem growth with the new $10 million-plus Radix Ecosystem Fund – designed to incubate, accelerate and scale the next generation of DeFi projects and protocols.
Less than nine months since Radix’s Babylon upgrade, multiple projects on the platform are taking off. DEXes including CaviarNine, Ociswap and DeFi Plaza, as well as money markets such as WEFT, have amassed more than $30 million of TVL. Dapps such as ShardSpace, Trove and XRD Domains offer some of the slickest end-user experiences in Web3. Memecoins like Early and Hug have captured the imaginations of the community and beyond. Plus, there’s a huge amount of excitement for the upcoming launches of NFT marketplace Foton and perpetuals exchange Surge.
To further catalyze these successes, Radix is launching Foundry, a program to incubate dapps in high potential categories that can bring outsized growth in users, TVL and on-chain activity to the Radix Ecosystem.
TheseRadix Foundry grants will provide support to a diverse range of projects, including: lending/borrowing money markets, real world assets (RWA), yield derivatives, NFT pro trading, launchpads, stablecoins/CDPs, liquid staking and more. These projects will then stand a chance to receive a further $250,000 in ecosystem funding – along with dedicated marketing, business and technical support from the RDX Works team.
In order to accelerate promising projects that drive significant growth in users, TVL and on-chain activity within the ecosystem, Radix has massively expanded Booster Grants, which now offer up to $160,000 in project funding. In other words, Radix is poised to offer staged funding. This will not only support dapp development from the initial concept, but all the way through to full growth into ecosystem-wide adoption.
Let's dive deeper to understand Radix’s different grants and how they work together.
Everything starts with the MVP Booster. This offers up to $5,000 to get started with early experimentation – as well as MVP development (on Radix testnet or as a mainnet beta). Once the MVP is validated, projects can apply for a Launch Booster. This offers another $15,000 to support projects transitioning to a full mainnet.
Following the launch, projects can then choose to apply for a Refine Booster if they want. This will offer up to $50,000, to further polish their dapp and build traction. But there's something to keep in mind: This step is optional – projects can also directly go for a Growth Booster.
Growth Booster is the pinnacle of the program. This provides for up to a $140,000 to send projects into seed stage growth. To qualify, all projects need to present a comprehensive plan – covering both product development and business/marketing growth. All of this will then be evaluated by Radix. And here's what's even more interesting: Grants can also cover additional costs for project maintenance costs, including things like auditing smart contract codes.
In total, projects can now receive up to $160,000 in Booster funding across all grant stages (including any prior Radix grants). This substantial funding opportunity – combined with the dedicated support – is enough to give projects the runway they need to scale from zero to one.
While the spotlight may often be on the dapps themselves, Radix recognizes that a thriving ecosystem requires a strong foundation of developer tools and support. To this end, Radix has a range of developer incentives and ecosystem grants to offer:
These rewards can further incentivize developers to leverage Radix's native Scrypto language and contribute impactful dapps and code examples to the community. Beyond individual contributions, Radix also offers ecosystem grants for projects building developer tooling and other supporting infrastructure.
What's more, Radix notes that ecosystem growth is a collaborative effort, and the community often plays a vital role in attracting new projects. To tap into this potential, Radix has introduced a Referral Rewards program. For example, if a community member refers a project for grants – and that project is successfully accepted – both the referrer and the referred project earn a $500 reward each. This win-win approach encourages community members to actively identify and onboard promising projects which in turn, further accelerates ecosystem growth.
With such substantial funding opportunities, combined with hands-on support and a clear roadmap for growth, Radix is rolling out the red carpet for serious builders ready to shape DeFi's future. This combination – of dev-friendly infrastructure, well-aligned incentives and a strong focus on end-user experiences – positions Radix uniquely in the layer-1 space. As the crypto world watches eagerly, one question remains: Who will step up to build the next generation of defining DeFi protocols? With Radix's Foundry program in full swing, those answers may emerge sooner than we think.
Learn more about Radix and apply to its Foundry Grants by visiting its official website:
Source: coindesk.com