The 0x Core Team, the builders of the 0x protocol that underpins the decentralized peer-to-peer exchange of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, has announced a grant program of 150 million ZRX tokens (around $50 million) to help bolster the expansion of both infrastructure projects and relayers in the 0x network.
The grant scheme, called the Ecosystem Acceleration Program, will help high-quality teams with great ideas and potential to execute their project effectively using the 0x protocol by boosting application development and user growth.
It will focus on 3 main objectives:
- Accelerating early-stage teams in the 0x ecosystem
- Investing in tooling and programs to support all businesses building on 0x
- Promoting technical breakthroughs through targeted research grants
Speaking on the announcement of the Ecosystem Acceleration Program, co-founder of 0x Will Warren says “The 0x ecosystem has grown organically to service a wide variety of markets, ranging from in-game items to traditional financial assets.
It’s important we continue the great work that’s already been done by accelerating development in the ecosystem by supporting exciting projects that share our vision for a more open financial system.”
The grant allocations are already underway with over 15 teams receiving funding for projects thus far. The average grant size is currently running at $40k but ranges from $10k up to $1 million for the teams that display the best quality, vision, execution, and community involvement.
0x does not take equity in projects through the Ecosystem Acceleration Program; the funds are made by awarding non-dilutive capital through ZRX tokens. The grants are given to teams solely in order to grow and diversify the overall 0x ecosystem.
Raday Relay, a recipient of one of the first grants, says:
“The 0x Ecosystem Acceleration Program provides early-stage projects access to technical resources that will help shorten development time, bringing the right products to market sooner. With both financial and technical support from the 0x team, the program is a great opportunity for companies interested in making an impact with the 0x protocol.”
On top of the grant, the Program also gives promising teams access to a variety of services including legal resources, marketing strategy, technical support from 0x developers, mentorship, and introductions to leading venture capital firms that could participate in the team’s next funding round.
The Radar Relay team added: “The 0x team was actively engaged, listening to our early insights and iterating on the protocol to continually move the 0x ecosystem forward. The support from 0x accelerated the launch of Radar Relay’s API and SDK. The additional resources allowed us to focus on developing tools that better serve the developer community.”
The Ecosystem Acceleration Program comes on the heels of the launch of 0x ‘Instant’ a simple, free and flexible way for developers to add token exchange functionality to any website or application.
This development coupled with the Ecosystem Acceleration Program is creating an evolved ecosystem that is building for a tokenized world and that will underpin the financial system of the future where all value can flow freely.