Layer-2 network Polygon is starting a Community Grants Program to encourage builders to build in its ecosystem, Polygon Labs said on Tuesday. The program aims to place 1 billion POL, Polygon’s soon-to-rebrand MATIC token, into the hands of developers over the next 10 years.
The program went live Tuesday with 35 million tokens, worth $23 million at current prices, eligible for distribution. The network is in the process of transitioning its current token, MATIC, to the new POL ticker, so this first tranche of tokens will be denominated in MATIC. The program will tap into funds made available by Polygon’s Community Treasury, and the team shared that roughly 100 million POL tokens will be given out each year.
Those looking to participate in the program can opt into two tracks. The first is what the team calls a “General Grant Track,” which is for builders looking to build anything on Polygon. The second is the “Consumer Crypto Track,” which focuses on projects that drive crypto adoption, including gaming, decentralized social applications, AI and blockchain integrations, and NFT innovations.
“The grant program follows proposals to ensure that Polygon becomes a strong, community-governed aggregated network of chains,” Polygon wrote in a blog post.in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence.