Meet the Decentralized Futures grant recipients: transforming ideas into impact on Polkadot
The Decentralized Mic is here to spotlight the innovative projects and teams driving Polkadot’s growth. Join us as we explore the achievements of Decentralized Futures grant recipients and their contributions to the Polkadot ecosystem on the new ecosystem community call series.
By Polkadot•August 5, 2024
Decentralized Futures - Fueling Polkadot’s Growth
The Decentralized Futures (DF) program by the Web3 Foundation is a bold funding initiative designed to kickstart innovative teams and projects essential for Polkadot’s success. With a substantial fund of 20 million USD and 5 million DOT tokens, the DF program supports individuals and teams with targeted goals for growing the Polkadot ecosystem. The key objective is to expand the network by adding self-sustaining participants. Funding is awarded to Polkadot-focused organizations committed to advancing the network, creating impactful solutions, and promoting a thriving decentralized ecosystem.
The DF program concluded its review process on July 31, 2024, awarding grants to many exceptional teams and individuals. These teams span various disciplines, including marketing, business development, onboarding, governance, and technology. Among the grant recipients are Distractive and Evan Thomas, who will host a series of community calls called the “Decentralized Mic” that dives into the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned by DF grant recipient teams.
Tune in for the debut of the Decentralized Mic on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, at 11am EST / 5pm CET. Catch the livestream on LinkedIn, YouTube, and X.
Decentralized Futures grant recipients
The following Decentralized Futures grant recipients have been announced:
Marketing
AirLyft One - Community engagement through gamification
AirLyft simplifies parachain learning, onboarding, and incentivization. By automating critical steps and reducing operational complexities, AirLyft enables project teams to focus on their core offerings and technological advancements by creating product native tasks leveraging the off-chain, onchain indexers and API, exposable APIs, automated reward distribution, sybil prevention, and much more.
Evan Thomas - Spearheading decentralized social media
Evan is focused on developing and implementing a decentralized social media framework that aligns seamlessly with the ethos of the Polkadot ecosystem. An active member of the Polkadot community with a decade of digital marketing experience, he collaborates closely with the other DFP grant recipients to ensure Polkadot’s marketing narrative is aligned across all channels.
Decentered Studio - Decentered events production for centered impact
Decentered Studio is an event services agency driven by a mission to revolutionize Web3 events. With comprehensive offerings ranging from end-to-end flagship event execution to custom event initiatives, their services aim to elevate brand awareness, foster team collaboration, and provide expert guidance on event execution and treasury proposals.
Distractive - Marketing for the modern era of innovators
Distractive is a full-service marketing agency specializing in emerging crypto ecosystems and the de facto marketing department for the Polkadot network. Founded in 2023 by the same ragtag crew that launched the Moonbeam and Moonriver networks, Distractive’s integrative team specializes in strategy, content, and digital media to drive Polkadot’s growth.
Business Development
BlockDeep Labs - Fueling the next wave of innovation
At the forefront of BlockDeep Labs’ agenda is the delivery of the Mythos Parachain — an endeavor that promises to redefine the boundaries of what’s possible within the Polkadot ecosystem. Mythos is envisioned as a catalyst for growth, a platform where innovation meets scalability, and where the future of decentralized technologies takes shape.
DotPlay bounty for gaming - Creating a thriving gaming ecosystem for Polkadot
The Dot Play Bounty is a strategic accelerator aimed at fostering a vibrant gaming ecosystem within Polkadot. A pivotal hub, focused on mass market, creator centric genres within gaming. Dot Play is building a ‘New Superstars’ community, providing through this program, tailored funding to promising game developers whose projects will enhance and contribute to the overall Polkadot ecosystem. Typically, funding is focused on ecosystem tools and game development, which require detailed planning and regular reporting to assigned bounty curators.
The Dot Play Bounty offers a new accelerator model, for passionate teams wanting to utilize Polkadot’s infrastructure to build the next global entertainment experiences. For more details and to learn more, visit the Dot Play teams portal.
Moondance - Business development
Moondance Labs, a core contributor to the Tanssi Network, is set to lead Polkadot’s business development efforts. Their strategic expansion initiatives aim to accelerate the adoption of Polkadot through the deployment of new parachains and smart contract-based applications.
Polkadot Music Events Initiative (PMEI) - Integrating music with Web3 tech
PMEI if focused on integrating Web3 technology into various aspects of the music industry, making it easier for users and enterprises to engage with blockchain technology in meaningful ways. Its global event series, {bash}, showcases Polkadot tech and offers fans and artists a chance to participate in co-creating new experiences in Web3.
PoKe - Integrating Polkadot into major organizational infrastructures
PoKe is the brainchild of Scytale Digital and BOTLabs GmbH, a strategic alignment aimed at leveraging Polkadot’s unique technological offerings to attract large institutions. PoKe’s objective is to enhance Polkadot’s visibility and utility across major organizational infrastructures, driving significant blockchain adoption.
Polimec - Community-driven funding protocol
Polimec enables fundraising in a decentralized, transparent, and regulatory-compliant manner, aligning stakeholder incentives during and beyond fundraising.
PolkaPort East - Attracting new teams and institutional investors
Polkaport East aims to establish a permanent and vibrant Polkadot community in Hong Kong. As a central hub for growth and investor relations in one of the world’s leading financial centers, PolkaPort East seeks to attract new teams and institutional investors to the ecosystem.
Transistor - Driving Ecosystem Growth in the US
Transistor, a New York-based Web3 ecosystem development firm, aims to play a pivotal role in accelerating Polkadot’s adoption and integration across various sectors of the U.S. digital economy. Transistor plans to establish a strong Polkadot community in crypto’s capital, New York City.
Onboarding
Accelerate Polkadot - Mastering blockchain development
Accelerate Polkadot lowers barriers for developers looking to build on Polkadot. The initiative focuses on creating detailed, code-first guides that provide practical applications and real-world use cases. These resources are designed to be accessible, engaging, and directly applicable, making it easier for developers to start building innovative projects within the Polkadot ecosystem.
Diogo Mendonça - Increasing builder onboarding
Diogo Mendonça, Ph.D., integrates Polkadot content into undergraduate university computer science courses and provides quality assurance for project deliverables that receive funds in the Polkadot ecosystem. His initiatives, including Polkadot at Universities and Milestone Deliveries On-Demand Evaluation initiatives, aim to improve builder onboarding and milestone evaluation.
Interplanetary Talent Services (IPTS) - Revolutionizing Web3 talent recruitment
IPTS is set to transform the way web3 companies find and hire top talent. Known for their advanced recruitment strategies and mission-aligned services, IPTS offers a comprehensive range of hiring support designed to meet the unique needs of the Polkadot ecosystem.
PaperMoon - Empowering developer relations
PaperMoon enhances the developer experience by providing tailored DevRel solutions. They bridge communication gaps, streamline knowledge-sharing, and promote best practices to foster a productive developer community.
Play on Polkadot (POP) - Revolutionizing the developer experience
By providing a comprehensive toolkit, Pop CLI simplifies the creation, testing, and deployment of parachains and smart contracts through simple commands. This innovative tool aims to streamline and harmonize the entire development experience
Governance
OpenGov.Watch - Fostering an inclusive and transparent governance model
OpenGov.Watch is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at developing governance operations and culture within the Polkadot ecosystem. By providing regular reports and pioneering initiatives, OpenGov.Watch empowers governance participants to stay informed, find consensus, and coordinate on projects that propel the community forward.
Tech
Archisinal - Integrating within the building sector
Archisinal is pioneering a decentralized marketplace for professionals, leveraging NFTs to revolutionize how architectural and design works are monetized and managed. Their platform aims to integrate blockchain technology within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector.
ETF Network - Empowering the future of onchain randomness
ETF Network, short for “Encryption to the Future,” is at the cutting edge of developing a substrate-based blockchain. ETF network is addressing the challenges of secure delayed transactions, offering a robust solution to front-running resistance and enabling trustless multiparty interactions on the blockchain.
Kylix Finance - Advancing DeFi lending
Kylix Finance addresses the gaps in the current DeFi landscape on Polkadot by providing a comprehensive onchain lending solution. Their focus is on offering strong incentives for liquidity providers, innovative adaptive rates, a robust collateral liquidation auction system, and a composable asset lending product.
MLabs - Formally verifying the GRANPA protocol
MLabs aims to bring mathematical rigor to the GRANDPA (GHOST-based Recursive ANcestor Deriving Prefix Agreement) protocol at the heart of Polkadot's finality mechanism. MLabs will apply formal verification to ensure the protocol's correctness, enhancing network security and reliability.
Ocelloids - Building Polkadot’s universal cross-chain monitoring network
Ocelloids plan to build upon the foundation established by the XCM Monitoring Server to create a universal, robust, open-source cross-chain monitoring system for Polkadot. The goal is to develop a reliable and resilient monitoring system bundled with monitoring logic that can be operated by any party according to their needs.
Pendzl - Propelling the development of smart contracts
Pendzl is a smart contract library poised to redefine the development landscape for Polkadot’s ink! smart contracts, enriching the developer’s toolbox with essential features such as event emission. They offer essential features like event emission and a streamlined user experience to enhance usability and simplify the development journey for smart contract developers.
Polkadot Multisig powered by Signet - Facilitating enterprise adoption
Built by the team at Talisman, the Signet platform simplifies enterprise blockchain operations. Built on Substrate, it incorporates multisig, proxy, governance, and staking pallets, making it easier for enterprises to engage in blockchain operations like treasury management, payments, staking, and governance while ensuring best practices in risk management.
StorageHub - Revolutionizing data efficiency and accessibility
StorageHub is a decentralized storage public good blockchain, optimized for file-based storage and large data sets. Their platform ensures data accessibility and efficiency without compromising on decentralization principles, revolutionizing data management in the blockchain space.
Velocity Labs - Unleashing Polkadot's full DeFi potential
Velocity Labs aims to transform the Polkadot ecosystem into a DeFi innovation hub. The ecosystem builder and venture studio is dedicated to building essential infrastructure, tools, and products that will enable DeFi on Polkadot to thrive.
Tune into the Decentralized Mic and stay updated on DF projects
The Decentralized Futures program is an important initiative fueling Polkadot’s decentralization by providing funding to individuals and teams launching new initiatives with the objective of growing the Polkadot ecosystem. Complementing this initiative, the Decentralized Mic plays a supporting role by keeping the community informed and engaged with funded initiatives’ progress and achievements.
Through a series of community calls, the Decentralized Mic provides a platform for funded individuals and teams to share their journey. Together, Decentralized Futures and Decentralized Mic foster innovation, transparency, collaboration, and community participation within the Polkadot ecosystem.
Follow Polkadot on LinkedIn, YouTube, and X to be the first to hear about the next episode of the monthly series or to watch previous streams on demand.
