Polygon has launched a $720 million Community Treasury to ensure long-term support for blockchain projects over the next decade. The initiative promises to aid developers within the Polygon and Ethereum ecosystems.

In the first season of the Community Grants Program (CGP), the $720 billion fund will distribute an initial amount of 35 million Polygon (MATIC) tokens, which are valued at approximately $25 million.

Introducing the Polygon Community Grants Program

The Polygon Community Grants Program (CGP) is designed to offer critical support to builders and founders committed to the Polygon ecosystem's growth. Recognizing the importance of early-stage funding, the CGP provides capital to developers at the start of their projects. This community-first initiative ensures that innovative builders receive the financial backing they need, fostering an environment where experimentation and risk-taking are encouraged.

Initially proposed in the POL whitepaper and further detailed in the Polygon 2.0: Governance proposal, the Polygon Community Treasury has been established with community consensus. This protocol-funded support mechanism is designed to ensure the long-term success and decentralization of the Polygon network.

Over the next decade, 100 million POL will be allocated each year for grant funding, totaling 1 billion POL dedicated to supporting builders. To initiate the Community Grants Program (CGP), 35 million MATIC will be distributed in Season 01. During Season 1, grants will be made in MATIC due to the ongoing token upgrade from MATIC to POL.

Applying to the Polygon Community Grants Program

The Community Grants Program (CGP) by Polygon is now open to any projects engaged in, supporting, or contributing to the Polygon community. While the CGP General Grants Track does not impose strict limitations on eligible projects, it emphasizes guiding potential applicants. 

Developers are encouraged to focus on areas such as developer tooling and libraries, which include projects that create or enhance tools, libraries, and frameworks to simplify blockchain development workflows. Additionally, initiatives aimed at improving the protocol infrastructure — such as consensus mechanisms, scalability solutions, and interoperability protocols across various Polygon networks — are highly valued. 

Projects that fall under decentralized applications, including DePIN, gaming, Real-World Assets (RWA), AI, infrastructure, and public goods, are also encouraged to apply, especially if they leverage Web3 technology to drive Web3 adoption.

The inaugural season of the Polygon Community Grants Program offers two distinct tracks for applicants:

General Grant Track: Open to any project building on Polygon, this track does not impose strict limitations on eligible projects but encourages a focus on areas such as developer tooling, protocol infrastructure, and decentralized applications.

Consumer Crypto Track: Targeting projects that drive crypto adoption, this track includes consumer-led use cases like gaming, gamified commerce, decentralized social platforms, AI/blockchain integrations, NFT innovations, content co-creation, and digital/physical intersections.

According to a Polygon blog post, "The grant program follows proposals to ensure that Polygon becomes a strong, community-governed aggregated network of chains."