Our plan to further accelerate the rapid growth of the Aptos ecosystem

Aptos debuted as the safe, scalable, and upgradable layer 1 blockchain powered by Move when we launched the developer testnet in March of this year. Less than four months later, developers have executed millions of transactions, tens of thousands have spun up nodes, and more than 1,500 have forked the aptos-core repository. Today, we are announcing that there are well over 100 projects building on the network, with use cases spanning across DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and more. Teams such as Pontem Network, the Macalinao brothers, Nutrios, PayMagic, MartianDAO, Solrise and many more are already writing code, shipping and gearing up for Aptos mainnet around the end of September — just a few short months away!

We are excited to formally announce the Aptos grant program to offer teams, individuals and creators all around the world non-dilutive funding to further accelerate the growth of the Aptos ecosystem.

Grant Application and Review Process

Applicants can apply for one of the suggested grant categories below. These suggestions are tailored to current ecosystem needs and are intended to help provide applicants with ideas of what to build on Aptos. Applicants are encouraged to apply for a grant that could further benefit the Aptos ecosystem, even if not found on the below list.

Grant Categories:

• Developer tooling, SDKs, libraries, documentation, guides, tutorials
• Tools and frameworks for development, governance, DeFi, and NFTs
• Core protocol contributions: token standards, libraries, protocol upgrades, etc.
• Open source & public goods
• Education initiatives
• Applications (e.g. DeFi, NFTs, social networks, gaming, DAOs, payments, bridging)

Initial Criteria:

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible for an Aptos grant:

• Projects must provide new substantial value to the ecosystem. We are looking for strong, creative projects that bring passion and new ideas to the Aptos Blockchain
• Projects must be open-source, or commit to a timeline for open sourcing
• Teams can remain anonymous publicly but will need to pass identity screening with Aptos
• We will offer grants globally except for individuals or entities in sanctioned jurisdictions

Application Proposal Guidelines

Applicants will be asked to upload a proposal for the grant when completing the application. We have created a proposal template for teams to follow. We request the following information:

• Project name
• Name of company or individual applying for the grant + contact information
• Project description
• Value proposition to the Aptos ecosystem
• Deliverables
• Team + past experience
• Technical architecture overview, if applicable
• Key Risks
• Financial and legal information

Review Process

• All grant application submissions are reviewed by the Aptos team on a rolling basis.
• Members of the Aptos ecosystem team will reach out, provide feedback and request changes upon the reception of the first application draft.
• Following an interview, applicants will receive a decision on their grant proposal.
• The grant agreement will then be shared with the team to execute and move forward to be funded by Aptos.

Please note that grant funds are distributed in USD. In the future, we may opt to distribute tokens to help incentivize long-term ecosystem growth for all parties.

How to apply for an Aptos grant

Get started by visiting our application! Keep an eye out for future initiatives, ecosystem funds and bug bounty programs. Feel free to contact grants@aptoslabs.com for questions and more information about the Aptos grant program.

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