Breaking away from the standard focus on developers, the CrossFi Foundation unveils its visionary $50 million grant program. The initiative is designed to be inclusive, welcoming participation from all users within the Cross Finance ecosystem. In an interview, Alexander Mamasidikov, co-founder of Cross Finance, explains the motivations behind this move, sheds light on the strategic allocation of grants and reveals the eligibility criteria applied to grantees.
Question: In November, the CrossFi Foundation announced a large-scale grant program totaling $50 million. Who can apply for a grant and what needs to be done?
Answer: The CrossFi Foundation grant program targets all users of the Cross Finance ecosystem. It’s not limited to developers or technical experts; it is inclusive for everyone, including common users. The program is structured into four categories: common users, ambassadors, developers, and validators.
The eligibility criteria for receiving a grant vary depending on the user’s role in the ecosystem. For ordinary users, participation involves using ecosystem products, testing them, providing feedback, and sharing their experiences on social networks. Ambassadors need to have active social media accounts with a substantial follower base and create high-quality content about the ecosystem’s products. Developers seeking grants should be capable of creating services and tools on the CrossFi EVM-compatible blockchain. Validators can apply for grants to support the decentralized CrossFi Chain’s stability and robustness. Grants are awarded in native ecosystem coins, XFI and MPX.
Question: Are the volumes of grants in the four categories the same?
Answer: The grant program allocates the majority, approximately 75%, to development teams creating solutions based on CrossFi Chain. The remaining 25% will be distributed among three categories of grantees – users, ambassadors, and validators.
Question: What solutions do you expect to come to the ecosystem?
Answer: The range of expected solutions is broad, including bridges, swaps, lending protocols, farming and staking tools, DeFi protocols and services, oracles, and GameFi products. The goal is to expand the ecosystem and provide users with a diverse product selection. Development teams with finished products have an advantage, considering their experience, expertise, and community support. To receive a grant, teams must conduct an independent code audit and submit a security and decentralization report to the jury. The jury, currently comprising the CrossFi Chain developers’ team with extensive layer-1 blockchain experience, will evaluate all applications.
Question: If grants for developers are a very popular story in the blockchain industry, then grants for users are a rare phenomenon. Why did you decide to provide grants for ordinary users as well?
Answer: The Cross Finance product ecosystem aims to bridge traditional finance with the decentralized finance industry, making it accessible to a broad number of users in daily life. Recognizing that some users perceive cryptocurrencies as complex or separate them from traditional finance, the grant program seeks to address this gap through educational initiatives.
The goal is to illustrate the coexistence of traditional and decentralized financial approaches and demonstrate how they can complement each other. Ordinary users, being the primary audience, are encouraged to share their experiences and contribute to the ecosystem’s growth, fostering a better understanding of blockchain technology.
Question: $50 million is one of the largest grants in the blockchain industry over the past year. Do the goals of such grant programs justify it?
Answer: The CrossFi Foundation, as a non-commercial organization supporting Cross Finance, considers community as the main value and primary driving force of any decentralized system. The $50 million grant program aims to stimulate ecosystem development, encourage active community participation, and create a foundation for new products and services. The program emphasizes that users are not just consumers but also contributors to the ecosystem’s evolution. Grants have proven their effectiveness in fostering blockchain community engagement.
Question: Isn’t it easier to select a team of developers yourself and create the products the ecosystem needs? Wouldn’t it be cheaper?
Answer: The purpose of grant programs extends beyond product creation; it focuses on ecosystem and community development. Grant programs aim to attract DApp builders and professional developers with their own communities. These development teams, by launching decentralized applications on the CrossFi blockchain, introduce the capabilities of the CrossFi Chain to their audience, thereby increasing onchain activity and liquidity. Grant programs harness the collective force of the audience, a key driving factor in the blockchain industry.
