- Moonbeam Network has launched a $13 million funding initiative to enhance its ecosystem, focusing on gaming and real-world asset tokenization, alongside support for Moonriver on Kusama.
- Polkadot allocated three million DOT tokens to DeFi projects Hydration and StellaSwap, aiming to boost liquidity and market depth, while the Web3 Foundation invested in Hong Kong’s Polkadot community growth.
Welcome to Decrypt’s Week in Polkadot, our regular round-up of the latest developments in the Polkadot ecosystem.
Moonbeam Network, a leading parachain in the Polkadot universe since its inception in January 2022, has announced a significant funding initiative totaling $13 million. This initiative aims to bolster Moonbeam’s ecosystem across key sectors such as gaming and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, while also supporting its sister blockchain Moonriver, which operates on Polkadot’s experimental network Kusama.
Moonbeam is renowned for enabling developers to build decentralized finance (DeFi) applications that seamlessly operate across both the Ethereum and Polkadot blockchains, offering full interoperability between the ecosystems. It was the first parachain to launch on Polkadot and has seen substantial growth, with over 49 million transactions processed and more than 300 projects launched by Q1 2024, fostering a community of 200,000 members.
The funding initiative has already made its first investment in N3MUS, a gaming platform startup focused on integrating Web3 with traditional gaming platforms. N3MUS currently supports 130 games and boasts a player base of 1 million.
Polkadot Invests in DeFi Projects
In other news, Polkadot has allocated three million DOT tokens (approximately $20 million) to two DeFi projects following a nearly unanimous community vote through decentralized governance. Hydration, a DeFi protocol designed to enhance liquidity in the Polkadot ecosystem, will receive two million DOT tokens (approximately $13.4 million). The funds will be utilized to improve Omnipool, Hydration’s single-sided liquidity provisioning platform, aiming to boost trading efficiency.
StellaSwap, a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Polkadot, will receive one million DOT tokens (approximately $6.7 million) to deepen market depth and drive utility across the ecosystem.
Web3 Foundation’s Investment in the Asian Polkadot Ecosystem
The Web3 Foundation, which oversees the development of Polkadot, has awarded a grant to PolkaPort East as part of its Decentralized Futures program. This funding will support technical enhancements, community growth, and ecosystem development in the Polkadot network, focusing on Hong Kong and its surrounding areas.
Hong Kong, a major global financial hub, has been actively promoting legitimate crypto activities, having launched its Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP) handbook last June to encourage crypto adoption and innovation in the region.
Moonbeam’s $13 million funding initiative marks a significant step towards expanding its ecosystem and supporting decentralized applications on Polkadot. Meanwhile, Polkadot’s investments in Hydration and StellaSwap underscore its commitment to enhancing liquidity and utility within its ecosystem. With Web3 Foundation’s investment in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong, Polkadot is poised to further strengthen its presence in one of the world’s most influential financial centers.
For developers and investors interested in the Moonbeam ecosystem, opportunities abound to innovate and contribute to the rapidly expanding world of decentralized finance on Polkadot.
