TON, short for The Open Network, has launched an Accelerator Fund worth $250 million with the objective of promoting and incentivizing developments on the network. The goal is also to attract new developers to the ecosystem, facilitating innovation on the layer-1 blockchain.
Interested developers can sign up and fill out the form; however, only select developers will ultimately make it to the final stage for the Accelerator Fund. Grants to participants with successful projects will vary in the range of $50,000 and $250,000. This will be assisted by mentorship from industry experts like Gotbit, Cypher Capital, and Boom Labs.
Justin Hyun, the Head of Incubation & Growth at the Foundation, has expressed confidence in attracting new developers, saying that they will be based across different global locations. Calling this the beginning of many incubators, Justin added that the support would go beyond the present time to also help successful projects in the future.
As of the first year, the Accelerator Fund will roll out $25 million in funding, accessible at TONcoin.Fund. This fund will be accessible throughout the first year, with increments expected to happen in the following year based on how projects are working out.
Bill Qian from Cypher Capital has called this program unique, saying that the Foundation is taking the incubator principle from the ecosystem of Web2 and refining it for a better implementation. The Chairman of Cypher Capital has further highlighted that TON is evolving the practice by encompassing all the best possible practices.
TON’s announcement has additionally outlined that projects participating in DoraHacks Hack-a-TONx will also qualify for the fund. They must prove their worth and emerge successful to claim the spot in the program. Hack-a-TONx, a two-month program, was hosted by TON Foundation in partnership with DoraHacks.
The announcement about launching a $250 million Accelerator Fund follows TON Blockchain gaining recognition in several African nations. This includes the likes of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and the Republic of Congo. Per their recognition, the nations have sparked an interest among them in adopting the blockchain. TON Foundation earlier partnered with one of the US-based crypto exchanges, BIT crypto exchange, to enable the users of the platform to settle the trading fees through TON tokens.
Partners of the program have taken note of the announcement and expressed their excitement. For instance, DoraHacks has called out all the participants to up the game and claim the opportunity.
Developers who are unable to make it to the program, or secure a spot for funding, can go around exploring the network anyway. It offers fast transactions at the lowest possible cost.
Making TON Foundation one of the best players in the market is the fact that it constantly aims to progress in the sphere. Making this evident is its recent partnership with Onramp with the mission to upgrade investments in digital assets.