Today we are very excited to announce the launch of Taiko Grants Cycle 2!

Cycle 2 is an expanded version of our inaugural Taiko Community Grant Program (Cycle 1), for which we announced the winners a few weeks ago. We have decided to keep a similar format to our inaugural program but significantly expanded both the size ($30m in total) and scope in Cycle 2 to cover three different tracks — Community, Partner, and RFP.

Our objective continues to be the discovery and support of innovative projects and community members that advance the Taiko ecosystem with the financial incentives and developer resources needed to bring their visions to life.

Let’s look at how Taiko Grants Cycle 2 is structured and how you can apply.

Tracks

Cycle 2 is composed of three tracks, each targeted at a specific profile of the project/builder.

1. Community Track

The Community Track is aimed at early-stage builders and projects that either intend to build on Taiko, are in the process of doing so, or have already deployed. Similarly to Cycle 1, we’re looking to see what grassroots Taiko community builders have been up to lately. It could be anything from gaming, media, community, to ZKP applications or AI — everything is welcome!

Check out the winners of Cycle 1 grants to get a better understanding of what sort of projects are suitable for the Community Track.

The application window for Cycle 2’s Community Track is open from now until January 15th, 2024.

2. Partner Track

The Partner Track is aimed at established and mature projects or service providers. This track is suitable for projects that are already live, have some active users, and a sizeable community. Or it could be suitable for a crypto service provider that is looking to integrate, support, or deploy on Taiko and would like to make a grant application. The goal is to onboard the projects/service providers everyone knows and loves to Taiko and make them feel at home.

The Partner Track is an ongoing track that is going to stay open beyond Cycle 2.

3. Request for Proposal (RFP)

The RFP Track is aimed at experienced builders or teams who want to work on high-impact projects that are submitted by Taiko Labs. These will typically be specific requests for features or solutions that relate to the Taiko protocol or ecosystem. The Taiko team will submit such requests, as and when needed, and invite proposals from the community.

A list of our RFPs can be found here and applications are open to anyone, including established teams and prior grantees.

The RFP Track is an ongoing track that is going to stay open beyond Cycle 2.

Format

Grant type and size

All awarded grants will be in the form of future Taiko tokens, and the total grant pool for Cycle 2 is $30 million USD equivalent. These tokens originate from the treasury, which will be owned and managed by the Taiko DAO once it is established and treasury ownership is transferred to the community.

If the Grants Council distributes less than the total amount allocated for Cycle 2, the remaining tokens will be reallocated to forthcoming grant cycles or ecosystem incentives.

Distribution and vesting

Awarded grants can remain valid for up to 6 months and will come with individual milestones that determine the vesting schedule of the grant tokens. Additionally, the granted tokens will be subject to a 6-month lock-up which commences at the Token Generation Event (TGE) or upon milestone fulfillment — whichever comes later.

If a project fails to deliver within the pre-determined milestone period, all the remaining tokens will be reallocated to future grant initiatives.

General guidelines

1. Unless agreed otherwise, all smart contracts and frontend code to be open-sourced from the project's inception

2. Projects involving dapps must choose Taiko as one of their first platforms, but they can also deploy and integrate on other L1/L2/L3s. That said, we do look favorably upon Taiko-tailored projects, i.e., those that truly take advantage of Taiko’s strengths and design decisions, such as Ethereum-equivalence, based design, and permissionless proposing/proving.

3. Taiko Labs or its associated entities receive the right to invest up to $250K USD in the project’s subsequent fundraising round, up to one year post-grant acceptance (if applicable).

4. Grantees can apply for grants from other projects, given all other requirements are met.

5. Grantees and Taiko must establish a formal legal agreement detailing the expectations and responsibilities of both parties. All grantees will also have to undergo KYC/KYB checks.

6. If you are awarded a grant you may not disclose this (incl. any details such as the number of vested or received tokens) until we have done so.

How to apply

Please head to the Taiko Grants HQ portal to submit your application and learn more about Taiko Grants. Make sure to add as many relevant details to your application as possible to help us make better decisions.

Please remember that the deadline for applications is January 15th, 2024 (applies only to the Community Track). The Grants Council will review applications on a rolling basis and reach out to applicants over the following weeks.

We’re looking forward to reading your applications!

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