XRPL Grants: Funding the Next Phase of Open, Decentralized Innovation
XRPL Grants is helping enable developers to leverage the XRP Ledger’s (XRPL) open-source technology to further innovate in the Internet of Value. If you’re a developer and would like to build a project on the XRPL, keep reading to find out more info and how to apply.
A Community-Centric Initiative
As interest in crypto continues to skyrocket, 2021 has presented new opportunities for entrepreneurs and developers to build exciting, real-world use cases. As this blockchain ecosystem grows, more and more projects are being built on the XRP Ledger—a scalable, sustainable and reliable public blockchain rife with opportunities for innovation.
On the heels of this growing spotlight on crypto innovation, the new XRP Ledger Grants Program aims to support the independent, open-source development ecosystem around the XRPL.
Here are just a few examples of the exciting work being built on the XRP Ledger today:
- Travala is a blockchain-based travel booking platform used by thousands of customers worldwide and accepts cryptocurrencies as payment
- Uphold offers a debit card that enables consumers to pay in cryptocurrencies and fiat.
- Forte provides tools for game developers to integrate blockchain technology and crypto into new and existing games.
- Audiotarky is a streaming platform where artists and labels are paid directly using crypto for downloads.
- Wirex offers a travel card for customers to exchange and spend cryptocurrencies.
- Puma Browser is a private, mobile Web3 browser that makes it easy to support micropayments and pay creators using cryptocurrencies.
- XRPLORER offers services and tools that help prevent and combat fraudulent activity on the XRPL as well as custom APIs and analytics that supplement the XRPL APIs.
- Coil provides web monetization as an alternative to traditional paid advertising. It uses the Interledger Protocol (ILP) to stream micropayments as users consume content. The XRP Ledger's payment channels provide an ideal system for settling these micropayments at high speed and low cost.
- XRPL Labs is dedicated to building software on the XRP Ledger, from cold storage to apps for signing transactions.
About the Program
XRPL Grants funds both select core technology and end-user applications including, but not limited to:
- Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
- Core infrastructure
- Developer tooling
- Developer UX
- Security
- Software
- Hardware
- Firmware
- Design projects
The first round of applications is currently open until June 9 and will consider any project that builds on the XRP Ledger, involves some technical development and has an open-source component.
The review panel is composed of committee members Ali Mohammadloo from XRPL Labs, Matt Hamilton and Elliot Lee from RippleX.
The focus area for the first round relates to the development of NFTs on the XRP Ledger such as:
- An XRPL-based NFT Marketplace
- An XRPL-based NFT Issuance platform (minting)
- Wallet support for XRPL-based NFTs
- Tools and services for XRPL-based NFTs
Why NFTs?
The XRP Ledger is ideally suited to deliver a superior user experience for NFTs and tokenization more broadly. When combined with a robust suite of tools and resources, the innate performance advantages of the XRPL and its native digital asset XRP enable developers a seamless experience for NFTs, without the environmental implications inherent in other blockchains.
The developer community around the XRP Ledger is already hard at work proposing features and providing tools and documentation to make XRPL the go-to chain for NFTs. XRPL Labs(https://xrpl-labs.com/), for example, proposed a standard for using existing functionality to issue NFTs on the XRP Ledger and started working on an embedded xApp in XRP wallet Xaman for minting NFTs on the XRPL.
Inspired by XRPL Labs’ standard, the RippleX team also proposed additional functionality that would provide enhanced NFT support on the XRP Ledger.
The Application and Selection Process
Step 1: Create an initial prototype and submit your application
Step 2: Finalists are chosen for interviews
Step 3: Accepted projects are notified
Step 4: Grantees receive funding and are matched with mentors
Step 5: After 3-4 months, final interviews are conducted
About The XRP Ledger
The XRP Ledger is open-source and permissionless, delivering powerful utility to developers on a public blockchain. Its built-in decentralized exchange (DEX)(https://xrpl.org/decentralized-exchange.html#main-page-header) and custom token functionality—Issued Currencies—supports the seamless exchange of tokens, with more than 5,400 currencies issued and traded on the XRP Ledger to date.
Additionally, the XRP Ledger is the only major L-1 blockchain that’s built for business and designed specifically to power finance use cases and applications at scale. Development and forward progress of the XRPL is maintained by the growing developer community around XRP for which RippleX is just one participant.
Get Started Today
This new initiative is an incredible opportunity to grow that community to new heights.
Ready to get started? Apply for a grant before the first round closes on June 9.