Manta Network, a cutting-edge layer-2 network designed for zero-knowledge applications, has recently launched a $50 million ecosystem fund through its parent organization, Manta Foundation, with the aim of expediting project development on its blockchain.
“The $50 million fund will be available for a period of one year starting from June 15th,” Manta stated. “All recipients of our grants or direct investments will be included in the EcoFund Program.”
Zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs are cryptographic protocols that allow one party (the prover) to convince another party (the verifier) that a specific claim is true without revealing any information about the claim itself. ZK-proofs play a crucial role in the realm of cryptocurrencies by enabling anonymous transactions without disclosing transaction details or user identities.
Of the $50 million ecosystem fund, $35 million will be set aside for direct investments in promising projects on the Manta Network. Additionally, $10 million will be allocated for ecosystem grants, $5 million will be dedicated to hackathons, $4 million for general grants, and $2 million will be earmarked for artificial intelligence, memecoin, and ZK-specific projects.
Manta emphasized its focus on projects that have a clear trajectory towards disrupting the market and achieving significant growth, ensuring their sustainability within the ecosystem.
At present, the Manta ecosystem has a total locked value (TVL) of $54.7 million, a notable decrease from its peak TVL of $684 million in March. This decline can be largely attributed to the conclusion of the New Paradigm crypto yield program, leading to a mass withdrawal of funds by users after yields were collected.
Earlier this year, Manta faced a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack following a successful token listing on various exchanges. The issue has since been resolved. As of now, Manta boasts a fully diluted market capitalization of $1.44 billion.
In a statement to Cointelegraph back in March, Kenny Li, the co-founder and chief operating officer of Manta Pacific, predicted that out of the 44 active Ethereum layer-2 blockchains in existence, only a select few would remain relevant in the next five years.
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Following a challenging token listing period, Manta Network is now back in operation.