IOVLabs Launches a $2.5M grants program and the Scaling Bitcoin Hackathon to usher in new builders

Miami, USA, Could seventeenth, 2023, Chainwire

IOVLabs, one of many world blockchain expertise leaders, introduced the launch of a $2.5 million strategic grants program to additional improve the event and adoption of Rootstock, the world’s first Bitcoin sidechain which has turn into a rising hub of DeFi exercise on the Bitcoin community.

This system was revealed at present on the inaugural Bitcoin Builders Conference in Miami, a pioneering occasion targeted on Bitcoin Layer 1 and Layer 2 builders.

To find eligible candidates for the grant program, IOVLabs additionally introduced the launch of a Hackathon in partnership with HackerEarth, a world group of over 4 million builders.

The Hackathon will run from Could to July, that includes an ideation stage, a growth stage, and a last pitch to an esteemed panel of judges from the Bitcoin and Rootstock ecosystems. Blockchain builders from everywhere in the world are invited to use.

Given Rootstock’s compatibility with Ethereum Digital Machine (EVM), no prior data is required to construct decentralized functions (dApps) and integrations on the community. Builders can use the identical solidity instruments and libraries they’re accustomed to, together with Hardhat, Truffle, web3.js, and ethers.js.

Along with the opportunity of qualifying for the $2.5 million grant program, all Hackathon individuals stand an opportunity to win over $25,000 in prizes.

Hackathon Judges embody Rootstock Co-founder Sergio Lerner and mentors embody Rootstock Co-founder Diego Gutiérrez Zaldívar. Rootstock ecosystem leaders together with representatives from Sovryn and Tropykus will even be judging the hackathon.

Builders can leverage Rootstock’s intensive sources on the DevPortal and acquire the power to include the RIF’s pre-built open-source protocols into their present and future tasks.

That is a part of a broader effort by IOVLabs to increase the chances of Bitcoin past being a retailer of worth and assist the ecosystem turn into a full-fledged monetary system. The twin-pronged method of supporting established monetary establishments constructing and launching Web3 merchandise and aiding entrepreneurs and builders with funding and help via hackathons and grants all speaks to IOVLabs’ want to empower the group. Co-creation and the continuous progress of Rootstock’s ecosystem associate checklist additional attribute to that mission.

IOVLabs VP of Development Pei Chen feedback:

“IOVLabs’ help of the strategic grants program demonstrates our sturdy dedication to supply the instruments wanted to construct a really decentralized monetary system on Bitcoin. This is a chance for the subsequent era of builders to harness the Rootstock sidechain to increase the capabilities of Bitcoin and assist create a freer and fairer monetary system for all.”

“Rootstock is quickly changing into often called the house of DeFi on Bitcoin. However we consider now’s the time to make it accessible to everybody, no matter their technical skill. That’s why the overarching theme of this yr’s grant programme is On a regular basis DeFi. That is how the primary billion customers might be onboarded to Web3 and collectively we are able to make it occur.”

The Hackathon and grants program will encourage builders to discover a spread of ideas and tasks aligning with the “On a regular basis DeFi” theme, together with:

Larger interoperability for various blockchains constructed on or with Bitcoin (dApps, bridges, technical implementations)
Person-centric utility to attain efficient person engagement (real-world use circumstances, compelling DAO governance modules, information dashboards)
Unlocking new performance and liquidity for DeFi (strategic integrations of marketplaces, dApps, DEXes, aggregators, wallets, on/off ramps, oracles)
Developer Hackathon Bounties for Rootstock infrastructure & tooling (enhancing the foundational instruments and sources for sustainable ecosystems, e.g. compiler help, SDKs, libraries, node-as-a-service, merge mining, rollups, and so forth.)

The Bitcoin Builders Convention, set for Could seventeenth in Miami, will present a possibility for hands-on workshops, panel discussions with engineering leaders, and insightful business keynotes for builders and innovators. The convention will even showcase the most recent growth instruments for Bitcoin.

IOVLabs President Daniel Fogg provides:

“With the Bitcoin Builders Convention underway, I am excited to see how builders are harnessing Bitcoin’s potential to resolve on a regular basis challenges for individuals around the globe. IOV Labs strongly believes Bitcoin sidechains like Rootstock will play a serious position in bringing the primary billion customers to crypto. This convention is a chance to have fun and share our progress up to now whereas acknowledging there’s nonetheless work to do. Each community has its candy spot, and for Rootstock, it is all about utilizing Bitcoin to create a extra accessible and fairer monetary system for all. By bringing collectively EVM compatibility with the unrivaled safety of Bitcoin, Rootstock affords builders a community that may be trusted to help the monetary futures of individuals worldwide, regardless of their financial standing.”

Each the grants scheme and the Hackathon purpose to encourage builders to construct on Bitcoin by leveraging the sensible contract capabilities of its Rootstock sidechain.

This initiative helps to futureproof Bitcoin by enhancing its long-term worth proposition and selling sidechains for advanced transactions, thereby addressing the continuing congestion problem on the main community.

The $2.5 million grants program is totally funded by IOV Labs, which contributes to the event of Rootstock, a decentralized blockchain protocol.

Rootstock use continues to develop, with near $400m in Whole Worth Locked (TVL) and over 60 protocols in its ecosystem.

About IOVlabs

IOVlabs develops the blockchain applied sciences wanted for a brand new world monetary ecosystem that fosters alternative, transparency, and belief.

The group presently contributes to the event of the Rootstock blockchain and Rootstock Infrastructure Framework (RIF).

The Rootstock community is among the safer sensible contract platforms on the planet, designed to leverage Bitcoin’s unparalleled hash energy whereas extending its capabilities.

Rootstock Infrastructure Framework (RIF) is a collection of open and decentralized infrastructure protocols that allow sooner, simpler and scalable growth of distributed functions (dApps) inside a unified atmosphere.

For extra data, go to the IOVLabs website.

About Rootstock

Rootstock is the world’s most safe, permissionless and censorship-resistant Bitcoin sidechain. It gives EVM-compatible sensible contract performance utilizing Bitcoin because the native asset. Rootstock takes Bitcoin from a easy retailer of worth and turns it into the foundations of a fully-fledged decentralised monetary system.

Rootstock’s native token RBTC is named “Sensible Bitcoin” and lets customers use their BTC to work together with a spread of providers on the Rootstock Bitcoin layer 2. RBTC is an actual 1:1 peg with BTC. (1 RBTC = 1 BTC) While you switch bitcoin into Rootstock, your bitcoin is locked and the equal quantity is launched as RBTC.

Rootstock is a Bitcoin sidechain that gives EVM-compatible sensible contract performance utilizing Bitcoin because the native asset. Rootstock is probably the most permissionless and censorship-resistant Bitcoin sidechain. Folks around the globe use Rootstock on daily basis to work together with a spread of DeFi protocols reminiscent of Sovryn, Tropykus and stablecoin Cash on Chain.

Rootstock is permissionless, and its consensus mechanism is merge-mined proof of labor (PoW) with over 50% of Bitcoin’s hash energy presently mining Rootstock. Which means that Rootstock is mined with extra hash energy than every other chain, besides Bitcoin itself.

RBTC is used as gasoline to pay for sensible contract execution on the community, such because the transaction price for buying and selling Rootstock ecosystem tokens, the identical manner as ETH is used as gasoline for Ethereum. Not like different blockchain native tokens, Rootstock is non-custodial and maintains the censorship resistance of Bitcoin.