Ancient8 OP Grant Program: Season 1 Now Open with 200,000 OP Tokens!

Ancient8 recently secured a 500,000 $OP grant from Optimism’s Governance Fund , providing crucial resources for expanding and enhancing the Web3 gaming ecosystem. Building on this foundation, Ancient8 is launching the Season 1 Grant Program to support innovative projects in Web3 gaming. This initiative provides funding, mentorship, and resources for builders and developers to accelerate user acquisition and GTM empowered by Ancient8 ecosystem. Whether you're an existing contributor or just starting out, this is your chance to turn ideas into impact and grow at scale with us.

Projects can REGISTER NOW to participate in the 200,000 OP Tokens Grant here: Season 1 Initial Information Form

All information regarding this Grant Program can be found publicly here: Ancient8 Grant Forum on Charmverse

Program Details

The Ancient8 OP Grant Season 1 Program is backed by 200,000 $OP tokens from the Optimism Foundation. Each qualified project of this Ancient8 OP Grant Program will be able to be granted up to 25,000 $OP Token.

Based on the applicant's architectural complexity, vision, category, and proposed OP amount/milestones, the A8 Grant Council will collaborate closely to refine the final grant amount and usage milestones, aligning with the one-year OP token lock-up, starting from official grant approval, in strict adherence to Ancient8 and Optimism's Collective Grant Policy .

This funding will empower projects to innovate, scale, and contribute to the growth of the Ancient8 and Superchain ecosystems. The program focuses on two key groups:

1. Existing Projects

This category is for individuals and teams who have already contributed to Ancient8’s ecosystem. It recognizes their efforts and supports their continued work to ensure long-term sustainability and impact.

• Purpose: Reward and scale up high-performing and scalable existing projects
• Timeline:
  • Jan 15 - Feb 28, 2025: Registration Phase
  • Mar 1 - Mar 15, 2025: Screening Phase
  • Mar 16 - Apr 30, 2025: Performance Review Phase
  • May 1 - May 16, 2025: Decision-Making Phase
  • Reward Allocation: Based on milestone achievements.
• Eligibility Criteria:
  • Active contribution to the Ancient8 ecosystem.
  • Demonstrated long-term commitment and measurable impact.
  • On-chain activity, such as wallet interactions and verified contracts.
• Process:
  • Register with details of contributions and key achievements.
  • Undergo a performance review over two months conducted by the A8 Foundation Council.
  • Shortlisted projects will proceed to a community ranking and voting phase, where the Ancient8 community ($A8 stakers) will help decide the final outcome.
• A8 Citizen Council: $A8 stakers
  • $A8 stakers will be able to participate by committing votes for Existing Projects applied in this Grant Program Season 1.
  • As an appreciation for the governance contribution, $A8 stakers participating in this voting on Snapshot at the Decision-Making Phase (May 1 - May 16) will be incentivized with $A8 tokens. Details about the procedure and incentives will be announced afterwards.

2. Prospective Projects

This category targets new projects that aim to deploy or expand within the Ancient8 ecosystem. The focus is on onboarding innovative initiatives that enhance gaming, infrastructure, user experience, growth tools, and content creator networks.

• Purpose: Support promising new projects with funding, mentorship, performance layer and resources to ensure a successful launch and integration.
• Timeline:
  • Jan 15 - Feb 15, 2025: Registration Phase
  • Feb 15 - Feb 28, 2025: Preliminary Review Phase 
  • Mar 1 - Mar 15, 2025: Decision-Making Phase
  • Monitoring and Distribution: Milestone-based support.
• Eligibility Criteria:
  • Clear project goals and budget allocation.
  • Strong alignment with Ancient8’s ecosystem growth objectives.
  • Demonstration of innovation and technical feasibility.
• Process:
  • Submit detailed proposals with expected outcomes.
  • Proposals are evaluated by the A8 Grant Council, with approval granted if at least 6 out of 10 council members vote in favor.
  • Receive funding through milestones tied to progress and delivery, as defined during the evaluation phase.

📌 Learn more about the Season 1 procedure details here .

Governance and Management

The grant program will be managed by the A8 Grant Council, which consists of two subcommittees:

A8 Governance Partner: This group consists of experienced professionals and thought leaders from the Web3 gaming and blockchain sectors, including:

• Trung Nguyen - Co-founder and CEO at Ronin , Axie Infinity and Sky Mavis
• Jash Mirpuri - Lead at Superchain Eco
• Omar Ghanem (OG) - Founder at GAM3S.GG
• yellowpanther.moca - Forbes Web3 Gaming Creator of the Year, founder at 4,4 and Gaming Gridx
• Vader Research - Independent Onchain Gaming Writer

A8 Foundation Council: Made up of core contributors and leadership from Ancient8’s team, including:

• Zane Nguyen - Co-founder/Core Contributor at Ancient8
• Justin Colon - Head of Communities at Ancient8
• Tung Hoang - Tech Contributor at Ancient8
• Ronald Aparajit - Head of Business Development at Ancient8
• Dave Nguyen - Ecosystem and Space3 Lead at Ancient8

Both subcommittees use Soulbound Tokens for voting, ensuring a transparent and fair decision-making process.

Evaluation Criteria

The program uses a unified rubric to ensure fair and transparent evaluation. Key factors include:

• Mission Alignment: How well the project aligns with Ancient8 and Superchain goals.
• Innovation: Novelty and unique selling points of the project.
• Technical Implementation: Efficient use of smart contracts and infrastructure.
• User Experience: Simplicity and accessibility.
• Team Capability: Proven ability to execute the proposed plan.
• Grant Size Impact: Proportionality of the grant size to expected benefits.
• Additional Criteria: Metrics like on-chain/off-chain contributions, ecosystem growth, and measurable impact.

📌 Check out the detailed evaluation rubric and criteria here .

Ancient8 Grant Forum

Ancient8 utilizes Charmverse as the one-stop hub for all of the Ancient8 OP Grant Program Season 1 operation and information delivery for our Applicants, $A8 Stakers and communities.

All information can be found publicly here: Ancient8 Grant Forum on Charmverse

How to Join as an Applicant

Follow these steps to apply for the Ancient8 Grant Program:

Step 1: Submit projects’ basic information via this form for initial approval via Ancient8’s official social channels

Step 2: Sign up on Charmverse and accept the Applicant role invitation to join the Ancient8 Grant Forum via the private invitation link sent to your submitted Telegram by @ronaparajit 

Step 3: Set up your profile and include all relevant project details.

Step 4: Go to the “Applications” section and choose the project type (Prospective or Existing).

Step 5: Complete the required information, and click “Publish”.

Once submitted, your application will be reviewed by the Ancient8 Council. Make sure to check the Ancient8 Grant Forum and your Application Proposal Page regularly for updates and key announcements regarding your application status.

About Ancient8

Ancient8 is building an Ethereum gaming Layer 2 with the OP Stack, designed for on-chain gaming and tradable consumer dApps on the Optimism Superchain. Our Space3 Game Publishing platform, SuperchainERC-20 Launchpad, and Gosu Creator DAO create a seamless distribution and growth ecosystem for game developers. On its mission to onboard the next 100M Web3 users, Ancient8 has already supported 150+ games and empowered 1M+ users to thrive in Web3.

Ancient8 has raised $10M in total financing from leading investors including Pantera, Dragonfly, Hashed, Makers Fund, Mechanism, Coinbase, IOSG, Jump and Animoca.

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