Proponent: Ink!uabtor 2.0
Date: November 2024
Requested allocation: $0 $0.6-1M (XX DOT) (converted to DOT using the EMA-7 Dot price from Subscan on the day of the submission).
Short description: Curator change for bounty #19, ink!ubator. We need funding of $X for the next stage of the ink!ubator that focuses on incubating more than 10 innovative projects by utilizing ink! smart contracts. Over the course of 6 months, this will involve mentorship, grants, development resources, and transparency and accountability in the whole process.
Proposed curator: Pure proxy: 12wDCiGMHeDeEJZYyBKMM3Fw64vu7sCQqTgVo6aCxpd92p7v in proxy relationship with 14bTvNYaab6gqfkfzWhCEMB55ZBDsRyqfi4giqLzCq7vrEkQ. A 3/5 multisig composed with the different curators.
This is a proposal to keep Polkadot Treasury Bounty #19 as an incubation program focused on nourishing new projects built using ink! smart contracts and leveraging the Polkadot network. This proposal does not include a financial top up for the bounty, it just proposes a new set of curators. There are no plans for any kind of financial ask.
The following represents an effort to maintain a significant platform that will support innovative solutions, develop the Polkadot ecosystem, and give ink! smart contracts unparalleled functionalities on the global stage.
We feel very happy to submit our proposal to curate the ink!ubator program, the main objective of which will be developing and supporting new projects built using smart contracts in ink!. That would serve as a spark that could have triggered this creativity in innovative developers to really build up advanced applications and solutions using this technology, enabling them to create a whole different future for decentralized technologies. We strongly believe that ink!ubator 2.0, will be instrumental in creating stronger and more sustainable Polkadot.
The Polkadot ecosystem is making a brilliant effort to grow the number of solutions and developers benefiting from and using its technology. One such effort is the bootstrapping of the ink! Alliance, which continues the work on the ink! language and its ecosystem development. ink! stands out among smart contract languages due to its native capabilities to leverage Polkadot's true potential, allowing users to build solutions on a truly decentralized platform with robust developer tools and create trust-free cross-chain applications.
As we aim for more smart contract-based solutions in the ecosystem, we anticipate a rise in ink! users. The dedicated incubation program, ink!ubator, is currently closed. This presents a challenge and potentially misleads new developers, forcing them to rely on limited resources. Consequently, it could increase pressure on other funding initiatives that typically target more mature projects, centralize responsibility, and ultimately slow down the intake and growth of new projects. Ideally, these developers should have access to ink!ubator's specialized resources and support from the outset.
This situation hinders the ecosystem's ability to foster innovation. Developers face significant challenges with limited support—guidance, mentorship, and technical assistance are crucial elements needed to navigate the complex world of blockchain development and smart contract deployment. These bottlenecks in the developer experience are impeding overall ecosystem growth.
That's where the ink!ubator 2.0 comes in. We strongly believe that ecosystem grants and hands-on support from experienced curators can tear these barriers down. In empowering developers to bring their ideas to life, the resources, mentorship, and structured milestones will be set up to build impactful projects.
The ultimate objective, however, is to solve these immediate challenges and, in turn, allow the growth of a rich community of new projects that come up with innovative solutions using ink! smart contracts. **It means that with this initiative, we will be adding value to the Polkadot ecosystem by supporting projects that bring not only practical benefits but also increase user engagement and show in real-time the technical capability of ink!..**
The ink!ubator 2.0 is mainly targeting innovative projects that already make use of and further develop ink! smart contracts, which contribute to the Polkadot smart contract ecosystem.
After careful consideration of the outcome of our previous ink!ubator, we are of the opinion that financing solely ecosystem grants, and not having Builders and Auditors tracks, would be the best way to go forward. This has proven very productive with respect to growth and development within the Polkadot ecosystem. You can see the results in the final report of Ink!ubator 1.0
While doing this, we also made sure that our process got fine-tuned by bringing in selected curators to help guide and assist projects at all points of the incubation period. The curators shall be super motivated and committed toward the successful outcome of the incubated projects by ensuring that the highest quality of mentorship and wide assistance is accorded at all levels of development. This will be critical in providing them with hands-on experience that can assist in the delivery of successful project outcomes, which also have a long-term impact on the ecosystem.