Protocol ecosystems typically incorporate a mechanism that funnels a small percentage of their transaction fee into a designated fund known as a protocol treasury. Cardano’s treasury, worth 1.5 billion ADA (roughly $0.8 billion), follows this model like other protocol treasuries, allocating its crypto assets to support initiatives that benefit the public within the blockchain industry. In the case of Cardano, this treasury plays a pivotal role in financing community-driven initiatives such as the Project Catalyst.

Project Catalyst stands as the pioneering method for builders of the Cardano ecosystem to engage with the Cardano community and seek funding for their projects with community oversight to ensure the future growth and economic stability of the Cardano ecosystem. Applications for the 12th Fund of Project Catalyst are open until May 13 at 11 am UTC to builders, developers, community operators and entrepreneurs building on the Cardano ecosystem. In this article, we document the key details about the programme.

What is Project Catalyst?

Project Catalyst is a decentralized innovation programme in the Cardano ecosystem that enables community members to submit ideas, collaborate, and seek funding through community voting. Ideas undergo scrutiny based on three key criteria: impact, value for money, and feasibility.

Amidst a global slowdown in funding for Web3 startups, as risk-averse investors retreat to more secure investment vehicles, Catalyst’s equity-free funding serves as a lifeline and springboard for Web3 projects globally. Daniel Ribar, Head of Community Operations at Project Catalyst, emphasized the program's distinction from traditional funding models, where relinquishing equity is often a pre-requisite. “I think a fundamental highlight lies in how community-led funding compares to the traditional funding model where you need to give up equity for your project. There is no such constraint in this programme. All of the funds are given in the form of grants. Essentially, that gives a lot more flexibility to those ideas and project builders to build it on their own terms,” he told NODO.

Having completed 11 funding rounds, Project Catalyst's equity-free grants have nurtured over 800 diverse projects to fruition. These range from libraries and decentralized applications (dApps) to integrations, exchanges, liquidity protocols, and community-driven initiatives. With participation exceeding 60,000 individuals from over 100 countries, the initiative has funded over 1,600 projects, with approximately half currently in development.

Fund 12

The Fund 12 of Project Catalyst was launched in an in-person event consisting of Working Groups in Barcelona—first of its kind—to strengthen the innovation cycle by merging online interactions with in-person experiences and garner feedback on how to improve the Catalyst’s process. To improve decision-making and gather global perspectives, Catalyst Working Groups have been established worldwide. These groups facilitate discussions on operational aspects, funding priorities, and post-funding mentorship for projects. Engagements such as events in Barcelona bring together the brightest mind in the blockchain industry to share ideas.

Applications for the newly-launched Fund 12 opened on April 26 and closed on May 16 for general categories and June 6 for entries into the Cardano Partners category. Community reviews will take place from May 23 to June 20, followed by community voting from June 27 to July 11. Winners will be confirmed after the voting results are announced in the week of July 15. Project onboarding will begin in mid-July and run through August.

In Fund 12, the focus is on three key areas: identifying Cardano use cases, promoting open-source development, and building partnerships with businesses for real-world integrations. “Fund12 is an evolution of community-driven innovation yet again. This round, I'm delighted that Catalyst is able to introduce the Cardano Partners and Real World Integrations category. This is an opportunity to bring premium collaborations to Cardano. For acceleration, marketing, and integrations that help pilot and demonstrate Cardano based use-cases with exceptionally well positioned leaders of industry,” Kriss Baird, Head of Product at Project Catalyst, added.