Polygon, the Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, has announced a Community Treasury initiative, allocating 1 billion POL tokens to boost developer engagement over the next decade. According to a June 11 press release, these tokens will come from 1% of the network’s annual emissions, as outlined in the POL whitepaper.

Polygon has also introduced the first season of its Community Grant Program (CGP), offering developers an initial 35 million MATIC, valued at about $22 million. Future seasons will provide up to 100 million POL tokens as the network shifts from MATIC to POL. The CGP aims to support early-stage developers by providing essential funding. Polygon noted that the goal is to back developers during their building phase rather than waiting for project completion.

Developers can apply for grants from June 11 to August 31, with awards ranging from 5,000 to over 50,000 MATIC. The Community Treasury Board will oversee the selection process. Applications are open for the General Grants Track, which includes projects building on the Polygon protocol, and the Consumer Crypto Track, which focuses on driving consumer adoption in areas like gaming, decentralized social platforms, content creation, and NFTs.

The crypto community has praised the initiative, noting that it will incentivize developers to create innovative projects. Game developer Chris Heatherly remarked, "Watch as Polygon goes from ‘dead’ to the hottest chain going because they now have rewards."