Avalanche stands apart from other blockchains through its revolutionary consensus protocol—an entirely new approach to blockchain architecture that delivers exceptional speed and scalability. Unlike most other blockchains that become slower and more expensive as more people use them, Avalanche maintains its high performance and low costs even as the network expands. Now, Avalanche is partnering up with Gitcoin for the second time to launch funding rounds, providing 14,000 AVAX to support the next wave of gaming and DeFi innovations.
The successful launch of the Avalanche Community Grants Program, created in partnership with Gitcoin in April 2024, laid the groundwork for a community-driven approach to funding projects and nurturing talent. By leveraging Gitcoin’s expertise in grants, Avalanche Foundation is expanding on the previous campaign with the launch of two parallel funding rounds. The rounds dedicate 7,000 AVAX each (roughly ~ $500,000 total) to support innovative initiatives in decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming. With the launch of these next two quadratic funding rounds in partnership with Gitcoin, the Avalanche Foundation will allocate grant funds to match community donations and bolster crowdfunding within the ecosystem.
The launch of the two new funding rounds coincides with Avalanche's most significant breakthrough yet: Avalanche9000, which launched in December 2024 and has made it 99.9% cheaper to launch custom blockchains, known as subnets. This is possible by removing the requirement for validators to stake 2,000 AVAX (~$100,000) to participate in the network. Instead, new blockchains can now operate independently with a small ongoing fee, drastically lowering the cost barrier. This innovation enables projects to create purpose-built L1s in the form of subnets that are tailored to specific needs—whether for gaming, financial applications, or enterprise solutions. There’s never been a better time to build on Avalanche.
The Pit is a gaming project that emerged from Avalanche's memecoin community with a unique focus on community engagement. Avery, Founder of the Pit describes how building on Avalanche has benefited the project through cost-effective infrastructure, "One of the biggest pushes has been this L1 architecture, where people can spin up their own L1 for extremely cheap cost...with seamless integration that allows users to transact on blockchain without even realizing it."
Avalanche’s infrastructure enables competitive differentiation for innovative projects trying to create customizations without being constrained by the limitations of a shared blockchain.
The Avalanche Community Grants Quadratic Funding Round One was the inaugural community grants round run on Gitcoin’s Grant Stack. The round distributed 7,000 AVAX and attracted 355 community members who made 927 contributions to support projects building essential tools and applications for the ecosystem. Through Gitcoin's unique quadratic funding model, where the impact of each donation is amplified based on the number of contributors rather than the size of contributions, the community got to direct resources to projects.
Successful projects from the first QF round last year demonstrate the depth of innovation enabled on Avalanche. Two standout examples are DeFi Lama and Snowpeer:
These success stories highlight how community-driven funding empowers developers to build essential tools, fostering innovation and strengthening the Avalanche ecosystem.
Avalanche is more than just a high-performance blockchain—it’s an ecosystem deeply committed to enabling the success of its builders. From technical guidance to marketing support and direct engagement with the community, the Avalanche Foundation actively fosters an environment where developers and entrepreneurs can thrive. Whether through grants, strategic connections, or hands-on assistance, Avalanche ensures that projects have the resources they need to scale and innovate.
Dan Mgbor from Benqi – one of the leading liquid staking providers on Avalanche – highlights this uniquely supportive and collaborative culture: "The foundation has been amazing. They've helped with technical advice, connected us with OpsSec consultants, and provided support in marketing—helping explain our product to the community, doing spaces with us, and retweeting our content."
Beyond financial support, Avalanche prioritizes a strong community-driven approach. Avery from The Pit underscores how the ecosystem’s social layer sets it apart from others: "We've been on other chains and other ecosystems, but it really does feel different when it comes to the social layer on Avalanche. There is a big pull when it comes to community."
This commitment to accessibility and responsiveness is evident in how the Foundation engages directly with builders. Avery recalls how quickly the Avalanche team provided support when The Pit was getting started: "We DMed one of the directors on Twitter, and he booked a meeting with us within five minutes of receiving that message. We had one meeting with Omad, one of the directors, and then he said, we'll have a follow-up meeting with the rest of the directors. It was about three days after that first meeting. We put another one together with all of the directors, and the head of the foundation."
These experiences reflect Avalanche’s mission: empowering builders not just with cutting-edge technology but with an engaged and responsive network that actively helps them succeed.
Building on these successes from last year, the new rounds focus on two areas where Avalanche's technology offers unique advantages:
With Avalanche's ability to process transactions in less than a second and allow teams to create dedicated networks for their applications, builders can create financial services that work at exceptional speed. This round is for visionary projects that advance decentralized finance through essential infrastructure, innovative protocols, improved UX, cross-chain solutions, and enhanced security tools.
Areas of focus include:
Visit the application page to learn more about the round.
Games and social applications need technology that can handle millions of users without slowing down or becoming expensive to use. Avalanche's architecture is uniquely suited for gaming, allowing developers to create novel experiences where players truly own their in-game assets. This round is dedicated to groundbreaking blockchain gaming projects that encompass innovative player experiences, infrastructure development, social features, NFT utilities, and novel in-game economies.
Areas of focus include:
Visit the application page to learn more about the round.
These new rounds use Gitcoin's quadratic funding model, which amplifies the impact of every contribution based on the number of people who support a project rather than the amount contributed. This democratic approach ensures that projects with broad community support receive proportionally more matching funds, helping identify and fund innovations that matter most to the ecosystem. This allows the Avalanche community to play a direct role in deciding which projects the Foundation funds. Through their direct involvement in shaping the ecosystem's development, community members are empowered to take ownership of its future trajectory, thereby fostering a sense of collective stewardship.
Ensuring participating projects have what they need to succeed, the Avalanche x Gitcoin funding rounds go beyond just financial backing to offer hands-on support to builders:
JF Saine, founder of Avant, highlights the unique support system from the Avalanche Foundation: "The foundation has been amazing. They've been incredibly responsive. If you're a serious project, having a direct point of contact is a reasonable expectation. Whenever we need something they can help with, they've always been very helpful." Avant is a DeFi platform established in June 2024 with the mission to create a more inclusive financial system through a DeFi-powered stable-value token.
Join us in supporting the long-term growth and development of the Avalanche ecosystem. If you're creating next-generation financial applications or innovative gaming experiences, these rounds offer the support and resources to bring your vision to life.