Kraken is excited to announce it will donate $250,000 to the open-source developer teams now working to accelerate Ethereum’s ongoing technical upgrades dubbed “Ethereum 2.0.”
“That’s why we’re excited to work with the Ethereum Foundation to ensure developers receive funding from an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders.”
The announcement follows Ethereum’s successful London hard fork on August 5, which saw the network that powers the world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency introduce five highly anticipated changes to its software.
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“We believe it’s our responsibility to give back to the open-source innovators who are building the next generation of cryptocurrency,” said Jesse Powell, CEO and co-founder at Kraken. “That’s why we’re excited to work with the Ethereum Foundation to ensure developers receive funding from an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders.”
These developments pave the way for Ethereum’s eventual transition to proof-of-stake and ease operations for the many decentralized applications that are now building on top of its platform.
Kraken clients have already staked over 800,000 ETH, worth more than $2 billion, to secure the Beacon Chain, the coming proof-of-stake version of the Ethereum blockchain. As of late July, clients have earned more than 25,000 ETH (then worth $58 million) in rewards through this offering.
The funds will be distributed to teams by the Ethereum Foundation, and will be awarded as eligible teams reach project milestones.
“We strongly believe that collaborative efforts and support are the most sustainable way to benefit Ethereum in the long-term. This joint effort to support teams and builders that maintain a diverse set of Ethereum clients is not only impactful, but sets a great example,” said Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi.
Funds will be awarded to developers working on clients that support the Ethereum software, including Besu, Erigon, Geth, Nethermind and Nimbus, technologies that together power more than 80 percent of the distributed Ethereum network.
To date, Kraken has given grants to projects including Gitcoin, Brink, BTCPay Server and the University of Wyoming, all designed to promote education and development related to the cryptocurrencies traded on our global exchange.
As the first major exchange to list ether for trading, Kraken is proud once again to lead the way by giving back to the courageous builders who are hard at work on the front lines of crypto innovation. We look forward to continuing to list the most exciting Ethereum assets for trading and to grow our available Ethereum services.
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