Casper blockchain network launches $25M grant to support developers

Blockchain network Casper Association yesterday announced the launch of a $25 million Casper Accelerate Grant Program. The aim of this funding grant is to support developers who are building apps to support infrastructure, end-user applications, and research innovation on Casper blockchain.

A proof-of-stake (PoS) platform, the enterprise-focused Casper blockchain aims to help businesses adopt blockchain technology and build private or permissioned applications.  The portal is scheduled to go live in the first quarter of 2023.

According to Board Member Ralf Kubli,

“We are thrilled to announce the Casper Accelerate Grant Program, which has been carefully designed to support innovation and decentralized businesses that help to grow the Casper ecosystem.”

PoS – The future of Biz-friendly Blockchains?

Proof-of-stake has the potential to be a game changer for blockchain security. According to some, this technology will likely make mining obsolete. And yet, we should not expect the end of crypto-mining altogether.

In terms of level of decentralization, both proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms have their limitations. While a PoW blockchain comes in the hands of those with high computing power, a PoS blockchain can instead be controlled by a handful of token hoarders.

Though PoS is still developing and has only been implemented on a few major blockchains like Ethereum, it holds promise as an alternative to PoW.

Besides, it is more environmentally friendly by using less electricity than a PoW system.

In February last year, the BBC reported that Bitcoin mining used more electricity annually than Argentina, as per a Cambridge University analysis. It revealed that Bitcoin’s electricity consumption (121.36 TWh) surpassed that of Argentina (121 TWh), the Netherlands (108.8 TWh) and the United Arab Emirates (113.20 TWh). If Bitcoin was a country, it would be among the top-30 energy consumers globally.

As concerns about energy consumption rise, the comparatively greener PoS mechanism could gain currency.

MarketScale published a story in September 2022 that looks at the impact among businesses of blockchains like Ethereum moving to PoS mechanism. Gabriella Kusz, CEO of the Global Digital Asset & Cryptocurrency Association, said that the Ethereum Merge is a stage of maturation of the blockchain. She looks at this development as “another step in the evolution of the blockchain.”

The Casper Network is one of the several crypto-firms that work with this global self-regulatory crypto-association.

As there is further pressure on companies for ESG compliance, more and more businesses could choose PoS platforms instead of PoW for long-term purposes. In this likely scenario, there is indeed an opportunity for groups like Casper Association to incentivize blockchains for use cases on PoS mechanism.