Moonbeam Network, a smart contract platform that accelerates Web3 integration, announced $13 million in development support for gaming, real-world assets, canary network Moonriver, and other targeted key areas. And this funding also includes a new $10 million Innovation Fund, $1.5 million in Moonbeam ecosystem grants, and $1.5 million in Moonriver grants.
The Innovation fund’s first investment is in N3MUS, which is charged with building a gaming-specific ecosystem around Moonbeam. And N3MUS is dedicated to bringing Web3 gaming into the mainstream by merging traditional gaming with blockchain technology. The goal of this deal is to attract more games to Moonbeam, increase the number of gamers, and enhance gamer acquisition and retention.
The funding is part of Moonbeam’s new Moonrise initiative, signaling the next phase in evolution for the leading solution for integrated Web3 networks, such as Polkadot, Ethereum and the broader EVM ecosystems.
Moonbeam will also introduce N3MUS and other Innovation Fund recipients to its venture capital network, including Arrington Capital, CoinFund, Scytale Digital, Metazero Capital, AD8 Dot Play, etc., with the potential for further investment and partnership opportunities.
This strategic partnership between Moonbeam and N3MUS includes co-organizing physical and virtual events, integrating N3MUS features on Moonbeam, and mutual promotion to relevant gaming studios and projects.
Along with the new Innovation Fund, Moonbeam announced two separate grant programs across the main Moonbeam parachain and the Moonriver canary network.
With a unanimous vote, the Moonbeam community approved distribution of the network’s third season of Ecosystem Grants, totaling 4.5 million GLMR (approximate value $1.5 million), to StellaSwap (DEX), Moonwell (Lending Protocol), Prime Protocol (Cross-Chain Interactions) and Beamswap (Innovative Products).
Recently, a proposal was revealed to enhance DeFi on Moonriver by way of grants totalling 113,618 MOVR (approximate value $1.5 million) to Beamswap, Moonwell and others. This proposal, which is subject to approval from the Moonriver community, is to help fund Beamswap’s V3 AMM development, liquidity in Beamswap’s AMM, liquidity in Moonwell’s deployment on Moonriver, and additional community initiatives aimed at boosting activity in the Moonriver ecosystem.
KEY QUOTES:
“The Innovation Fund showcases Moonbeam’s commitment to supporting developers who are focusing on reducing user friction with modern blockchain technology.”
“N3MUS shares our vision of bringing web3 to a much broader gamer audience, and we are proud to partner with them as the first investment from the Innovation Fund.”
- Sicco Naets, Head of Ecosystem Development for the Moonbeam Foundation
“We are honored to be the first investment by the Moonbeam Innovation Fund. This partnership marks a significant milestone for N3MUS as we strive to bridge the gap between traditional gaming and blockchain technology. Moonbeam provides the perfect foundation for us to create a thriving gaming ecosystem. We are committed to bringing a lot of high-quality games to Moonbeam and closely working with all the games currently developing on the platform. Together, we will drive the future of gaming on Moonbeam, attracting and retaining gamers while bringing Web3 gaming into the mainstream.”
- Neal Peters, CEO of N3MUS
