Meta Pool

Gitcoin Grants Round 18th (GG18) ran from August 7th to the 31st. 14 projects from Latin America were selected to receive funding, enabling them to make a significant impact in their local communities.

These projects will cover a wide range of verticals, from DeFi education initiatives to Regenerative Finance projects, organizations dedicated to onboarding women into the crypto space and local communities focusing on introducing users to the Ethereum ecosystem through meet-ups and workshops.

The focus on building community and educating was a key component in all of them and we want to thank each project for their effort in putting forward a proposal that benefits local communities throughout Latin America.

The common thread among all these projects is a strong emphasis on community building and education. Meta Pool wants to express our gratitude to each project for their dedication to proposing initiatives that benefit local communities throughout Latin America.

Proactive Impact in Latin America

When we built Meta Pool it was through our need to create a protocol made by the community for the community. That is how we started on NEAR Protocol and have slowly built it from the ground up to enable support for more blockchains that are Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible.

It has been an interesting process and ever since launching our Meta Pool DAO (mpDAO)  governance, we’ve realized the importance of charting a clear path to drive adoption of our Liquid Staking protocol.

This path begins with educating users about how staking facilitates growth for Proof of Stake protocols. That’s why we decided to partner with Gitcoin projects that share this educational focus and align with our mission.

Among these projects are Definomics Labs and Kairos Research, both dedicated to educating individuals and organizations in Latin America. They provide in-depth content that delves into the tokenomics and analysis of projects and protocols operating within the Ethereum and EVM-compatible blockchain ecosystems.

Native Value Creation Starts with Staking ETH

One of the most significant impacts that any Proof of Stake protocol can have on a community is through staking activity. Staking involves accruing rewards by supporting validator node operators, whether as solo stakers, professional individuals, or organizations. 

This activity is not merely a financial endeavor; it’s a catalyst for economic empowerment. By participating in staking, individuals and communities gain a direct stake in the success of the blockchain networks they support. It’s a way to democratize access to the benefits of crypto, and it becomes even more relevant in regions facing economic challenges like high inflation, where alternative financial opportunities are scarce.

While this may seem straightforward to those of us deeply involved in the space, the reality is that we haven’t yet delivered the right educational content and materials to non crypto users , specially in emerging markets. 

This represents a clear opportunity to drive adoption and move closer to our goal of onboarding one billion users into the crypto space.In order to meet this objective we have to identify the main challenges by closely engaging with the communities sharing this mission.

It’s crucial that we discuss the main hurdles for adoption:

• Localization: Language barriers exist, and we must adapt the platform to be more accessible and user-friendly in different regions.
• User experience: While improvements have been made, we still need to simplify the user experience, making it as straightforward as sending a text message.
• Value creation: Understanding how value is created and circulated within blockchain platforms can be complex. It’s essential to explain this in plain terms so that users can grasp the concept.

This is where Gitcoin grantees play a pivotal role. Many of these projects consistently address these issues, and as an ecosystem, we must learn from their experiences to make our technology more inclusive in every aspect.

We look forward to helping onboard new members and users into the Aurora, Ethereum and NEAR ecosystems; because at the end of the day we will have several blockchain protocols interacting with each other and we need to find the right protocol that suits each community. 

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. The diversity of projects selected in Gitcoin Round 18 enables the ecosystem to expand beyond its usual boundaries and gain insights into how blockchain adoption will evolve in the coming years, one block at a time.

Now, it’s time to begin the work of bringing about the change we wish to see in our communities through blockchain technology.

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