DeFi program receives an extra 50 million STRK from Starknet
The Starknet Foundation has announced an additional 50 million STRK allocation for its DeFi Spring program, as detailed in Monday’s publication.
DeFi Spring 2.0 represents Starknet Foundation’s renewed commitment to fostering the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem within Starknet, an Ethereum Layer-2 rollup platform.
The new funding follows a successful initial phase where the Foundation allocated 40 million STRK to support various DeFi projects. This brings the total earmarked for the program to 90 million STRK.
DeFi Spring 2.0 is scheduled to operate from July 1, 2024, through at least December 31, 2024.
To ensure equitable distribution across four protocol categories (DEXs, borrowing & lending, perpetuals & options, and a new “other” category for DeFi protocols accepting user deposits), Starknet Foundation is partnering with OpenBlock Labs on STRK distribution.
Projects in the “other” category also include those offering yield or returns to users.
The DeFi Spring initiative, launched in February of this year, saw Starknet distribute 14.4 million STRK over 16 weeks, engaging over 106,000 users. The program aimed at enhancing the Layer 2 blockchain network’s DeFi ecosystem attracted participation from 14 protocols.
According to today’s announcement, the initiative, which spanned the last four months, significantly boosted economic activity within the L2 chain’s ecosystem.
Despite challenges in the market and network issues post-STRK token launch, Starknet has observed a notable increase in Total Value Locked (TVL). Currently, assets in Starknet smart contracts total $240 million, as per DeFiLlama data, up sharply from around $54 million in February at the launch of DeFi Spring.
Participants in DeFi Spring include Ekubo DEX protocol, Nostra borrowing and lending platform, and Starknet’s inaugural AMM, mySwap.
