Polkadot strengthens decentralization of ecosystem growth with launch of PolkaPort East in Hong Kong

adminJune 5, 2024

Hong Kong, Hong Kong, June 5, 2024, Chainwire

The Web3 Foundation, an organization that supports the growth of the Polkadot ecosystem, awarded a grant to PolkaPort East. The Decentralized Futures (DF) grant is designed to further decentralize Polkadot while driving technology, community, and broader ecosystem adoption.

PolkaPort East is an independent entity that leads Polkadot’s investor relations and growth initiatives primarily in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. The Web3 Foundation’s DF grant is the first award of its kind to an organization operating in Asia.

This grant will support PolkaPort East’s goal to lead Polkadot’s investor relations and growth in the region. Its mission also includes promoting Polkadot and its technology and acting as a key local driver to bring capital into the ecosystem.

Max Rebol, co-founder of PolkaPort East and CEO of Harbor Industrial Capital, a Polkadot-focused VC fund, said: “The launch of PolkaPort East comes at an important moment for Polkadot. This represents an important step towards increasing the decentralization of the network while strengthening the ecosystem’s strategic position in Hong Kong. Co-founder Thibault Perréard, who oversees strategy for Bifrost, the leading Polkadot parachain, added: “With the support of the DF grant, PolkaPort East will be able to participate while leveraging the thriving innovation hubs of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. and fostering relationships with local governments, global companies and capital allocators in the region.”

Vincent Chan, the third co-founder of PolkaPort East, who previously led growth initiatives at Parity Technologies, explained that after receiving the DF grant, the initiative will work to attract participants to the Polkadot ecosystem across Asia. This includes projects and developers looking to build on Polkadot, Polkadot-based VCs, funds, capital allocators, and general web3 investors. It will also target Asian university blockchain groups and associations, fintechs looking to enter the web3, and local governments looking to use blockchain technology.

David Hawig, Ecosystem Director, said on behalf of the Web3 Foundation: “The Web3 Foundation is pleased to support the Polkaport East initiative through a distributed gift grant. This project demonstrates our commitment to fostering decentralized access and innovation within the Polkadot ecosystem. We believe Polkaport East will play a pivotal role in driving the vision of a truly decentralized internet by improving connectivity and empowering the Hong Kong community.”

About decentralized futures

Developed by the Web3 Foundation, the DF initiative is designed to launch independent teams and initiatives that will drive the success of Polkadot. It was established in 2023 following the restructuring of Parity Technologies to focus solely on technology development with responsibility for investor relations, growth and marketing.

Funding will also be provided to Polkadot-focused organizations that aim to generate revenue through the DF program, as well as non-profit organizations with strategies to secure ongoing funding through Polkadot’s on-chain treasury system. An initial $20 million and 5 million DOT tokens have been allocated to decentralized futures to expand the Polkadot ecosystem.

About Polkaport East

Headquartered in Hong Kong, PolkaPort East is an organization tasked with driving adoption of the Polkadot ecosystem in Asia, with a focus on Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. PolkaPort East will work with a variety of entities, from developers to investors, to help drive adoption of web3 technologies and onboard new users to Polkadot.