Wanxiang Blockchain Lab's first sponsorship program launched

Wanxiang Blockchain Lab is a non-profit cutting-edge research institution focusing on blockchain technology, funded by China Wanxiang Holdings Co., Ltd. Recently, Wanxiang Blockchain Lab announced a sponsorship program called "BlockGrantX", saying that it will work with experts from different industries to sponsor blockchain technology open source projects around the world.

Sponsorship Program Background

Xiao Feng, vice chairman and executive director of Wanxiang Group, briefly introduced the sponsorship plan at the 2015 First Global Blockchain Summit held by Wanxiang Blockchain Lab a month ago.

The blockchain summit brought together nearly 100 experts and scholars from different industries and sectors, including banks, commodity exchanges, the Internet of Things, blockchain-related start-ups, and personnel from other institutions such as the central bank.

On the basis of popularizing the concept of blockchain technology, more than 20 speakers shared the application prospects and cases of blockchain in payment, Internet of Things, supply chain, securities trading, decentralized cloud storage, identity authentication and management, digital asset management, etc. At the same time, they discussed the common opportunities and challenges faced by the application of blockchain technology.

The summit was described by some members of the blockchain industry as one of the most impressive and productive conferences in recent years. "We had a lot of interesting discussions with banks and other mainstream players about the use of blockchain technology. We hope this will become an annual meeting and we would love to attend again," said David Johnston of the Factom Foundation.

BlockGrantX #1: Genesis Block

The first phase of this sponsorship program has been given a meaningful serial number name: "BlockGrantX #1: Genesis Block", and applications are accepted immediately. The total budget for the first phase of the sponsorship program is US$50,000 (subject to adjustment based on actual conditions), and the review committee will allocate sponsorship funds to one or more winning projects based on the actual conditions of the projects in this phase. Only projects that follow the GPL or MIT license agreement can apply for this sponsorship program.

The application deadline for this sponsorship program is November 30. Wanxiang Blockchain Labs’ information shows that it will “announce the deadline for each sponsorship program in advance through its official website, WeChat public account and major media. Applicants should submit their application on www.blockchainlabs.org before the deadline for each sponsorship program.”   Please submit the application form downloaded from the website as an attachment to our email address [email protected].

"A review committee composed of experts from different fields will screen the projects within two weeks based on factors such as feasibility, importance, innovation and practicality, and decide the sponsorship amount for the winning projects based on the actual conditions of the projects. The selection results are expected to be announced before December 15. This sponsorship plan will be held every two months, that is, six times a year."

“Our strategy is to focus resources and efforts on supporting blockchain technology and its applications, which we predict will have great potential in the next few years. Sponsoring open source projects that are innovative and practical rather than just speculative is in line with our strategy.”

Shen Bo, founder of Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, said.