Hello Polygon Community,
I am currently in discussions with Crossmint regarding a Polygon x Crossmint grant of 65K POL. However, I recently discovered that a mandatory condition to receive the grant is signing a contract requiring an upfront payment of $12,000 for Crossmint’s wallet infrastructure (100 MAW + 60K transactions/month).
Initially, I was told that the grant could be used freely for project development, but I later learned that signing this contract is a strict requirement, making it impossible to access the grant without allocating a large portion directly to Crossmint.
This raises concerns:
- Is it standard practice for a Polygon grant to primarily fund a specific partner’s services instead of supporting the project itself?
- Was this requirement approved by the Polygon team, or is this something that needs to be reviewed?
- Shouldn’t developers have the choice to allocate funds based on their actual needs rather than being forced into a long-term commitment with a single provider?
I’d love to hear feedback from both the Polygon team and other developers who may have encountered similar conditions. Is this setup compliant with Polygon’s grant policies?
Thanks in advance for any insights!
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Hey novathemachine,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We’re always looking for direct and specific feedback from potential applicants, and this was super helpful.
After receiving your request, we had a chat with the Crossmint team regarding the above issue, and discussed a middle ground to solve this problem.
It’s important to note that- as per the rules of the Grant Allocator (GA) program- all GA’s are at liberty to run their programs with autonomy and limited operational oversight of the Polygon Grants team.
Crossmint designed the milestones and rules that were required as part of their specific grant program. Given your concerns, however, we spoke with the team and they have agreed to not require any upfront payments, and heavily discount the cost of their infra services for grant participants.
While specific infra costs will continue to be determined by Crossmint on a case-by-case basis, the team has agreed to work with all grant applicants to ensure that grant funding is sufficient to support the development of each project, and not entirely used to subsidize Crossmint infra costs.
If the Crossmint program doesn’t feel like a good fit, you are welcome to apply to the Direct Track currently live on Questbook [here]
Thank you again! Feedback like this is how we make current and future seasons better. If you have any additional thoughts, lmk.
Rohit Chauhan,
Polygon Grants Lead
Hey Rohit,
Thank you for taking my concerns seriously. I fully understand that GA programs operate autonomously, but in this case, there is a clear conflict of interest since a large portion of the grant funds were being funneled directly to Crossmint. These are community-driven funds, and their allocation should prioritize development rather than subsidizing a private company’s infrastructure.
As of today, I have no guarantees that Crossmint will actually reduce its prices in a way that ensures sufficient funding for development. While I appreciate the possibility of applying for the Direct Track, there’s also no guarantee that my project will be accepted there.
I’m asking the Polygon Grants team to take this issue into their hands and help me move forward. I have invested a significant amount of work into this project, and the way this situation is being handled—both the grant structure and the overall process—reflects poorly on Polygon’s support for developers. This leaves an unpleasant impression on builders, who are ultimately the backbone of any blockchain ecosystem.
I want to keep working within the Polygon ecosystem, but I need clear and fair conditions to do so. I’d really appreciate your help in finding a proper solution.
Best,
NovaTheMachine