Status, an Ethereum-based mobile operating system, has become a founding member of the Ethereum Community Fund. The platform lets users message each other, move money, and access decentralized applica
Status, an Ethereum-based mobile operating system, has become a founding member of the Ethereum Community Fund. The platform lets users message each other, move money, and access decentralized applications on what it calls the decentralized web.
The ECF formed earlier this year to provide funding and connections for projects building toward mainstream adoption of blockchain technology. Seven projects launched the group as founding members: Status, Cosmos, Omisego, Golem, Web3, Global Brain, and Maker.
The ECF expects substantial growth in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and decentralized applications. Yet mainstream adoption remains minimal. No one has built the infrastructure to support billions of users on blockchains. The ecosystem stays in research and development stages.
The ECF's first move is establishing the Infrastructure Grant program as a permanent fund. The group will finance open source work that produces tooling, applications, and infrastructure the ecosystem needs.
Status has adopted this approach in its own funding initiatives. The company announced Status Incubate in April. The program backs early-stage blockchain startups with capital, talent, and expertise to reinvent the web. Status also operates the Status Open Bounty platform, where developers earn money by finding bugs or contributing to open source projects. The company built Embark as a framework that helps developers of any skill level build and launch decentralized applications.
"The opportunity to join underscores what's so unique about the Ethereum community," Status co-founder Jarrad Hope said. "The projects involved know that it isn't a race to the top, but that together we will drive forward the larger vision of a more open and equitable world."
Status has expanded its bug bounty program to cover new ground. The company will pay up to $50,000 in ETH or SNT tokens for reports of critical security flaws. After launching the program last year with help from the Status community to surface vulnerabilities, the company added coverage for transaction signing and account management code.
