Velocity Labs, in collaboration with prominent partners such as the Web3 Foundation, Parity Technologies, Wave Digital, Scytale Digital, and Hypernative, has unveiled the DeFi Builders Program, an initiative aimed at supporting the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications within the Polkadot ecosystem. This program is designed to facilitate teams as they develop innovative DeFi solutions on Polkadot Hub, the forthcoming EVM-compatible chain set to launch in late Q4.
Targeting both seasoned developers and those with nascent ideas, the DeFi Builders Program aims to foster genuine innovation in the DeFi space, moving beyond mere replication of previous ideas. According to Nicolas Arevalo, co-founder of Velocity Labs, the program encourages teams to feel secure in their experimental approaches, leveraging Polkadot Hub’s capabilities for scalability and interoperability from the outset.
The comprehensive 12-week program will guide teams through various stages of development. In the initial two weeks, teams will gain network access and onboarding support, followed by a phase from weeks three to eight dedicated to product building under expert mentorship. The final stages consist of strategizing for market launch and fundraising, culminating in a Virtual Demo Day where teams will showcase their projects to investors.
Participating teams will receive a diverse array of benefits, including:
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Funding & Grants: Teams can access strategic grants to initiate development, along with additional KPI-based funding opportunities from the Polkadot Treasury and seed investments from venture capital partners.
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Technical & Product Support: Mentorship from Polkadot core developers, along with assistance in tokenomics, product design, scaling strategies, and architecture reviews.
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Liquidity Bootstrapping: To address the common challenges associated with launching DeFi projects, the program includes initiatives like subsidized yield farming and institutional liquidity support from partners such as Wave Digital and Scytale.
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Hiring & Team Building: Support for recruiting efforts and stipends or grants for crucial early hires to ensure sustainable growth.
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Security Resources: Access to subsidized smart contract audits and partnerships with bug bounty platforms to help secure protocols from the initial stages of development.
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Visibility & Community Access: Dedicated marketing support, strategic AMAs, and promotional efforts across official Polkadot channels to enhance project visibility.
- Education & Ecosystem Onboarding: Developer bootcamps, hackathons, and scholarships through the Polkadot Blockchain Academy to enhance skills relevant to the Polkadot Hub.
The program is currently accepting applications from teams working across various aspects of the DeFi ecosystem, including lending markets, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), yield platforms, real-world asset tokenization, and cross-chain infrastructure, among others. While the initiative welcomes teams with fully developed products, it also caters to those in earlier stages, providing an environment conducive to iteration and experimental validation before progressing to scaling.
Angie Darrow, Chief Marketing Officer and interim CECO at the Web3 Foundation, expressed that the DeFi Builders Program reflects the organization’s mission to empower daring teams to experiment and translate visionary ideas into the future of open and interoperable finance.
The inaugural cohort will be limited to just five teams, prompting prospective participants to visit velocitylabs.org/defibuildersprogram for further information and proposal submissions. The application window is open from September 3 to October 3, 2025.
Velocity Labs is dedicated to reinforcing Polkadot as a premier platform for DeFi development in the Web3 landscape, providing essential support for builders and infrastructure creators in areas like business development and product strategy.
Polkadot serves as the secure backbone of Web3, enabling developers to create specialized blockchain projects while ensuring shared security and governance, allowing users to co-create and influence the ecosystem’s growth and sustainability.
