Kadena Launches $50M Grant for Ethereum Developers with Chainweb EVM

Kadena launches a $50M grant to recruit Ethereum developers and enhance their ecosystem through the Chainweb EVM testnet. This move could influence developer activity and liquidity between Kadena and Ethereum. The testnet has significant participation, and at least 50 projects are committed to the new infrastructure. The financial implications include potential changes in Kadena's native token value and Ethereum's developer ecosystem.

Kadena, a public Layer 1 Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain, has announced the launch of its Chainweb EVM testnet and a $50M grant program to attract Ethereum developers and enhance its ecosystem. The testnet, which comprises five independent EVM chains running in parallel under Kadena’s Chainweb consensus, promises to deliver seamless EVM compatibility without compromising decentralization or throughput [1].

The Chainweb EVM testnet allows developers to deploy Solidity smart contracts on any of the five chains and move liquidity or assets between them as easily as a single-chain token transfer. This feature is particularly appealing to Ethereum developers, who are already fluent in Solidity. Over 50 projects have already committed to launching on Chainweb EVM, with more than 200 developers currently building on the testnet [1].

Stuart Popejoy, Kadena co-founder and CEO, stated, "We promised seamless EVM compatibility without compromising decentralization or throughput, and today we’re delivering." The testnet aims to validate Kadena’s thesis that builders will benefit from a decentralized L1 with integrated cross-chain capability over fragmented rollup stacks [1].

The $50M grant program, half of which is earmarked for Chainweb EVM projects, provides equity-free capital, technical mentorship, go-to-market support, and security reviews. Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis, and accepted teams will join a milestone-based funding track. The program seeks to underwrite builders who share Kadena's vision of a truly decentralized, highly scalable EVM that can unlock mainstream adoption [1].

The launch of the Chainweb EVM testnet and the accompanying grant program could influence developer activity and liquidity between Kadena and Ethereum. Early commitments from top-tier DeFi, infrastructure, and gaming protocols such as Sushiswap, Minterest, Eonian, Dexalot, Meta Lend, and Espotz indicate significant interest in the new infrastructure [1].

As the testnet continues to develop, it is expected to support a larger number of EVM chains, expanded indexer support, performance telemetry dashboards, and native cross-chain transfers. This will lay the groundwork for the future of the decentralized web and position Kadena as a competitive alternative to Ethereum [1].

References:
[1] https://www.kadena.io/perspectives/ethcc-chainweb-evm-testnet-release-live
[2] https://beincrypto.com/crypto-token-unlocks-july-2025/