The Polymer Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to the decentralization, adoption, and long-term security of the Polymer network and its ecosystem.
The Polymer Foundation exists to ensure the Polymer network remains open to everyone, controlled by no one, and valuable to all. We support the builders, validators, researchers, and communities who make that possible.
We support a diverse, globally distributed network of operators and contributors — no single entity should control the infrastructure the world's chains depend on.
Through grants, partnerships, and ecosystem development, we grow the number of chains, applications, and developers building with Polymer.
We fund research, audits, and tooling that strengthen the Polymer network's cryptographic and operational security over the long term.
The Polymer Foundation funds projects that advance cross-chain interoperability, grow the Polymer ecosystem, and contribute to the open-source infrastructure the network relies on.
SDKs, libraries, indexers, and developer experience improvements that make it easier to build on Polymer.
Academic and applied research into cross-chain protocols, cryptographic proofs, and interoperability standards.
Applications, protocols, and integrations that expand what's possible across the chains Polymer connects.
Content, events, and community programs that bring developers and users into the Polymer ecosystem.
The Foundation accepts grant applications on a rolling basis. We fund projects at all stages — from early research to production-ready infrastructure.
$PAY is the native token of the Polymer network. It powers governance and chain expansion — giving the community direct control over how the network grows.
$PAY holders lock their tokens to earn $vePAY — governance weight over the Polymer network. Longer locks carry more weight, aligning long-term token holders with the network's future. Governance decisions include fee policy, protocol parameters, and which chains are added to the network.
$PAY is used to propose and vote on adding new chains to the Polymer network. Once approved by governance, any operator can run a node for that chain — permissionlessly, with no gatekeeping or approval queues.