Fantom starts paying developers to generate gas fees

A new program from the Fantom Opera Network (FTM) team will pay developers for the gas fees they collect from users, according to a May 31 announcement. Specifically, the “Gas Monetization Program” will pay eligible developers 15% of the total gas fees generated by their apps.

gas income #Phantom live! ⛽

The program provides dApps with sustainable income by offering them a 15% share of the gas fees they generate.

More than 12,000 $FTM has been distributed so far

— Fantom Foundation (@FantomFDN) May 31, 2023

Six Web3 apps have already been approved for the program, including ParaSwap, Beethoven X, Stargate, LayerZero, WOOFi, and SpookySwap. These apps have already generated more than 12,000 FTM (worth approximately $3,715) in rewards, the announcement said.

The program is inspired by the “Web2 ad revenue model” implemented by sites like YouTube and Snapchat that pay content creators for their contributions. The Fantom team hopes it will provide developers with an “alternative source of income,” leading to a “sustainable” ecosystem for Fantom.

However, not all apps are eligible for the program. Protocols that have made fewer than 125,000 transactions or have been live on Fantom for less than three months are automatically excluded. Others can apply to be part of the program, but Fantom cautioned that “the criteria may change as the Fantom Foundation assesses their effectiveness.”

The team encountered some backlash from users when they first started discussing the Gas Monetization Program. “Some have speculated that the Gas Monetization program could discourage developers from making gas-efficient contracts because higher gas costs result in greater FTM rewards they can claim,” said the Fantom team.

However, Fantom argued that this reasoning is flawed. They believe app developers still need gas-saving contracts; otherwise, the apps will be challenged by competitors. The team clarified that apps believed to be abusing the program may be suspended from participation.

Fantom has been preparing for the Gas Monetization Program since December, when it proposed a 75% reduction in the token burn rate to fund it. Later that month, Fantom Foundation director and DeFi architect Andre Cronje announced that the team would focus on “gas reshaping” in 2023 to get more developers and users on board.