Layer-2 network StarkWare and Starknet Foundation are preparing to distribute 10% of the network fees to developers as part of a pilot program called Devonomics. StarkWare CEO Uri Kolodny announced on December 12 that a temporary 8% of the network fees would be allocated to decentralized application developers, and 2% to infrastructure engineers and core developers through a transparent and open voting process.
The Devonomics program will begin with the first distribution covering all transaction fees accumulated since Starknet’s launch up to November 30, 2023. This development represents approximately $3.58 million worth of roughly 1,600 Ethereum at the current Ethereum price.
StarkWare co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson mentioned that the program might undergo several updates but could have a broad impact on the Ethereum ecosystem and help developers survive through the rest of a long crypto winter.
The initial phase of the program will take place on Ethereum before the STRK governance token is launched. During this period, the STRK token distribution date has not been finalized, and the foundation has issued warnings about fraud and scams related to the new Layer-2 asset.
The new program was launched amidst an environment of increasing developer activity on the platform. According to data from Electric Capital, while there was a 28% decline in overall blockchain projects, there was a 14% increase in full-time developers within the Starknet ecosystem in October. Ben-Sasson noted that the January 2023 update of the native Cairo programming language contributed to this increase.