Smart contract blockchain BNB Chain is attempting to attract memecoin developers amid the explosive growth of meme tokens within the crypto ecosystem. 

In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, BNB Chain said it is allocating up to $1 million to reward eligible developers deploying their memecoin projects in the network.

The company highlighted that this was part of its efforts to “accelerate the growth of the memecoin landscape” within BNB Chain.

Interested developers can apply to participate in the network’s “Meme Innovation Campaign” and deploy their tokens on the network during the campaign period, which will last from April 10 to May 9.

According to BNB Chain, the competition allows its community members to innovate creatively. It wrote:

“Taking place at the intersection of creativity, Web3 culture, and innovation, the campaign is about empowering creators, both seasoned developers and newcomers, to use blockchain technology to bring their ideas to life.”

While the competition seems simple, some requirements may be challenging to achieve. Participants need a minimum trading volume of $2 billion for their memecoins to qualify for the lowest reward. Meanwhile, memecoins with over $30 billion in trading volume can qualify for the $1 million prize.

In addition, there are other eligibility requirements, including completing at least one security audit and open-sourcing the project on BNB Smart Chain’s blockchain explorer, BscScan.

The number of valid new tokenholders must also be above 1,000 and the project must also be on social media platforms, including Telegram and Discord.

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BNB Chain’s memecoin efforts come as meme-focused tokens surged within the crypto space. On April 1, the total market capitalization jumped to $70 billion.

This was driven by pumps in newly-launched tokens like Dogwifihat (WIF) and Book of Meme (BOME), and other older meme tokens like Pepe (PEPE) and Bonk (BONK).

Apart from BNB Chain, other blockchain networks have also started to encourage the development of memecoins within their ecosystems.

On March 22, the Avalanche Foundation continued its memecoin push by offering a $1 million reward for memecoin liquidity providers. Those who provide liquidity to selected memecoins are eligible to get a chunk of the rewards.

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