The co-founder of Manta Network, a project within the Polkadot ecosystem, publicly expressed his disapproval of the ecosystem. He voiced his frustration with what he perceived as toxicity and a lack of meaningful support for builders, specifically Asian founders.
In a tweet, the co-founder, known as victorji.eth, stated that as the founder of the previous largest (non-DOT) Total Value Locked (TVL) and market capitalization/Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) project in the Polkadot ecosystem, they had no interest in engaging with the Polkadot ecosystem and team. They described it as a highly toxic environment that failed to provide real value for web3 and neglected users and adoption entirely.
The co-founder also accused the Polkadot team of discriminating against Asian developers, pointing out a discrepancy in the allocation of grants that favored European and American projects over Asian ones. They stated that they were too preoccupied to disclose all the facts about the discrimination faced by Asian founders within this ecosystem, but emphasized that all Asian founders shared their sentiment.
Highlighting the lack of support and decentralization within Polkadot’s leadership, the co-founder called for more meaningful effort from the team, specifically mentioning co-founder Gavin Wood. They believed that the Polkadot team was incapable and not truly decentralized. They would be satisfied if Wood and his team devoted any significant effort to supporting the builders on their platform.
As a result of these issues, the co-founder announced that Manta Network would shift its focus away from Polkadot and towards other ecosystems such as Ethereum L2, Solana, and Bitcoin. They explained that their complete attention was now on Manta Pacific because they believed the Polkadot ecosystem to be stagnant. Additionally, they expressed hope that more developers still in the Polkadot ecosystem would join more active ecosystems like Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin.
To illustrate their point, the co-founder cited an example from the Polkadot Academy event in Hong Kong, which saw predominantly non-Asian attendees despite being held in Asia. They noted that less than a quarter of the participants were Asian, despite the event’s location.
While affirming that Manta Network would fulfill its commitments to the Polkadot parachain, the co-founder reiterated their decision to pivot towards more supportive ecosystems. They assured that they would deliver the parachain as promised and continue building remarkable projects. However, they firmly stated that discrimination against builders, particularly hardworking Asian builders, in the bear market was entirely unacceptable.
