Ethereum Accelerator to Offer Crypto Coders Resources and 'Reality Check'

ConsenSys is launching Tachyon, the first ethereum-focused accelerator program in San Francisco, the firm announced Thursday.

ConsenSys managing partner Kavita Gupta gave CoinDesk the exclusive scoop on the program's debut, saying that the effort hopes to provide a dose of realism in an industry overflowing with excited young entrepreneurs.

Applications are open to anyone with a project that fits with one of the three tracks - social impact startups, general ethereum startups, and open-source projects, including blockchain agnostic tools.

Gupta said, are teams from established tech companies.

"There are lots and lots of projects coming out of Google, Uber, etc, which have really strong themes and a product vision. But didn't have a deep understanding of how blockchain technology really works," Gupta said.

Each team will be paired with at least two mentors, one from established crypto startups like MetaMask, Token Foundry, ConsenSys Labs or Adhara, and another from a traditional Silicon Valley "Unicorn" company.

"I think the most important part is, why do they really think this is missing from the market?" Gupta said.

Tachyon will hardly be the first blockchain accelerator program, but it promises to leverage the strategic positioning of ConsenSys, itself a hub of startups, to offer value to entrepreneurs.

According to Gupta, the Ethereum Foundation, the non-profit that oversees the protocol itself, has committed to offering support for teams, including those working on open-source tools instead of full-fledged business ideas.

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