Ethereum’s $3M grassroot grant program suddenly paused as Foundation rethinks priorities
The Ethereum Foundation has paused new grant applications to its Ecosystem Assist Program (ESP) because it reconsiders the way it funds builders and tasks.
The pause, announced Aug. 29, comes because the Basis restructures its strategy to ecosystem growth and appears to align its grantmaking with longer-term priorities.
An in depth roadmap outlining new funding priorities is predicted within the fourth quarter of 2025.
Whereas the open grants channel is quickly paused, ESP will proceed supporting current grantees and funding public items. The crew additionally pledged to keep up Workplace Hours, the place builders can obtain steerage, suggestions, or connections to non-financial assets.
Why the Ethereum Basis is pausing grants
The group mentioned Ethereum’s speedy progress in measurement and complexity has created stress to adapt its funding mannequin. As an alternative of constant with a system that reacts to grant requests as they arrive in, the Basis desires ESP to shift towards proactively backing tasks that tackle strategic wants.
This transition will guarantee assets are deployed the place they’ll have probably the most lasting influence on Ethereum’s usability and resilience.
It added:
“This transformation will allow us time to revamp in a method that redirects our focus towards strategic initiatives, transferring from a reactive mannequin to a extra proactive one which additionally helps the priorities of different EF groups.”
In the meantime, the Basis emphasised that its values stay unchanged. These embrace funding open-source infrastructure, analysis, and developer instruments; supporting neighborhood initiatives; and strengthening assets that profit the broader Ethereum community.
Since its creation in 2018, ESP has developed from a easy grants program right into a broader initiative offering monetary and non-financial backing for Ethereum builders.
In 2024 alone, it distributed almost $3 million across 105 projects, spanning developer tooling, information analytics, schooling, analysis, and neighborhood occasions.
A number of the previous beneficiaries embrace Commit-Enhance, BundleBear, Web3Bridge, ZK Playbook, and the Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress.
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