The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has announced a major evolution of its Ecosystem Support Program (ESP), unveiling a new grants framework designed to deliver more targeted and sustainable funding for builders, researchers, and community initiatives across the Ethereum ecosystem.
The update follows a temporary pause in open grant applications earlier this year as EF reassessed its priorities and funding strategy. The new model marks a shift from a broad, reactive system toward a strategic, impact-driven approach that evolves alongside Ethereum’s expanding ecosystem.
Why the Change?
Over the past few years, Ethereum has matured significantly, fueled by global developer communities, protocol innovation, and the creation of vital public goods. While the previous open grants model successfully supported hundreds of projects, the EF noted that rising application volumes and limited team capacity made it challenging to pursue deeply strategic opportunities.
The revamped ESP aims to address this by aligning funding efforts with the most pressing needs of the network, ensuring every grant delivers measurable ecosystem impact.
Two New Grant Pathways
The restructured program introduces two distinct funding pathways:
- Wishlist Grants – A proactive call for innovation.
- Focused on broad, high-impact goals rather than specific projects.
- Encourages diverse, creative approaches to solving ecosystem-wide challenges.
- Designed to highlight opportunities in areas like scalability, privacy, developer tooling, and community growth.
- Requests for Proposals (RFPs) – Targeted solutions for defined problems.
- Clearly outlines the problem scope, deliverables, and desired outcomes.
- Operates within set application windows and project durations.
- Best suited for teams ready to execute precise, measurable work.
First Opportunities Now Live
The first set of Wishlist items and RFPs is already available on the EF website, covering domains such as cryptography, privacy, application layer development, security, and community growth. Builders are invited to review open calls and submit proposals that align with Ethereum’s long-term priorities.
The ESP team will continue offering Office Hours to guide applicants and ensure proposals align with the ecosystem’s current needs. New Wishlist items and RFPs will be added regularly based on emerging opportunities.
Building for the Next Phase of Ethereum
The EF emphasized that this evolution is about more than just funding, it’s about coordination, impact, and ecosystem health.
“As Ethereum grows, our approach to supporting it must evolve too,” the Foundation noted. “We’re focused on empowering the community to deliver sustainable progress through collaboration and precision.”
The revamped ESP underscores the Ethereum Foundation’s continued commitment to security, transparency, and open collaboration, principles that have guided the network’s growth since its inception.