Ethereum Foundation Pauses $3M Open Grants Program to Reshape Funding Strategy

• Ethereum Foundation pauses its open grants program after awarding $3M since 2018.
• The pause aims to free resources for new strategic initiatives.
• EF intends to reduce its burn rate to about 5% per year.
• Notable grant recipients include Commit-Boost, BundleBear, ZK Playbook, and the Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress.
• New co-executive directors will oversee scaling, storage (blobs), and UX improvements.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is pausing its long-running open grants program, a funding initiative that has supported over 100 projects since 2018 with more than $3 million in awards. The decision, announced Friday, reflects a shift in how the foundation plans to allocate resources amid a flood of inbound applications.

In a blog post, EF explained that the high volume of requests has stretched its lean grants team, limiting the ability to pursue new strategic opportunities. The open grants program, part of the broader Ecosystem Support Program (ESP), has historically backed projects in developer tooling, research, infrastructure, community building, and open standards.

Notable recipients included developer tools like Commit-Boost, analytics platforms such as BundleBear, advanced cryptography work like the ZK Playbook, and cultural initiatives like the Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress. These projects aimed to strengthen Ethereum’s technical foundations and broader community.

Financial disclosures show EF’s spending patterns have been evolving. In 2023, the foundation’s largest expense category was “new institutions,” totaling $47.4 million, up from $28.6 million in 2022. A more recent treasury report revealed EF plans to cut its spending rate to about 5% per year, down from higher levels in previous years, while maintaining a 2.5-year fiat buffer for sustainability.

As part of this realignment, EF also introduced co-executive directors Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz K. Stańczak, who will guide the foundation’s next chapter. Their focus will include scaling the Ethereum mainnet, improving transaction storage via blobs, and enhancing user experience across Layer 2 interoperability and the application layer.

Despite the pause, EF stressed that it remains committed to funding public goods and the builders driving Ethereum’s growth. The organization said this marks not a retreat, but a restructuring intended to direct support more strategically across the ecosystem.

Final thought

The pause signals a shift from broad grantmaking toward a more focused, sustainable strategy. With new leadership and tighter financial controls, EF is positioning itself to support Ethereum’s long-term scalability and ecosystem growth.