Ethereum Foundation is suspending all open grants applications since the entity's Ecosystem Support Program is moving to a new growth phase.
Summary
Ethereum Foundation suspended open grants in its support program as it sets sights on transitioning into a new model.
The Ecosystem Support Program made grants worth over $13 million to 105 projects in 2024.
Ethereum Foundation, a central actor in the Ethereum Ethereum
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Ethereum ecosystem, is venturing a new direction in the support for developers.
On Aug. 29, EF revealed that the Ethereum Support Program, that was initiated as a grants program in 2018 and focused on providing grants to projects assisting in the development of Ethereum's growth, is venturing into a new direction.
The development comes after a recent reformation of the foundation's vision and strategy in building the ecosystem.
EF is considering a new structure with the purpose of streamlining procedures and improving effectiveness, thus a more activist model of funding builders, as per the update. Most recent adjustments follow the foundation's shakeup of its structure in June 2025, which involved cutting of the core team as part of broader reorganization.
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Funding Ethereum's builders
Scaling the funding model keeps up with Ethereum's own growth, with now over $91 billion in total value locked in decentralized finance and over $148 billion in stablecoin market cap. Scaling this network during developer work toward speeding up adoption means the funding model must keep pace with the momentum.
As part of this process, we have suspended open grant applications temporarily. This transition will give us time to restructure in a manner that reallocates our attention away from reaction-based model and toward more proactive endeavors that also align with the priorities of other EF teams," the Ecosystem Program Support team stated.
In 2024, the grants program allocated close to $3 million in funding to 105 projects, including in developer tooling, data and analytics, and research and education. Some specific projects that received benefits included Commit-Boost, BundleBear, Web3Bridge and Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress.
Even though open grant proposals are put on hold, the Ethereum Foundation via the ESP team will continue support for all current grant recipients. The team will also provide more information on the new model and sharpened priorities in the fourth quarter of 2025.
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