The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has announced a significant overhaul of its Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) — a move aimed at making its grant funding more strategic, impactful, and aligned with the long-term priorities of the Ethereum network.
In a recent statement, EF explained that the ecosystem has reached a new stage of maturity, with diverse developer communities building public goods, tools, and protocols that strengthen the network as a whole. “As Ethereum evolves, so too must the way we support the people who build it,” the Foundation said.
Two New Grant Tracks: Wishlist and RFPs
The updated program introduces two main funding streams — Wishlist and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) — designed to better address the ecosystem’s most pressing needs.
- Wishlist highlights broad, strategic areas of opportunity where EF sees strong potential for development. It outlines high-level goals while encouraging teams to propose their own innovative solutions that fit within these priorities.
- RFPs, on the other hand, specify well-defined challenges with measurable outcomes, inviting contributors to deliver targeted solutions with clear deliverables, timelines, and success metrics.
According to EF, the new structure replaces the open submission process of earlier years, which, while successful in seeding hundreds of foundational projects, became difficult to sustain with limited staff and resources. “This shift allows us to move from a reactive model to a proactive, strategically focused one,” the Foundation noted.
Strategic Support Beyond Funding
The revamped ESP will also provide mentorship, matchmaking, and feedback sessions to help participants align their proposals with Ethereum’s current ecosystem priorities. EF emphasized that this evolution is not just about grants — it’s about building a long-term support framework that nurtures collaboration and measures real-world impact.
Initial Wishlist topics and RFP calls are already live on the official ESP website, covering key areas such as cryptography, privacy, security, community development, and applied research.
The changes come amid broader internal developments at the Foundation. In October, EF launched a new Privacy Cluster dedicated to advancing digital privacy, while developers recently activated the Fusaka testnet hard fork, preparing the network for a major upgrade scheduled for December 2025.
Meanwhile, the Foundation has also faced internal critique — notably from core developer Peter Szilágyi, who voiced concerns about centralization within EF’s governance structure.
