Web3 grants by chain, 2026
18 ecosystems with at least one verified program in our web3 grant tracker (last verified 2026-09-27). Pick the chain you build on to see its programs, amounts, stage and how to apply.
Grant programs by ecosystem
| Ecosystem | Programs in the tracker | Ticket | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum & L2s | Ethereum Foundation ESP, Octant, Arbitrum Foundation, Optimism Retro Funding, Starknet Foundation, Uniswap Foundation, Aave Grants DAO, Lido LEGO | Varies by program | Varies by program |
| Arbitrum | Arbitrum Foundation | Varies by program | Any |
| Optimism | Optimism Retro Funding | Varies (retroactive) | Live |
| Starknet | Starknet Foundation | Up to $25K in STRK (Seed); $25K–$1M STRK (Growth) | Any |
| Solana | Solana Foundation, Superteam Earn | Varies by program | Varies by program |
| Avalanche | Avalanche Builder Hub | Varies (research grants up to $50K) | Any |
| Sui | Sui Foundation | $25K academic research award; RFPs; direct investment | Any |
| Aptos | Aptos Foundation | Varies (plus up to $25K audit credits, up to $100K/yr cloud credits) | Live product with early traction |
| Polkadot | Polkadot OpenGov Treasury | Varies (on-chain proposal, paid in DOT) | Any |
| Stellar | Stellar Community Fund | Up to $150K in XLM (Build); Instawards for small work | Any |
| Celo | Prezenti | $25K+ (Anchor Pool ~$25K–$50K by stage; Frontier Pool $25K+) | Live with usage |
| Aleo | Aleo Network Foundation | Up to $100K | Any |
| Zcash | Zcash Community Grants | Varies (major grants; ~100K ZEC available through Nov 2028) | Any |
| Tezos | Tezos Foundation | Varies | Any |
| Stacks | Stacks Foundation | Varies | Any |
| Filecoin | Filecoin Foundation | Varies; Next Step Grants $5K–$10K | Any |
| Cosmos | Interchain Foundation | Varies | Any |
| Cardano | Project Catalyst | Varies per proposal (Fund15 budget: 18.5M ADA + 250K USDM) | Any |
“Varies by program” means the ecosystem has several programs with different terms: open its page for the per-program table.
How to choose
- Building on one chain — start with that chain’s own program: it exists to fund work on that chain. Open its page in the table above.
- Idea or prototype stage — the tracker lists an idea / prototype stage for Superteam Earn on Solana (ticket: “Up to $10K per grant (USDG/USDC); micro-grants up to $500”), and for ZK Prime on any chain. Most other programs list no stage requirement, so check eligibility on the official page.
- Already live — these programs are listed for live projects: Ethereum & L2s: Octant (stage “Live”); Optimism: Optimism Retro Funding (stage “Live”); Aptos: Aptos Foundation (stage “Live product with early traction”); Celo: Prezenti (stage “Live with usage”).
- Programs that closed or changed — check the status before you plan around one. Tracker notes: Arbitrum: “Active now: Audit Program ($10M ARB), ArbiFuel gas sponsorship, Gaming Ventures, Alchemy-Arbitrum (up to $500K infra credits); general Foundation/DAO grant programs listed as inactive”. Sui: “Sui says it no longer runs open grants: RFPs, research awards and direct investment instead”. Polkadot: “Replaces the discontinued Web3 Foundation Grants Program; proposals submitted on-chain (e.g. via Subsquare)”.
Chain-agnostic options
Ecosystem programs fund work on their own chain. The options below do not depend on the chain you build on, and none of them stops you from applying to your chain’s own program as well.
ZK Prime Capital grants. $5K–$75K, no equity, idea or prototype stage welcome, reply within 5 business days. The application document you write for any ecosystem program is accepted, and there is no exclusivity. If the milestone ships, the fund can continue into a $50K–$250K round, 3–6 months of incubation and a token launch. How the program works.
ZK Prime funds three kinds of project on any chain: on-chain AI agents, DeFAI and ZK infrastructure. If yours is one of them, the chain you build on is not a filter.
Public-goods rounds. For open-source and public-goods work, the tracker lists quadratic funding rounds that are not tied to one chain: Gitcoin and Giveth.
Everything in one table. The web3 grants tracker compares all 27 programs by ticket, equity and stage; each has a program guide.
One document, any chain
Same document, no exclusivity. $5K–$75K non-dilutive grants for on-chain AI agents, DeFAI and ZK infrastructure at idea or prototype stage; reply within 5 business days.
Apply with the same doc ▸Programs not tied to one chain
These tracker entries are not listed under a single ecosystem above:
- Gitcoin — Open-source & public goods, quadratic funding rounds. Ticket: Community-matched.
- Giveth — Public goods and for-good projects; ecosystem-sponsored QF rounds. Ticket: Varies (QF matching pools, e.g. $50K).
- The Graph Foundation — Protocol R&D, indexer/subgraph tooling, data services, community. Ticket: Varies.
Frequently asked questions
Which chains have their own grant programs in 2026?
Our tracker (last verified 2026-09-27) lists verified programs for 18 ecosystems: Ethereum & L2s, Arbitrum, Optimism, Starknet, Solana, Avalanche, Sui, Aptos, Polkadot, Stellar, Celo, Aleo, Zcash, Tezos, Stacks, Filecoin, Cosmos, Cardano. Each has a page here with its programs, ticket, stage and type.
Which chain grants are open to idea-stage teams?
The tracker lists an idea / prototype stage for Superteam Earn on Solana (ticket: “Up to $10K per grant (USDG/USDC); micro-grants up to $500”). No stage requirement is listed (stage “Any”) for the programs on Arbitrum, Starknet, Avalanche, Sui, Polkadot, Stellar, Aleo, Zcash, Tezos, Stacks, Filecoin, Cosmos and Cardano. Listed for live projects: Ethereum & L2s: Octant (stage “Live”); Optimism: Optimism Retro Funding (stage “Live”); Aptos: Aptos Foundation (stage “Live product with early traction”); Celo: Prezenti (stage “Live with usage”). ZK Prime Capital funds idea and prototype stage on any chain: $5K–$75K, no equity, reply within 5 business days.
Do chain grant programs take equity?
22 of the 23 ecosystem programs on these pages list equity as “No” in our tracker; for Sui Foundation the entry reads “No (research award)” (its routes: $25K academic research award; RFPs; direct investment). Some foundations also offer convertible grants or direct investment next to their grants, so read the terms of the route you pick. ZK Prime Capital grants are non-dilutive as well.
Source: ZK Prime web3 grant tracker, last verified 2026-09-27; official pages checked 2026-09-30. Ticket sizes and programs change, so verify on each official page. Corrections: open a PR.