Grants for builders on Ethereum & L2s in 2026
8 programs in our tracker fund work on Ethereum and its L2s: the Ethereum Foundation’s ESP and Octant for public goods, the Arbitrum, Optimism and Starknet programs for builders on those L2s, and three protocol DAOs (Uniswap, Aave, Lido) that fund work around their own protocol. Data from our web3 grant tracker, last verified 2026-09-27.
What gets funded on Ethereum
Public goods, infrastructure and research. The Ethereum Foundation’s Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) is listed for public goods, infra, research and cryptography/ZK, with rolling intake and grants plus wishlist/RFP items. Octant funds Ethereum public goods (infra, security, research, tooling) in recurring allocation epochs, with ETH allocated by its community; the tracker lists it at live stage.
L2 ecosystems. On Arbitrum, the programs active now are mostly support in kind: audit subsidies, gas sponsorship and infrastructure credits (grants on Arbitrum). Optimism pays retroactively for impact already delivered on the Superchain (grants on Optimism). Starknet offers Seed Grants of up to $25K in STRK and Growth Grants of $25K–$1M STRK (grants on Starknet).
Protocol DAOs. The Uniswap Foundation funds Uniswap protocol growth and research in ecosystem, research, security and governance categories. Aave Grants DAO funds Aave ecosystem builders on a rolling basis. Lido’s LEGO funds integrations, tooling and research around Lido and stETH in tiers of up to $1K, $10K and $100K.
From the official page (esp.ethereum.foundation, checked 2026-09-30):
- ESP supports free and open-source projects, with a particular focus on builder tools, infrastructure, research, community resources and other public goods.
- Financial support is offered through the Wishlist and RFPs: funding opportunities curated by Ethereum Foundation teams.
- Non-financial support is available through Office Hours: project feedback, guidance on the ecosystem, or advice on aligning a project with a Wishlist or RFP item.
- Support is generally directed towards builders rather than end users.
Ethereum grant programs: amounts, stage, type
| Program | Ticket | Stage | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum Foundation — ESPOfficial: esp.ethereum.foundation | Varies | Any | Ecosystem foundation |
| OctantOfficial: octant.app | Varies per epoch (community-allocated ETH) | Live | Public goods (quadratic) |
| Arbitrum Foundation GrantsOfficial: arbitrum.foundation/grants | Varies by program | Any | Ecosystem foundation |
| Optimism Retro FundingOfficial: atlas.optimism.io/missions | Varies (retroactive) | Live | Public goods (retro) |
| Starknet Foundation GrantsOfficial: starknet.io/grants | Up to $25K in STRK (Seed); $25K–$1M STRK (Growth) | Any | Ecosystem foundation |
| Uniswap Foundation GrantsOfficial: uniswapfoundation.org/grants | Varies | Any | Protocol / DAO |
| Aave Grants DAOOfficial: aavegrants.org | Varies | Any | Protocol / DAO |
| Lido — LEGO (Lido Ecosystem Grants Organization)Official: lido.fi/lego | Up to $1K / $10K / $100K by tier | Any | Protocol / DAO |
Equity, per the tracker: “No” for all 8 programs. Terms change, so confirm on the official page before you apply.
Which route fits your team
- Open-source public good, research or cryptography — Start with ESP. Read the Wishlist and the open RFPs first and write the application against a listed item.
- Public good that is already live — Octant epochs and Optimism Retro Funding both reward work that already exists; the tracker lists both at live stage.
- App or infrastructure on one L2 — Go to that L2’s own program: Arbitrum, Optimism or Starknet.
- Integration or research around one protocol — Uniswap Foundation, Aave Grants DAO or Lido LEGO, depending on the protocol you build on.
- Commercial product at idea or prototype stage — The programs above are listed at “Any” or “Live” stage and mostly fund public goods, one L2 or one protocol. ZK Prime’s program is listed at idea / prototype stage: see the next section.
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 the Ethereum programs above as well.
ZK Prime Capital grants. $5K–$75K, no equity, idea or prototype stage welcome, reply within 5 business days. The same application document you write for any of the programs above 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.
ESP’s listed focus includes cryptography and ZK, so a ZK team can send the same document to both: see ZK infrastructure grants. Agent and DeFi teams building around Uniswap, Aave or Lido: see grants for on-chain AI agents and DeFAI funding.
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.
Building on Ethereum? Apply to ZK Prime in parallel
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 ▸Frequently asked questions
How much funding can builders on Ethereum get?
Our tracker lists: Ethereum Foundation ESP: Varies. Octant: Varies per epoch (community-allocated ETH). Arbitrum Foundation: Varies by program. Optimism Retro Funding: Varies (retroactive). Starknet Foundation: Up to $25K in STRK (Seed); $25K–$1M STRK (Growth). Uniswap Foundation: Varies. Aave Grants DAO: Varies. Lido LEGO: Up to $1K / $10K / $100K by tier. Where the ticket varies there is no single fixed amount, so size the request to one milestone. Confirm current amounts on each official page; last verified 2026-09-27.
Do Ethereum grant programs take equity?
No. Our tracker lists Ethereum Foundation ESP, Octant, Arbitrum Foundation, Optimism Retro Funding, Starknet Foundation, Uniswap Foundation, Aave Grants DAO and Lido LEGO as non-dilutive: no equity is taken. ZK Prime Capital grants are non-dilutive as well.
Which Ethereum L2s have their own grant programs?
Our tracker lists three: Arbitrum (Arbitrum Foundation Grants, for apps and infra on Arbitrum One, Nova and Orbit), Optimism (Retro Funding, for impact already delivered on the Superchain) and Starknet (Seed Grants of up to $25K in STRK and Growth Grants of $25K–$1M STRK). Each has its own page on this site with amounts, stage and how to apply.
Grants on other chains
Arbitrum · Optimism · Starknet · Solana · Avalanche · Sui · Aptos · Polkadot · Stellar · Celo · Aleo · Zcash · Tezos · Stacks · Filecoin · Cosmos · Cardano · all chains
Source: ZK Prime web3 grant tracker, last verified 2026-09-27; official pages checked 2026-09-30. Writing the application: one-page template. Spotted an outdated detail? Open a PR.