Ethereum Foundation Academic Grants Round 2024

The Ethereum Foundation is thrilled to announce the Academic Grants Round 2024, an initiative dedicated to fostering research in the Ethereum ecosystem. Following the overwhelming success of the 2023 round, where we funded 43 projects from 20 countries, we are eager to continue supporting academic contributions. With a focus on a wide array of domains such as, applied and theoretical cryptography, economics, game theory, security, consensus protocols, formal verification, p2p networking, society and regulation, and hardware, we aim to catalyze research that propels the Ethereum ecosystem forward.

In 2023, we received an astounding 250 applications, which highlighted the global academic community’s growing interest in Ethereum. This year, we aim to build on this momentum by inviting even more researchers and institutions from more countries to participate. Through this wave of grants, the Ethereum Foundation underscores its commitment to supporting rigorous academic work that addresses key challenges and unlocks new opportunities.

Academic Grants

Application Deadline	04 Mar 2024
Value	$1000000
Type	Postgraduate
Sponsor
Gender	Men and Women

Aim and Benefits of Academic Grants

This grant round has up to $1 Million in total, which is to be distributed among selected projects.
They envision projects to take between 6 to 12 months, however, they are open to some flexibility depending on the project proposal.

Requirements for Academic Grants Qualification

Eligibility criteria

Projects must produce formal academic research
Research output must be open-access with a free and permissive license

What is not eligible

Anything that is not legal within the jurisdiction where the work is taking place
Financial products and services (trading platforms, investment products, stablecoins, lending or betting platforms, etc.)
Art projects or social impact projects that don’t fit within the scope of this round
Projects requesting retroactive funding
Projects with a planned token launch or public funding round

Interview date, Process and Venue for Academic Grants

Selection criteria

Applications are selected for funding on a case-by-case basis. You may submit more than one application as long as each proposal is unique and meets the requirements and goals of this round. Submissions will be reviewed using the following considerations. Note: depending on the proposal, some criteria might not be applicable:

Impact of the proposed research output
Quality of work and experience of the research team
Clarity, conciseness, and organization of the proposal
Contribution to the wishlist areas
Potential of long-term involvement in the Ethereum ecosystem
Analyses of visualizations that help a non-technical audience gain insight into the research

Application Deadline

March 4, 2024

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to on esp.ethereum.foundation to apply

All applications must have a written proposal in PDF format
- Proposals must be in English
- Proposals must include a detailed description, budget, and timeline for the proposed scope of work
- Proposals must include an applicant profile
- Proposals must include a public repository or link to published work
Here is a template for a proposal
Ideas and projects at any stage of development are welcome:
- Idea phase
- Proof-of-concept
- Work in progress
- Fleshed out project