Ethereum Foundation Academic Grants Round 2024

Following the overwhelming success of the 2023 round, where they funded 43 projects from 20 countries, they 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, they aim to catalyze research that propels the Ethereum ecosystem forward.

The Foundation is looking for proposals that not only align with the wishlist but also bring novel perspectives and approaches. They encourage you to draw inspiration from the wishlist and think creatively about how your research can contribute to the Ethereum ecosystem.

Research Domain Areas

• The Ethereum Foundation is interested in research and academic output in the following domain areas, but don’t let this restrict your creativity:
  • Econ & Game Theory
  • Theoretical and Applied Cryptography
  • Consensus/Protocol
  • Networking & P2P
  • Client Engineering
  • Security
  • Formal Verification
    • Context
    • Research Areas
    • Past Ethereum Specification FV
  • Humanities

Funding Information

• This grants 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.

Eligibility Criteria

• Projects must produce formal academic research.
• Research output must be open-access with a free and permissive license.
• Individual researchers with academic backgrounds, research centers, universities, think-tanks, educators and other stakeholders interested in research on matters related to Ethereum and its ecosystem are encouraged to apply.
• Undergraduate researchers will require a postdoctoral advisor.

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

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.

For more information, visit Ethereum Foundation.