Ethereum Foundation Shocks Community by Pausing Multi-Million Dollar Grants

• Ethereum Foundation halts grants, redefines focus for ecosystem growth.
• High application volume led to Ethereum Foundation’s unexpected decision to pause.
• New leadership to steer Ethereum’s future, emphasizing core infrastructure.

In a surprising move, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) has decided to pause its open grants program, which has awarded millions in funding since its launch in 2018. The move has rocked the Ethereum community, particularly since the program has played a vital role in aiding more than 100 projects and has been a source of innovation within the ecosystem.

The Ecosystem Support Program (ESP), which awarded grants for developer tools, cryptographic research, and scalability solutions, has been one of the EF’s most well-known initiatives. However, the Foundation acknowledged that the sheer number of applications has strained its lean team, leaving it with very little time to venture into other strategic aspects. This has forced the EF to press the pause button on the grants program as it reinvents its game and concentrates on more targeted investments.

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EF Refines Focus for Long-Term Growth

While the grants program is on hold, the Ethereum Foundation is committed to reinforcing Ethereum’s core infrastructure and accelerating the network’s growth. According to the EF, the restructuring is part of a much larger mission to ensure that resources are effectively allocated to crucial aspects such as community building, developer support, and research.

Ethereum has developed because of projects funded through the grants program, including Commit-Boost and BundleBear. Nevertheless, with its small size, the Foundation stressed that more effort was necessary to scale the Ethereum core and build a more sustainable long-term ecosystem. The Foundation also referred to the increased need for increased efficiency and concentration on high-priority areas, which caused the decision to suspend the program.

Leadership Change Signals New Vision for Ethereum Foundation

Adding another layer of change, the EF has appointed new co-executive directors, Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz K. Stańczak, to spearhead its future initiatives. The new leadership will focus on scaling the Ethereum mainnet and enhancing the storage system in terms of transactions. Also, they will undertake to improve user experience, specifically in Layer 2 interoperability and application layers, which are considered vital to Ethereum’s further success.

Despite the stalling of grant funds, the Ethereum Foundation will continue to provide funds to the ecosystem and the public good that can guarantee its expansion. The pause is a new stage at which the EF will undertake strategic decisions with a direct orientation on the long-term sustainability of Ethereum and innovation.

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