# Crypto wallet grants: funding for wallets and consumer apps

> Crypto wallet grants in 2026: 27 programs in our directory name wallets as a focus, from Zcash and BDK to Solana Mobile and Tether, plus what is dormant.

Last reviewed 2026-10-31. Dates are UTC.

Crypto wallet grants fund self-custodial wallets, wallet libraries, wallet design and security, and the consumer apps that sit on top of them. As of October 2026, 27 of the 99 programs in web3grant's directory name wallets in their focus areas, led by Zcash Community Grants, the BDK Foundation, Tether's wallet kit bounties and Solana Mobile. MetaMask Grants DAO, once the best-known wallet grant, looks dormant.

## Key takeaways

- As of October 31, 2026, 27 of the 99 programs in web3grant's directory name wallets in their focus areas; most are chain programs that fund wallets for their own network.
- Privacy coins fund wallets directly: Zcash Community Grants (past grantee Ywallet), Monero CCS and the MAGIC Monero Fund all list wallets as a focus.
- For Bitcoin wallets, the BDK Foundation funds the Bitcoin Dev Kit libraries, and the Bitcoin Design Foundation funds wallet UX and accessibility.
- TheDAO Security Fund funds wallet and signing security, including Safe and account abstraction tooling, in a round open until January 31, 2027.
- MetaMask Grants DAO's last Snapshot grant vote was in December 2023, and its apply page says Consensys cannot promise when or whether applications will be reviewed.

## Who funds crypto wallets?

Wallet funding comes from three kinds of funder, and the right one depends on what your wallet does:

- **Privacy and Bitcoin communities** that treat wallets as public goods and fund open-source wallet code.
- **Chains** that need wallets to support their network and fund integrations, onboarding and UX.
- **Security funders** that pay for wallet and signing security, not for new wallets.

Open-source matters more for wallets than for most apps, because users trust a wallet with keys. Most of the funders below require open code; check our guide to [open source licenses for grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/open-source-license-for-grants) before you apply.

## Grants for wallet code and libraries

These programs fund the wallet itself or the libraries other wallets are built on.

| Program | What it funds | Grant size | Paid in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Zcash Community Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/zcash-community-grants) | Wallets, hardware wallet support, shielded payments | Up to six figures | ZEC or USD |
| [BDK Foundation Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/bdk-foundation-grants) | Bitcoin Dev Kit wallet libraries and bindings | Not published | Not published |
| [Tether Grants and Bounties](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/tether-developer-grants) | WDK wallet kit tasks | $1.5K to $5K | USDT or BTC |
| [Monero CCS](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/monero-ccs) | Wallets, tools, core development | Up to $65K | XMR |
| [Algorand xGov](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/algorand-xgov) | Wallets and SDKs already built (retro) | 5,000 to 400,000 ALGO | ALGO |
| [Bitcoin Design Foundation](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/bitcoin-design-foundation-grants) | Wallet UX, design and accessibility | Not published | Not published |

**Zcash Community Grants** puts wallets first: wallets, hardware wallet support and shielded payments are its first focus area, and past grantees include Ywallet. A five-person committee elected by the Zcash community votes after your application has been on the Zcash Community Forum for at least a week. New open-source software must follow Zcash contribution standards, including a CONTRIBUTING.md.

**BDK Foundation** funds full-time maintainers and three-month project grants for the Bitcoin Dev Kit, the open-source Rust libraries for building Bitcoin wallets, and its Swift, Kotlin and Python bindings. You apply by email. For other Bitcoin wallet routes, OpenSats, Btrust and Spiral all list wallets or wallet libraries; see [Bitcoin developer grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/bitcoin-developer-grants).

**Tether** posts defined tasks for its Wallet Development Kit (WDK), which embeds self-custodial wallets inside apps, with fixed payouts and deadlines. At launch it said payouts run from roughly $1,500 to $4,000.

**Algorand xGov** pays retroactively for open-source tools already in use, and its funded proposals include Use-Wallet and Lute Wallet. Proposals are still accepted, but payouts wait on a Foundation top-up of the xGov treasury and a newly elected Council.

**Bitcoin Design Foundation** gives designers and researchers 3- to 12-month grants for open-source Bitcoin UX, including accessibility in Bitcoin wallets, silent payments and ecash UX for Fedimint and Cashu.

## Chain programs that fund wallets

Most of the 27 programs fund wallets only on their own chain. A wallet that adds support for a chain, or a chain-native wallet, can apply to these:

- **[RootstockCollective Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/rootstock-collective-grants)** funds "wallets and onboarding UX that cut time to first transaction" on Rootstock, up to $35,000 in USDRIF, voted on by staked RIF holders.
- **Aleo Developer Grants** pays up to $100,000 on milestones for open-source apps on Aleo; past grantees include the teams behind Puzzle and Leo Wallet.
- **Gravity Developer Grants** lists wallets with RPC, API and indexer services among its infrastructure priorities, up to $200,000 in G tokens.
- **Tezos Foundation Grants** funds wallets, testing environments and SDKs for web, Unity and mobile on Tezos and Etherlink.
- **CKB Community Fund DAO** on Nervos funds wallets, light clients and SDKs through public proposals and CKB-weighted votes.
- **STON.fi DEX Grants** pays up to $10,000 in USDT on TON to wallets and exchanges that add swaps through its SDK.
- **Canton Development Fund** funds token and wallet standards for the Canton Network, paid in Canton Coin.

The Aptos Payments track, which offered up to $150,000 for payments infrastructure, wallets and stablecoin apps, was closed to new applications as of May 2026. Payments-first wallets are covered in our guide to [stablecoin grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/stablecoin-grants).

## Grants for wallet security

Security funders pay to make wallets safer rather than to build new ones. [TheDAO Security Fund](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/thedao-security-fund), which uses staking rewards from about 69,000 ETH left over from TheDAO in 2016, lists "wallet and signing security, including Safe and account abstraction tooling" among its focus areas. Its Round Two is open until January 31, 2027, with initiatives of up to about $640,000. It does not pay for your own audits, and at least a third of each budget must sit on adoption milestones that show others use the result.

Galaxy's Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Grants include tooling for wallet and custodian migration to post-quantum signatures, applied for by email.

## Grants for mobile and consumer crypto apps

Consumer apps are the other half of wallet funding: a wallet is only useful if there is something to do with it. The directory has 24 [consumer crypto app grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/consumer), and five are most relevant to wallet and app builders:

| Program | Chain | Size | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Solana Mobile Builder Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/solana-mobile-builder-grants) | Solana | Not published | Mobile-first Android, Seeker phone |
| [World One](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/world-one-residency) | World | $30K | In-person residency in San Francisco |
| [Team1 Builder Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/avalanche-retro9000) | Avalanche | Up to $10K open, $30K by committee pick | Rolling |
| [IOK Fund](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/kaia-iok-fund) | Kaia | Up to $20K | Go-to-market after launch |
| [Starknet Seed Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/starknet-seed-grants) | Starknet | Up to $25K | MVP, pre-launch |

**[Solana Mobile](https://solanamobile.com/grants)** funds mobile-first Android apps for the Seeker phone and the Solana dApp Store that integrate the Solana Mobile Stack, meaning Mobile Wallet Adapter and Seed Vault. It wants apps that use sensors, location, cameras and real-time payments, and a realistic milestone plan with a record of shipping. In August 2026 it added Security Grants, paid in SKR, for research on its products.

**World One** pays solo builders $10,000 a month for three months to build products on World ID in the Tools for Humanity office in San Francisco. You must be authorized to work in the US without sponsorship.

**Team1 Builder Grants** on Avalanche takes open applications for Mini Grants of up to $10,000, while Accelerator Grants of up to $30,000 are by committee selection only. Team1 contacts you only if you are accepted.

Two consumer programs come with warnings. VeBetter Grants on VeChain pays up to $30,000 for sustainability apps, but only one application arrived in Q2 2026 and none was processed. Flow Ecosystem Grants' page has not changed since August 2025 and publishes no recent grantees.

## Is MetaMask Grants DAO still giving grants?

MetaMask Grants DAO looks dormant as of October 2, 2026, so it is not in the directory. Its [site](https://metamaskgrants.org/) and application form are still online, but its last Snapshot grant vote (Grants Proposal #013, zkFi) was created on December 22, 2023, its announcements stop in December 2022, and its apply page says Consensys cannot promise when or whether applications will be reviewed. Apply elsewhere unless MetaMask announces a new round.

## What do wallet grant reviewers look for?

Wallet reviewers weigh trust and adoption above novelty. From the programs above:

1. **Open code.** Zcash requires contribution standards for new open-source software, Aleo requires open-source elements, and Bitcoin funders fund only free and open-source work.
2. **Security evidence.** Name your audits, threat model and key-handling approach. The Tezos Foundation, for example, requires DeFi projects to pass a third-party security audit of all smart contracts.
3. **Onboarding metrics.** Rootstock asks how you cut time to first transaction; Solana Mobile asks for a record of shipping. Show installs, active wallets or completed transactions.
4. **Fit with the chain's standards.** Solana Mobile wants its Mobile Wallet Adapter and Seed Vault; Canton funds its token and wallet standards. Use them.

For the full application process, see [how to apply for Web3 grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/how-to-apply-for-web3-grants), and for structure, [how to write a Web3 grant proposal](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/how-to-write-a-web3-grant-proposal).

## FAQ

### Does MetaMask still give grants?

MetaMask Grants DAO appears dormant as of October 2026. Its website and application form are still online, but its last Snapshot grant vote was created on December 22, 2023, its announcements page stops in December 2022, and its apply page says Consensys cannot promise when or whether applications will be reviewed. web3grant does not list it until it shows current activity.

### Which grants fund Bitcoin wallets?

Bitcoin wallet developers can apply to the BDK Foundation for work on the Bitcoin Dev Kit libraries, to OpenSats and Spiral for open-source wallets, and to Btrust if they are based in the Global South. The Bitcoin Design Foundation funds wallet UX and accessibility, and Tether pays fixed bounties for its Wallet Development Kit in USDT or bitcoin. RootstockCollective funds wallets on the Rootstock sidechain.

### Can a closed-source wallet get a grant?

A closed-source wallet has fewer options. Aleo, OpenSats and the Bitcoin Design Foundation require open-source work, and the BDK Foundation funds only its open-source libraries. Chain programs focused on adoption, such as Gravity Developer Grants, Kaia's IOK Fund and Starknet Seed Grants, do not list open source as a requirement in web3grant's data, but they expect a live product or a launch plan on their chain.

### Are there grants for mobile crypto apps?

Solana Mobile Builder Grants is the main program for mobile crypto apps in web3grant's directory. It funds mobile-first Android apps for the Seeker phone and the Solana dApp Store that integrate Mobile Wallet Adapter and Seed Vault, paid against milestones. Gear Foundation on Vara also lists mobile and Telegram games, and Tezos Foundation funds SDKs for mobile.

---

From web3grant: https://www.web3grant.com/guides/crypto-wallet-grants. Program details change often: confirm on each program's official site before applying.