# Crypto ecosystem funds vs grants: what's the difference?

> A crypto ecosystem fund usually invests for equity or tokens; a grant takes nothing back. How to tell them apart, with examples from Polygon, Sui and Base.

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

A crypto ecosystem fund is usually an investment vehicle: it buys equity or future tokens in projects that build on a chain, even when it is announced alongside grants. A grant is non-dilutive: you deliver the agreed work and owe no equity, tokens or repayment. Since 2025 several chains have moved toward investment, among them Polygon, whose treasury replaced grant seasons with investment funds.

## Key takeaways

- Many funds with "ecosystem" in the name are venture funds: Injective's $150M Ecosystem Fund (2023) is a VC consortium making investments, and Mantle's EcoFund is run with Mirana Ventures.
- Polygon's Community Treasury replaced grants with investment funds from Season 3 (August to December 2025), and its grants pages now redirect away.
- As of October 1, 2026, the Sui Foundation offers founders "long-term support, not grants" and points core teams to strategic investment.
- Some programs called funds are plain grants: the Horizen Builder Ecosystem Fund pays milestone grants in USDC, and the Reactive Dev Fund says its funding carries no equity, token or repayment obligation.
- Hybrids exist: Sentient's $42M program has separate grant and investment tracks, and Solana Foundation convertible grants turn into an investment only if the project hits set milestones.

## What is a crypto ecosystem fund?

A crypto ecosystem fund is a pool of money set aside to grow activity on one blockchain, and most of the large ones invest rather than give. The investor takes something in return: shares in your company, a claim on future tokens, or a share of revenue.

The common instruments are standard startup and crypto deal terms. A SAFE (simple agreement for future equity) converts into shares at a later priced round. A SAFT (simple agreement for future tokens) pays now for tokens delivered later. A token warrant gives the investor the right to tokens if you launch one. If an offer uses any of these words, it is investment, not a grant.

| | Ecosystem fund (investment) | Grant |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What you give up | Equity, tokens or revenue share | Nothing beyond the agreed work |
| What reviewers judge | Team, market, potential return | Benefit to the ecosystem, deliverables |
| Typical paperwork | SAFE, SAFT, token warrant, share purchase | Grant agreement, milestones, KYC |
| Who decides | Investors, often with the foundation | Foundation, DAO or committee |
| Best for | Startups planning to raise and earn revenue | Open-source tools, public goods, research |

A grant can still carry conditions, such as open-sourcing the code or reporting on milestones, but it does not give the funder ownership. [Web3 grants vs venture capital](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/web3-grants-vs-venture-capital) compares the two routes for a startup in more depth.

## Why are funds announced alongside grants?

Chains often announce one headline number that mixes grants, investments, incentives and credits. The total tells you how much the chain wants to spend, not how much of it you could receive without giving something back.

Examples from web3grant's research, checked in October 2026:

- **Aethir's $100M Ecosystem Fund**, launched in October 2024, pays compute grants of $5,000 to $200,000 in ATH that are used for compute on Aethir's network, plus subsidies of up to 35% of compute costs. These are compute credits, not general-purpose cash, so we left it out of the directory.
- **MultiversX Growth Games** Season 1 split $1.5M a year into Build RFP grants ($750,000), Accelerate grants ($250,000) and xLaunchpad investments ($500,000). It is paused, with no Season 2 announced.
- **Web3 Foundation's Decentralized Futures** offered $20M plus 5M DOT in grants, investments and service agreements for new Polkadot teams. It closed in 2024.
- **Cronos** refocused its $100M ecosystem fund into three tracks in September 2025, but as of October 2, 2026 we could not verify the program on an official Cronos page.

When you see a fund announcement, look for the split. If it is not published, assume part of the money is investment until the program says otherwise.

## Which chains fund builders with investment instead of grants?

Several chains that used to run open grant programs now fund most builders through investment, accelerators or performance rewards. As of October 2026, according to web3grant's research:

| Chain | What it offers now | Open grant program? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Polygon | Treasury investment funds since Season 3 (2025) | No |
| Sui | Long-term founder support and strategic investment | Only a $25,000 academic research award |
| Base | Ecosystem Fund investments with Coinbase Ventures | Small Builder Grants, run in rounds |
| Monad | Investment, prizes and credits | No |
| Optimism | Partnership deals and a Strategic Ecosystem Fund | No public application path |
| Linea | Performance-based support for live apps | No |

**Polygon.** The last open grants season was Season 2, from January to April 2025. According to the [Season 3 strategy on Polygon's forum](https://forum.polygon.technology/t/pfp-4-ctb-season-3-funding-strategy/21151), the Community Treasury then switched from grants to investment funds, and on January 9, 2026 the Treasury Board was moved to an advisory role. polygon.technology/grants now redirects to the Hadron Founders Club site. See [Polygon grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/polygon-grants).

**Sui.** The Sui Foundation's [programs and funding page](https://www.sui.io/programs-funding) says it now focuses on long-term support for founders, "not grants." It points builders to the Hydropower Fellowship, which is equity-free but does not pay grants, and to direct strategic investment for teams building core primitives. See [Sui grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/sui-grants).

**Base.** The Base Ecosystem Fund makes pre-seed and seed investments with Coinbase Ventures, and the Base Batches accelerator offers a $100,000 investment from it. Base's grants are separate and small: up to $5,000 per team in its Builder Grant Program, which runs in rounds.

**Monad, Optimism and Linea.** Monad publishes no grant program; its Nitro accelerator offers 15 teams $500,000 each from venture investors, and applications for its first cohort closed in March 2026. Optimism dissolved its Grants Council in July 2026 and now deploys tokens through partnership deals and its Strategic Ecosystem Fund. Linea's docs say it does not offer grants or stipends to apps that are not live, and its Ecosystem Fund publishes no application process.

## Which "funds" are actually grants?

Some programs called funds pay ordinary grants, and you keep full ownership. In web3grant's directory as of October 31, 2026:

- **[Horizen Builder Ecosystem Fund](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/horizen-builder-ecosystem-fund)** pays up to $150,000 in USDC by milestone for privacy-first DeFi apps on Horizen.
- **[Golem Ecosystem Fund](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/golem-ecosystem-fund)** pays milestone-based funding from Golem's staking rewards for open-source decentralized computing.
- **[Reactive Dev Fund](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/reactive-network-dev-fund)** pays REACT from a $3M fund and says the funding carries no equity, token or repayment obligation.
- **[HTX DAO Genesis Grant](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/htx-dao-genesis-grant)** pays milestone grants in HTX from a $10M initial ecosystem fund.
- **[Palladium Labs Canton Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/palladium-labs-canton-grants)** describes its tiers of up to 1M Canton Coin as non-dilutive grants.

### Which programs mix grants and investment?

Other programs sit in between, and the details decide what you sign:

- **[Sentient Open Source AGI Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/sentient-open-source-agi-grants).** One application covers two tracks of a $42M program: grants with no equity, lockups or claim on your work, and investments for companies built to scale.
- **[Solana Foundation grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/solana-foundation-grants).** Standard grants cover public goods. Convertible grants cover public goods with a commercial side and turn into an investment only if the project hits set milestones, such as raising a priced round.
- **[Hashgraph Innovation Program](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/hashgraph-association-funding).** Co-funding for Hedera projects with a process closer to an investment review: an NDA, due diligence on technical, business, legal and financial matters, and a quarterly board vote.
- **[TRON Builders League](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/tron-dao-builders-league).** Milestone funding and incubation from a $10M pool; its terms say TRON may also offer discretionary grants or investment, and projects with live tokens are assessed on tokenomics.
- **[Mina Builders Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/mina-builders-grants).** Grants of $1,000 to $30,000; partnerships and investments of $100,000 and up are negotiated directly with o1Labs.
- **[Aqua Revenue Stream Incubator](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/1inch-aqua-incubator).** Up to $50,000 in USDC from the 1inch DAO in exchange for a revenue share, under a signed revenue-sharing agreement. No equity, but not free money either.

## How can you tell which one you are applying to?

Read the agreement, not the announcement. A program's name and headline rarely say whether it invests; the terms always do.

1. **Search the terms for investment words.** Equity, SAFE, SAFT, token warrant, valuation, discount, conversion, pro rata or revenue share each mean you are giving something back.
2. **Check who decides.** Named venture firms on the committee or as fund partners usually mean an investment process.
3. **Notice what they ask for.** A pitch deck alone proves little (Nosana's grants ask for one), but questions about your cap table, valuation, fundraising or token allocation point to an investment.
4. **Ask what success triggers.** A Solana convertible grant converts if you raise a priced round. Find out whether anything converts, vests or becomes payable later.
5. **Ask in writing.** "Is this funding non-dilutive, and does it create any obligation to issue equity, tokens or revenue?" is a fair question for any program.
6. **Get advice before signing.** Have a lawyer read any agreement that mentions equity, tokens or revenue. Nothing here is legal advice.

If you want funding that keeps your cap table clean, [non-dilutive funding for crypto startups](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/non-dilutive-funding-for-crypto-startups) covers grant routes for companies, and [what Web3 grants are](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/what-are-web3-grants) explains how grant programs decide and pay. The [Web3 grant directory](https://www.web3grant.com/grants) lists only programs we could confirm fund builders, with each one's payout terms.

## FAQ

### Is a crypto ecosystem fund the same as a grant?

A crypto ecosystem fund is usually not the same as a grant. Most large ecosystem funds, such as Injective's $150M fund or the Base Ecosystem Fund, invest in exchange for equity or tokens. A grant funds agreed work and takes no ownership. Some programs called funds, such as the Horizen Builder Ecosystem Fund, do pay grants, so read the terms of each one.

### Do I have to give up tokens to get a Web3 grant?

A Web3 grant normally does not take tokens or equity, but some programs attach other conditions. The 1inch Aqua incubator asks for a revenue share to the 1inch DAO, Polymarket's Builders Program requires you to tell it before any token launch, and Solana Foundation convertible grants can become an investment if you raise a priced round. Read every condition before you sign.

### Can I take a grant and venture investment at the same time?

Many programs allow a grant alongside venture investment, but some count it against you. VeBetter Grants accept projects with VC money or token sales if disclosed, and Sentient's program offers both tracks in one application. Octant counts funds raised above $1M in the last 12 months against applicants. Disclose outside funding in every application; programs such as VeBetter make disclosure a condition.

### What is a convertible grant?

A convertible grant is funding that starts as a grant and turns into an investment only if the project hits agreed milestones. The Solana Foundation uses convertible grants for public goods with a commercial side, with conversion triggered by events such as raising a priced round. If the project never reaches the milestone, the grant does not convert. Have a lawyer review the conversion terms.

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