Web3 grants paid in USDC and other stablecoins

Which programs let you choose stablecoins or a token?

As of October 31, 2026, 13 programs in web3grant's directory pay in stablecoins or in a token, sometimes as a mix. The split is not always published, so ask before you budget.

Some of these mixes are fixed by the program. Nosana pays in milestone tranches as a mix of USDC, NOS tokens and GPU credits without publishing the split. Recent approved Polkadot treasury requests often schedule monthly USDC or USDT payouts, while Rocket Pool's treasury is held mostly in RPL and swaps some into USDC. dYdX says applicants in restricted jurisdictions may not be paid in DYDX.

Which programs pay in US dollars?

The last eight programs in the group of 33 pay in US dollars or another fiat currency. Two of them also offer stablecoins with no token option: the Uniswap Foundation's Unichain Grants (USD or USDC) and its Open Grants (USD or stablecoins), which is spending down its remaining budget and plans to close.

The other six pay in fiat or a token, with no stablecoin option:

• Cardano PRIME: USD or ADA, for DeFi primitives on Cardano.
• Filecoin Open Grants: FIL or USD, though proposals filed since April 2026 have had no reply from the Foundation.
• Tezos Foundation Grants: fiat or tez.
• Zcash Community Grants: ZEC or USD, with budgets set in USD and most payouts in ZEC.
• World One: $10,000 a month in US dollars for a three-month residency in San Francisco.
• SDF Academic Research Grants: a USD gift paid to the researcher's university.

Why does the payout currency matter for your budget?

The payout currency decides who carries the price risk between approval and payment. With a stablecoin or dollar grant, a $40,000 award is still worth about $40,000 when it arrives. With a token grant, the same award can be worth more or less by each milestone.

Programs that pay in tokens handle this in two ways, and the difference matters when you write your budget:

1. Priced in dollars, paid in tokens at payment time. The Stellar Community Fund's award rules set the USD value of each XLM payment from a reference price on payment day, and Kusama Vision's art grants are agreed in US dollars and converted to DOT when each payment is sent. Compound and Zcash also budget in USD and pay mostly in tokens. Here the program absorbs price moves before payment; you carry them only after you receive the tokens.
2. Priced in tokens. The grant is a fixed number of tokens, so its dollar value moves from the day it is approved. Polygon's Community Grants, now discontinued, said in its Season 2 rules that price changes after approval were borne by the applicant.

Stablecoins remove most of that risk, but not all the work. You still need a wallet on the right network (Prezenti pays USDm on Celo, and Gitcoin's GG24 matching was paid on Arbitrum and Celo), a way to convert to local currency if you pay salaries or bills, and records for tax. A stablecoin is only as stable as its issuer's ability to hold its peg, which is worth knowing before you hold a large balance for months.

For the token side of this decision, see grants paid in tokens. For the mechanics of wallets, off-ramps and records, see how to receive grant funds in crypto.

Which stablecoin programs are open now?

These stablecoin-paying programs had no deadline and were open to applications on October 31, 2026, according to web3grant's directory:

• Circle Developer GrantsCircleUndisclosedAnytime
• Ink Spark grantsInk Foundation$500–$20KAnytime
• Horizen Builder Ecosystem FundHorizen FoundationUp to $150KAnytime
• Aqua Revenue Stream Incubator1inch DAOUp to $50KAnytime
• Polymarket Builders ProgramPolymarketUndisclosedAnytime
• Lido Ecosystem Grants (LEGO)Lido DAOUp to $100KAnytime
• RootstockCollective GrantsRootstockCollectiveUp to $35KAnytime
• STON.fi DEX GrantsSTON.fiUp to $10KAnytime
• Unichain GrantsUniswap FoundationUp to $7.5KAnytime

Currency should not be the reason you pick a program; fit should. Circle wants teams using Arc and Circle products as core building blocks, Ink Spark wants live products on Ink, and Unichain Grants requires $250,000 or more in TVL. This guide is about how grants are paid; if you are building a stablecoin product and want funding for it, see stablecoin grants. For the full process, start with how to apply for Web3 grants.

FAQ

Which Web3 grants pay in USDC?

As of October 31, 2026, Web3 grants that pay only in USDC include Circle Developer Grants, Ink Spark grants, the Horizen Builder Ecosystem Fund, the 1inch Aqua incubator and the Polymarket Builders Program, all open year-round. Polkadot's treasury, dYdX, Metaplex, Nosana, Giveth, Rocket Pool and Shutter can also pay in USDC, alongside a token. Unichain Grants pays in USD or USDC.

Can I ask to be paid in stablecoins instead of tokens?

You can ask when a program lists stablecoins as an option. Polkadot treasury requests can be paid in DOT, USDC or USDT, and dYdX, Metaplex, Rocket Pool and Analog list USDC or stablecoins next to their own tokens. Where a program lists only a token, treat it as fixed: The Graph's application form, for example, says all grants are paid in GRT.

Are grants paid in USDC taxable?

Grants paid in USDC can be taxable income in many countries, the same as grants paid in tokens or dollars. How a grant is taxed depends on where you live, whether you receive it as a person or a company, and what the grant agreement says. Check with a tax professional in your country, and see are crypto grants taxable for the principles.

Is a grant priced in USD the same as a grant paid in USD?

A grant priced in USD is not always paid in USD. The Stellar Community Fund, Zcash Community Grants and Compound all set budgets in dollars but pay mostly in their own token; the Stellar Community Fund converts at a reference price on payment day. You get roughly the dollar value on that day, then carry the token's price risk until you convert it. A grant paid in USDC avoids that step.