Skip to content
web3grant

Grants paid in tokens: volatility, vesting and conversion

Updated 7 min readBy the web3grant editors

Grants paid in tokens pay you in a network's own coin, such as OP, ADA, DOT, STRK, AKT or GRT, so your budget rises and falls with the token's price. As of October 31, 2026, 39 of the 99 programs in web3grant's directory pay only in a native or other token. Plan for price swings, check for lockups, and decide before the money arrives how much to convert.

Key takeaways

  • By payout currency, web3grant's 99 programs split into 39 token-only, 33 that can pay in stablecoins or USD, 20 that don't publish it or vary, 4 that pay a stipend or salary and 3 that pay auditors directly.
  • A grant fixed in dollars but paid in tokens, such as the Stellar Community Fund's "up to $150,000 worth of XLM", protects your budget better than one fixed in tokens.
  • In the illustrative example below, a 30% price drop before the last two of three tranches turns a $60,000 token grant into $48,000.
  • Some programs restrict selling: Conflux grantees agree not to sell CFX for one year unless otherwise agreed, and Metaplex locks granted MPLX for one year.
  • Record the USD value of every payment on the day it arrives; in many countries that value is what you report as income.

How many Web3 grants are paid in tokens?

Token-only payment is the largest group in web3grant's directory. This is how the 99 programs in web3grant's directory pay, grouped from each program's stated payout currency as of 2026-10-31:

Payout currencyPrograms
Native or other token only39
Stablecoins or USD, alone or as one option33
Not published or varies20
Stipend or salary4
Paid to auditors or as an audit discount3

Token-paid examples include the Starknet Seed Grants Program, which pays up to $25,000 in STRK, and The Graph Grants Program, whose past awards in GRT ranged from about $1,000 to $325,000. Dollar figures for token-paid programs are conversions at late-September 2026 prices. For the other side of the table, see our guide to grants paid in USDC and other stablecoins.

Token-denominated vs USD-denominated grants

The currency you're paid in matters less than the currency your grant is fixed in. A token-denominated grant fixes the number of tokens; a USD-denominated grant fixes the dollar amount and pays it in tokens at the price on or near the payment date.

Programs in our directory use both, and some let you choose:

  • Fixed in dollars, paid in tokens. The Stellar Community Fund pays up to $150,000 worth of XLM. The Compound Grants Program prices grants in USD and pays them in COMP, milestone by milestone (new Dapps and Ideas proposals have been paused since April 14, 2026, and the program's future is under review).
  • Fixed in tokens. On-chain treasuries usually count in their own token. Kusama's treasury tracks cap requests from 8.25 KSM to 333,333 KSM, and approved spends are paid in KSM.
  • A rate fixed at the vote. VeBetter Grants are paid in B3TR at a token-to-USD rate fixed when the proposal goes to vote, so the dollar value moves with the price afterward. After B3TR fell sharply, the DAO approved a one-time relief top-up for existing grantees in April 2026. VeBetter's notice says activity is very low: one application arrived in Q2 2026 and none was processed.
  • Your choice. The CKB Community Fund DAO lets you ask for a fixed CKB amount, a fixed amount of the USDI stablecoin, or a fixed USD value paid in CKB. The Polkadot OpenGov Treasury can pay in DOT, USDC or USDT.

If your grant is USD-denominated, ask which price source and date set the conversion, and get the answer in writing.

What a 30% price move does to your budget

A token price can move 30% in the months between approval and your last payment, and the effect lands on your budget. The example below is illustrative, with a fictional token.

You are awarded 120,000 tokens, worth $60,000 at $0.50 when approved, paid in three tranches of 40,000 tokens. The first tranche arrives at $0.50, worth $20,000. Then the price moves before tranches 2 and 3:

ScenarioPrice at tranches 2 and 3Tranche 2Tranche 3Total received
No change$0.50$20,000$20,000$60,000
Down 30%$0.35$14,000$14,000$48,000
Up 30%$0.65$26,000$26,000$72,000

A 30% drop on two of three tranches cuts the budget by $12,000, or 20%. If the same grant were fixed at $60,000, you would get $20,000 per tranche either way: about 57,143 tokens per tranche at $0.35, or about 30,769 at $0.65.

There is a second exposure after each payment arrives. If you hold a $20,000 tranche in tokens and the price falls 30% before you pay your costs, it is worth $14,000. Since 55 of the 99 programs in our directory pay in milestone tranches, most grants carry this risk for several months.

How to protect your budget

You can't control the price, but you can limit how much of your project depends on it:

  • Ask for dollar or stablecoin terms where the program offers them. Thirty-three programs in our directory can pay in stablecoins or USD.
  • Budget at a conservative price. Make sure the core deliverables are covered if the token is worth less than at approval, and add a contingency line if the program allows one. Our Web3 grant budget guide shows how.
  • Convert enough on receipt to cover the next milestone. Salaries and vendor bills are usually due in fiat or stablecoins.
  • Tell the funder early if a price fall makes the agreed scope impossible. A DAO may adjust, as VeBetter's did, but don't plan on it.

Should you convert grant tokens on receipt or hold them?

Converting on receipt locks in the dollar value of each tranche; holding keeps the upside and the downside. Neither is right for every project, and this is not financial advice.

Converting on receipt fits when the grant pays for salaries or contractors, when the market for the token is thin and the budget can't absorb a fall, or when you want simple accounting. Costs include exchange fees and slippage.

Holding fits when you'll use the tokens in the ecosystem, for example as user incentives or liquidity, or when you can afford to wait. Conflux explicitly allows grant CFX to be used for user incentives or liquidity mining while its sale restriction applies.

A common middle path is to convert what the next milestone costs and hold only what the project could lose without missing a deliverable. Whatever you choose, in many countries tax is assessed on the value at receipt, so a later fall doesn't reduce the tax bill. Our guide to whether crypto grants are taxable explains the general principles.

Lockups, vesting and no-sale rules

A lockup means you can't transfer or sell tokens until a set date. Vesting means tokens are released to you gradually over time. Both turn part of your grant into money you can't spend yet. Three programs in our directory have such terms:

For budgeting, count locked or vesting tokens as zero until the date you can use them. Ask about lockups before you apply, and check the grant agreement for any sale restriction before you sign.

Accounting for token grants

Keep a record of every payment, because you'll need it for taxes, for reports to the funder and for your own budget:

  • Date and time received, token, network and amount.
  • USD value at receipt and the price source you used.
  • The transaction hash and the receiving wallet.
  • The milestone or invoice the payment relates to.
  • Every later conversion: date, amount, rate received and fees.

A dedicated wallet for grant funds makes this much easier; our guide on how to receive grant funds in crypto covers the setup.

Programs in this guide

These are the token-paying programs discussed above, with their live status and grant size.

To compare more programs by payout currency, browse the grant directory.

FAQ

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

Asking to be paid in stablecoins instead of tokens works only where a program offers it. In web3grant's directory, 33 of 99 programs can pay in stablecoins or USD, alone or as an option, including the Polkadot OpenGov Treasury (DOT, USDC or USDT) and the CKB Community Fund DAO (CKB or USDI). Token-only programs rarely change currency for one grantee, but asking before you apply costs nothing.

Who sets the token price for a USD-denominated grant?

The token price for a USD-denominated grant is set by the program's own rules, and they differ. VeBetter, for example, fixes the B3TR-to-USD rate when the proposal goes to vote, so later price moves change what you receive in dollars. Other programs convert closer to each payment. Ask which price source and date apply, and get the answer written into the grant agreement.

Is it bad to sell grant tokens right away?

Selling grant tokens right away is allowed by many programs and restricted by some. Conflux grantees agree not to sell CFX for one year unless otherwise agreed, and Metaplex locks granted MPLX for one year. Where selling is allowed, converting what you need for costs is normal budgeting. Check your agreement, and if the market is thin, sell gradually rather than all at once.

Do grant tokens count as income if I never sell them?

Grant tokens can count as income even if you never sell them. In many countries, including the United States, crypto received as payment for work is income valued at its market price when you receive it, and selling later can be a separate taxable event. Rules differ by country and by whether you or a company receives the grant, so check with a tax professional.

Programs in this guide

Where each one stands today, soonest deadline first.

Related guides

Browse all grant programsGet deadline alerts