# What are Web3 grants? How crypto grant funding works

> What are Web3 grants? Who pays them, 8 funding models, typical sizes (median ceiling $50,000) and how payouts work, from a directory of 99 programs.

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

What are Web3 grants? They are non-dilutive funding: money that blockchain foundations, DAOs, companies and nonprofits give builders for work that strengthens their network, with no equity taken and nothing to repay. As of October 2026, web3grant's directory lists 99 programs. The median published ceiling is $50,000, and most programs pay in stages as you deliver.

## Key takeaways

- As of 2026-10-31, 78 of the 99 programs in web3grant's directory take applications year-round; 14 run fixed rounds, 4 pay retroactively for proven impact and 3 match community donations with quadratic funding.
- 50 of the 99 programs publish a maximum grant. The median ceiling is $50,000, and the middle half falls between $25,000 and $100,000.
- 55 of 99 programs pay in milestone tranches, and 39 pay only in tokens, so the dollar value of an award can move between approval and payment.
- Infrastructure is the most funded category (71 programs), followed by developer tooling (46), DeFi (36) and public goods (32).
- Of 222 programs we checked in October 2026, 123 are not in the directory: 26 discontinued, 23 paused and 48 with no way to apply that we could confirm.

## What is a Web3 grant?

A Web3 grant is funding for a defined piece of work on a blockchain network or its ecosystem, where the funder takes no ownership of your project and you do not pay the money back. The work can be software, research, security, education or community building. "Crypto grant" and "blockchain grant" mean the same thing.

What separates a grant from an investment is what the funder gets in return. An investor buys equity or tokens and profits if your company succeeds. A grant funder gets the work itself: a library its developers need, an app that brings users to its chain, an audit that makes its ecosystem safer. That is why grants are tied to deliverables and milestones rather than to a valuation.

Grants are free of equity, not free of obligations. You usually sign an agreement, pass identity checks (KYC, short for "know your customer"), report progress and, for many programs, publish the work under an open-source license. The guide to [whether you have to pay back a crypto grant](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/do-you-have-to-pay-back-crypto-grants) covers what you owe in detail.

## Why do blockchains and DAOs give grants?

Blockchains give grants because a network is only as valuable as what gets built and used on it. A foundation or DAO with a large treasury, usually held in its own token, can turn part of it into developers, applications, users and transaction fees.

Grants also pay for public goods: open-source tools, client software, security research and documentation that everyone relies on but no single company would fund. The Ethereum Foundation's Ecosystem Support Program (ESP), for example, funds only free, open-source, non-commercial work. At the other end, usage-focused programs such as [Ink Spark](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/ink-foundation-spark) want verifiable users, volume or TVL before they pay. Knowing which goal a funder serves is most of the work of choosing where to apply.

## Who pays for Web3 grants?

Five kinds of organizations fund almost every program in the directory. Each wants something different back, which is covered in depth in [who funds Web3 grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/who-funds-web3-grants).

| Funder type | Examples in the directory | What they want back |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chain foundations | [Solana Foundation grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/solana-foundation-grants), [Stellar Community Fund](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/stellar-community-fund) | Builders, users and activity on their chain |
| DAOs and on-chain treasuries | [Polkadot OpenGov Treasury](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/polkadot-opengov-treasury), Lido DAO's LEGO | Work that benefits the protocol and its token holders |
| Companies | Circle, Tether, Polymarket | Adoption of their products |
| Nonprofits | [OpenSats General Fund](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/opensats-general-fund), Brink | Free, open-source work that serves a mission |
| Quadratic funding platforms | Gitcoin, Giveth, Octant | Public goods with broad community support |

The governance model matters as much as the funder type. In our directory of 99 programs, 20 are decided by token holders, a DAO committee or an on-chain vote rather than by a foundation's staff. For those, the community has to want your project, not just a reviewer.

## What do Web3 grants fund?

Most Web3 grants fund infrastructure and developer tools. In our directory of 99 programs, where one program can list several categories, the counts as of 2026-10-31 are:

| Category | Programs |
| --- | --- |
| [Web3 infrastructure grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/infrastructure) | 71 |
| [Developer tooling grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/tooling) | 46 |
| [DeFi grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/defi) | 36 |
| [Public goods grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/public-goods) | 32 |
| [Consumer crypto app grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/consumer) | 24 |
| [Crypto research grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/research) | 19 |
| [Web3 security and audit grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/security) | 18 |
| [Web3 education and community grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/education) | 15 |
| [Web3 AI grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/ai) | 13 |
| [Web3 gaming grants](https://www.web3grant.com/categories/gaming) | 6 |

By chain, the directory covers 48 ecosystems. [Ethereum grants](https://www.web3grant.com/ecosystems/ethereum) lead with 15 programs, then [Bitcoin grants](https://www.web3grant.com/ecosystems/bitcoin) with 13, and [Solana grants](https://www.web3grant.com/ecosystems/solana) and multichain programs with 6 each. Most chains have one program, usually run by their foundation.

## How do Web3 grants work? Eight funding models

A funding model describes when money is decided and who decides it. Our directory classifies every program as rolling, round, retro or quadratic. Treasury votes, bounties, fellowships and audit subsidies are formats that sit inside those models.

| Model | How it works | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rolling grants (78 of 99) | Apply any time; reviewed as applications arrive | Solana Foundation grants |
| Grant rounds (14 of 99) | Fixed application window, decisions in a batch | Stellar Community Fund |
| Retro funding (4 of 99) | Paid after you show impact | [Ronin Proof of Distribution](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/ronin-proof-of-distribution) |
| Quadratic funding (3 of 99) | Donations matched from a pool, weighted toward many donors | [Octant funding epochs](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/octant-funding-epoch) |
| Treasury votes | Token holders vote on your request on-chain | Polkadot OpenGov Treasury |
| Bounties and RFPs | The funder defines the task; you apply to do it | [Tether Grants and Bounties](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/tether-developer-grants) |
| Fellowships and residencies | A stipend for a person over several months | [Ethereum Protocol Fellowship](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/ethereum-protocol-fellowship) |
| Audit subsidies | The funder pays part of a security audit | [Ethereum Audit Subsidy Program](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/ethereum-audit-subsidy-program) |

### Rolling grants and rounds

A rolling program reviews applications whenever they arrive. At the Solana Foundation, you submit a form with a budget split into milestones, the team reviews it within about a week, and a decision follows in about three more weeks. A round opens a window and decides everything in it together. The Stellar Community Fund's SCF #46 round is open until November 8, 2026, with awards of up to $150,000 in XLM paid 10% on acceptance, then 20%, 30% and 40% as you ship.

### Retroactive funding

Retroactive funding pays for impact you have already delivered instead of a plan. Ronin Proof of Distribution has no application at all: you register your game or app, and each 30-day season it pays RON based on a Builder Score calculated from on-chain activity. [Optimism Retro Funding](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/optimism-retro-funding), the best-known retro program, has been paused since January 2026 for at least 12 months. The guide to [retroactive public goods funding](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/retroactive-public-goods-funding) explains how these rounds measure impact.

### Quadratic funding

Quadratic funding matches community donations from a shared pool using a formula from a [2018 paper by Vitalik Buterin, Zoë Hitzig and Glen Weyl](https://arxiv.org/abs/1809.06421): a project's funding is the square of the sum of the square roots of its contributions. In practice, 100 donors giving $1 each attract far more matching than one donor giving $100. As of 2026-10-31, all three quadratic funding programs in the directory are between rounds, and [Gitcoin Grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/gitcoin-grants) has not run one since GG24 in October 2025. See [quadratic funding explained](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/quadratic-funding-explained) for the math and its limits.

### Treasury votes

Some chains hold a treasury that token holders control directly. On Polkadot, anyone can submit a spending referendum on one of six tracks, from Small Tipper (up to 250 DOT) to Treasurer (up to 10,000,000 DOT), and place a decision deposit of 1 DOT to 1,000 DOT. The [Polkadot treasury documentation](https://wiki.polkadot.com/learn/learn-polkadot-opengov-treasury/) explains the tracks. Many recent requests have been rejected, so a public draft and support from delegates come first.

### Bounties and RFPs

A bounty or RFP (request for proposals) flips the process: the funder writes the specification and you apply to deliver it. Tether posts tasks with a fixed payout and deadline, from $1,500 to $5,000 in our data. The [Ethereum Foundation's ESP](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/ethereum-foundation-esp) has accepted applications only against its Wishlist and RFP items since November 2025, and as of October 1, 2026 none were open.

### Fellowships and residencies

Fellowships fund a person rather than a project. The Ethereum Protocol Fellowship runs about five months for developers moving into core protocol work, with stipends for selected fellows; Cohort 7 runs until November 2026, and Cohort 8 dates have not been announced. World One, an in-person residency in San Francisco, pays solo builders $10,000 a month for three months.

### Audit subsidies

An audit subsidy pays part of a smart contract audit, usually straight to the audit firm. The Ethereum Audit Subsidy Program covers up to 30% of an audit from a $1M pool, and Ava Labs can subsidize up to 75% for Avalanche projects. Three programs in the directory pay auditors directly or as a discount.

## How much are Web3 grants worth?

Most Web3 grants are worth five figures. As of 2026-10-31, 50 of the 99 programs in web3grant's directory publish a maximum grant size, and the median published ceiling is $50,000. The 25th percentile is $25,000 and the 75th percentile is $100,000.

| Published ceiling | Programs |
| --- | --- |
| Up to $10K | 7 |
| $10K to $50K | 23 |
| $50K to $150K | 12 |
| Over $150K | 8 |

The smallest ceiling belongs to MoonDAO Projects ($2,125 per project in its Q4 2026 round). The largest is the Polkadot OpenGov Treasury ($12,000,000), a treasury that funds large proposals by on-chain vote rather than a typical grant program. The other 49 programs set amounts per proposal or publish none, including some of the largest funders: the Solana Foundation publishes no range but said in March 2026 that its open-source grants average about $40,000.

USD figures for token-paid programs are conversions at late-September 2026 prices, so treat them as approximate. More breakdowns are in [Web3 grant statistics](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/web3-grant-statistics).

## How are Web3 grants paid?

Most Web3 grants are paid in stages. In our directory, 55 of 99 programs (56%) pay in milestone tranches, releasing each payment after reviewers accept a deliverable; the other 44 pay once or use another arrangement.

The currency matters as much as the amount:

- **Native or other tokens only:** 39 programs. Your award can lose or gain value between approval and the last tranche.
- **Stablecoins or USD, alone or as an option:** 33 programs, such as Circle (USDC) and Lido DAO's LEGO (stablecoins).
- **Not published or varies:** 20 programs.
- **Stipend or salary:** 4 programs, mostly fellowships.
- **Paid to auditors or as a discount:** 3 programs.

Before the first payment, expect KYC or KYB (the business version) and a signed grant agreement. In many countries grants count as taxable income, and tokens are often valued when you receive them; [are crypto grants taxable](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/are-crypto-grants-taxable) explains the principles, and a tax professional should confirm your case.

## How do you apply for a Web3 grant?

Applying takes six steps, and the first two save the most time:

1. **Pick an ecosystem and a kind of work.** Filter [the grant directory](https://www.web3grant.com/grants) by chain, category and status.
2. **Check that the program is open.** As of 2026-10-31, 80 programs are always open, 7 have an open round and 12 are closed between rounds. The [deadline calendar](https://www.web3grant.com/deadlines) shows every window.
3. **Read the funder's priorities.** Wishlists, RFPs and focus areas tell you what will be funded this quarter.
4. **Write a scoped proposal** with milestones, a budget and evidence you can deliver. [How to write a Web3 grant proposal](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/how-to-write-a-web3-grant-proposal) walks through each section.
5. **Submit on the program's official site or forum.** web3grant never takes applications.
6. **Wait for a decision.** The median program decides in about 4 weeks, though most do not publish review times and these are estimates. 21 programs usually decide within three weeks; 14 take eight weeks or more.

The full process, from shortlisting to the grant agreement, is in [how to apply for Web3 grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/how-to-apply-for-web3-grants).

## Who can get a Web3 grant?

Individuals, teams, companies, nonprofits and academics can all get Web3 grants, depending on the program. Many programs accept solo builders without a company: Aleo Developer Grants are open to individuals, teams, nonprofits and companies, and OpenSats welcomes pseudonymous applicants.

The common limits are age, sanctions screening and location. Tether requires applicants to be 18 or older, Tezos Commons Small Grants serve only US and Canadian residents, and the Bitshala Fellowship is for developers in India and South-East Asia. Academic programs such as the SDF Academic Research Grants require principal investigator status at a degree-granting institution. [Crypto grants for individuals](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/crypto-grants-for-individuals) lists programs open to people without a company.

## What changed for Web3 grants in 2026?

2026 shrank the number of open grant programs. From our October 2026 check of 222 programs, 99 are in the directory and 123 are not: 48 had no way to apply that we could confirm, 26 were discontinued, 23 paused, 2 replaced, 2 closed, and 22 were active but left out for other reasons, such as paying in credits instead of cash.

Some of the largest names changed. Web3 Foundation discontinued its general Grants Program at the start of 2026 and pointed builders to Polkadot's on-chain treasury. Optimism's Token House dissolved its Grants Council in July 2026. Polygon replaced community grants with treasury investments, the Sui Foundation now offers "long-term support, not grants", and the TON Foundation stopped taking grant applications on May 20, 2026.

The pattern is fewer open-ended applications and more RFPs, retroactive and usage-based rewards, and investment. [Web3 grant programs closed in 2026](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/web3-grant-programs-closed-2026) lists each change with where to apply instead, and [email alerts](https://www.web3grant.com/#alerts) tell you when a paused program reopens.

## FAQ

### Are Web3 grants free money?

Web3 grants are free of equity and repayment, but not free of obligations. A Web3 grant usually comes with a signed agreement, identity checks, milestones you must deliver before later tranches are paid, public progress reports and often an open-source license. Some programs add conditions, such as the revenue share in 1inch DAO's Aqua incubator or Conflux's one-year limit on selling granted CFX.

### Are Web3 grants taxable?

In many countries a Web3 grant counts as taxable income for the person or company that receives it, and grants paid in tokens are often valued at the time you receive them. Rules differ by country and by whether you receive the money as an individual, a company or a nonprofit, so check with a tax professional before you sign the grant agreement, not after the first payment.

### How long does it take to get a Web3 grant?

Getting a Web3 grant takes about four weeks from application to decision at the median program in web3grant's directory, although most programs do not publish review times, so these are estimates. As of October 2026, 21 programs usually decide within three weeks and 14 take eight weeks or more. Payment then follows your milestones, so receiving the full grant can take months.

### Can you apply to more than one Web3 grant at the same time?

Most Web3 grant programs let you apply elsewhere at the same time, but many ask you to disclose other funding. Tezos Commons asks whether you requested money from other Tezos organizations for the same project, VeBetter allows other funding if disclosed, and Maelstrom caps a developer's grant income from all funders at $400,000 a year. Never bill two funders for the same milestone.

### Is a hackathon prize the same as a Web3 grant?

A hackathon prize is not the same as a Web3 grant, although neither takes equity. A prize pays for work judged at the end of an event lasting days or weeks, while a grant pays for a defined plan delivered over months, usually in milestone tranches. Many builders use a working hackathon prototype as the evidence behind their first grant application.

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From web3grant: https://www.web3grant.com/guides/what-are-web3-grants. Program details change often: confirm on each program's official site before applying.