About ESP
We provide grants and other support for free and open-source projects that strengthen Ethereum's foundations, with a particular focus on builder tools, infrastructure, research and public goods.
Our scope
ESP focuses on strengthening Ethereum's foundations and enabling future builders: improving infrastructure, expanding the range of tools available to those building on Ethereum, deepening our understanding of cryptographic primitives, and growing the builder ecosystem through education and community development. The work we support is free, open-source, non-commercial, and built for positive sum outcomes.
Below is a scale indicating ESP's areas of interest. Projects on the Not A Priority end are valuable but not eligible for funding, while projects on the High Priority end are more likely to receive financial support. This is by no means a comprehensive list, as we continue to accept applications and support projects that fall outside this list when suitable. We’re always open to new ideas!
Not a Priority
High Priority
- Financial products (e.g. trading, investment products)
- Token or investment-focused events
- Projects with a planned token launch and or raise
- NFT PFP projects, launches, and marketplaces
- Projects that strengthen Ethereum's infrastructure
- Developer tooling
- Research on cryptographic primitives
- Growing the builder ecosystem
- See more items or areas of interest on our wishlist
If you're looking for inspiration for your next project, check out the suggestions on our Wishlist for areas crucial to the Ethereum ecosystem's development. If you are unsure if your project is within scope, feel free to submit an Office Hours request with the Project Feedback fields filled out.
To learn more about ESP support and what we're looking out for, watch our talk at Devcon VI below:
