Academic Grants Round
The Ethereum Foundation is sponsoring a wave of grants to support Ethereum-related academic work. This grants round has $2M in total available funds. Proposals are due 23:59 AoE March 16th, 2025. All of the details you’ll need to apply can be found below.
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The Ethereum Foundation is sponsoring the 2025 Academic Grants Round, a pioneering initiative aimed at empowering and expanding the frontiers of Ethereum-related academic research. Building on the success of the previous two rounds in 2023 and 2024, this year, we welcome proposals across a wide range of disciplines, including Economics & Game Theory, Theoretical and Applied Cryptography, Consensus and Protocol Design, Networking & P2P, Client Engineering, Security, Formal Verification, and the Humanities. Through this effort, we aim to empower researchers to explore new frontiers and deliver impactful work that propels Ethereum forward.
In 2024, we received an incredible 300 applications, from 25 different countries, highlighting the global academic community’s increasing engagement with Ethereum. The breadth and quality of these submissions were truly impressive. This year, we aim to build on that success by welcoming even more researchers and institutions from around the world to participate.
We are seeking proposals that not only align with our wishlist but also introduce fresh perspectives and innovative approaches. We encourage researchers to take inspiration from the wishlist while thinking creatively about how their work can make meaningful contributions to the Ethereum ecosystem.
Submit proposal
Researchers from academic institutions, universities, research centers, think tanks, educators, and other stakeholders with a focus on Ethereum and its ecosystem are invited to apply.
Participation is open to everyone—whether as an individual or as part of a team.
We welcome research contributions aligned with, but not restricted to, the topics outlined in our wishlist.
Requirements
- All applications must have a written proposal in PDF format
- Proposals must be in English
- Proposals must include a detailed description, budget, and timeline for the proposed scope of work
- Proposals must include an applicant profile
- Proposals must include a public repository or link to published work
- Here is a template for a proposal
- Ideas and projects at any stage of development are welcome:
- Idea phase
- Proof-of-concept
- Work in progress
- Fleshed out project
- Applications are open to individuals, teams, and organizations. Individual researchers with academic backgrounds, research centers, universities, think-tanks, educators and other stakeholders interested in Ethereum research
- Undergraduate researchers will require a postdoctoral advisor
- Applications are selected for funding on a case-by-case basis. You may submit more than one application as long as each proposal is unique and meets the requirements and goals of this round
- Decisions will be emailed 6 weeks after the application deadline
Deadline
The application window opens for 6 weeks from Monday, January 20th, 2025 and closes on Monday, March 16th, 2025.
Eligibility criteria
- Projects must produce formal academic research
- Research output must be open-access with a free and permissive license
What is not eligible
- Anything that is not legal within the jurisdiction where the work is taking place
- Financial products and services (trading platforms, investment products, stablecoins, lending or betting platforms, etc.)
- Art projects or social impact projects that don’t fit within the scope of this round
- Projects requesting retroactive funding
- Projects with a planned token launch or public funding round
Selection criteria
Applications are selected for funding on a case-by-case basis. You may submit more than one application as long as each proposal is unique and meets the requirements and goals of this round. Submissions will be reviewed using the following considerations. Note: depending on the proposal, some criteria might not be applicable:
- Impact of the proposed research output
- Quality of work and experience of the research team
- Clarity, conciseness, and organization of the proposal
- Contribution to the wishlist areas
- Potential of long-term involvement in the Ethereum ecosystem
- Analyses of visualizations that help a non-technical audience gain insight into the research
Wishlist
The Ethereum Foundation is interested in research and academic output in the following domain areas, but don't let this restrict your creativity. Check out our wishlist.
Surprise us with your creativity!
Support
For any general support questions about your submission, please email academic-grants@ethereum.org.
