Allocation Update - Q3 2025

The Ethereum Foundation's Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) announced funding allocations for Q3 2025. The update highlights community events, technical research, developer tooling, and protocol growth initiatives worldwide. Total awarded: $14,347,918.55.

Key Funding Directions

1. Community & Education: Global conferences & hackathons including ETHIstanbul, ETHSafari (Kenya), ETHShanghai, ETHTokyo, ETHAccra, ETH Bishkek, Ethereum Brasil, ETH Shenzhen, ETH Sofia, Edinburgh DeFi Summit, Midwest Blockchain Conference, and more. Regional initiatives including Destino Devconnect (Argentina), ProdFest (Nigeria), University of Malaga Blockchain Course (Spain), Ethereum University Circles (Peru).
Consensus Layer: AI-assisted testing: Detecting synchronization vulnerabilities across clients. Simulation frameworks: BEAMSIM for consensus protocols. Client support: Lighthouse, Teku, Erigon, Besu. MEV ecosystem stewardship: PBS Foundation. Lean cryptography: leanMultisig, Constantine PeerDAS.
Cryptography & Zero Knowledge Proofs: Verification tools: Automated ZK circuit verification, zkBugs vulnerability corpus. zkVM development: OpenVM, Phantom Zone, Verifying Jolt zkVM. Privacy features: Kohaku browser extension. Educational resources: MOOC on probabilistic proofs.
Developer Experience & Tooling: EthereumJS maintenance, IntelliJ Solidity plugin revival, OpenRPC upgrades, etc
Execution Layer: Performance improvements: Besu EVM, Erigon, Fast Ethereum Storage Cache. Standardization: execution-apis, reference test coverage. Internship program extension for execution spec testing.
ayer 2 & Research: Native rollups research (L2BEAT). growthepie: Ethereum mainnet data tracking. Academic grants round: Formal blockchain research.
Other Initiatives: Internships: Ethereum Season of Internships. Walletbeat: Open repository of EVM-compatible wallets. Decentralization Research Center and more.

Why It Matters?

The allocations signal a deliberate strategy to expand Ethereum's global footprint while reinforcing its technical resilience. Together, these moves strengthen Ethereum's competitive edge, broaden its community, and align it with long-term global trends in privacy, scaling, and financial innovation.