The Ethereum Foundation has allocated $32.65 million in grants through its Ecosystem Support Program (EFESP) during the first quarter of 2025.
In a May 8 update, the foundation provided a detailed breakdown of the allocations by category, type, and recipient, although the specific amounts granted to each beneficiary were not disclosed.
Project Details
According to the post, some of the categories included community and education, consensus layers, cryptography, and zero-knowledge proofs. Additional allocations focused on enhancing developer experience and tools, improving execution layers, and supporting overall ecosystem growth and Layer 2 developments.
The category receiving the most attention was “Community and Education,” with 37 diverse projects benefiting from financial support. These initiatives aim to expand the Ethereum ecosystem globally through events such as ETH conferences and hackathons, including ETHPrague and ETHiopia, marking the first Ethereum gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Other projects, like the Arabic Blockchain Developer Bootcamp, are committed to developing educational resources and community programs that engage developers and the public. The funding also backed academic conferences and research centers linked to the blockchain sector.
The second largest category was “Cryptography and Zero-Knowledge Proofs,” with 16 projects awarded grants. Recipients in this segment are dedicated to advancing zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technology, enhancing cryptographic methods, and researching post-quantum cryptography and security.
Additionally, the “Consensus Layer” group supported seven projects and individuals, including mathematician Andrew Lewis-Pye, that are striving to improve the security and performance of Ethereum’s consensus mechanism. Their work encompasses areas such as rollup standardization, data indexing, network optimization, and client development.
The Ethereum Foundation also financed 17 projects within the “Developer Experience and Tooling” category. Beneficiaries like BuidlGuidl are focused on creating mobile SDKs, building educational communities, developing analytics platforms, and improving validator tooling. Their efforts also aim at enhancing EIP accessibility and producing ecosystem tools and language support libraries.
The “Execution Layer” received funding for five initiatives directed at developing execution clients, optimizing gas costs, analyzing gas metering changes, and investigating alternative client implementations. Furthermore, two recipients, including the European Decentralization Think Tank, were funded under the “Overall Growth and Support” category, fostering talent through research fellowships and formal internship programs.
Other notable projects include seven schemes dedicated to decentralization advocacy, DeFi data accessibility, institutional onboarding, and formal verification research, alongside local-first application development and industry analysis reports.
Ecosystem Developments
This announcement follows the recent implementation of Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, which went live just a day prior. The upgrade merges the Prague execution layer with the Electra consensus layer, incorporating 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) into the network.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently shared a roadmap centered on Layer 1 scalability, blobs, and enhanced user experience. The non-profit’s overarching objectives are to ensure users gain maximum benefit from the blockchain’s essential properties while bolstering the resilience and decentralization of the ecosystem.
For more information, refer to the original post Ethereum Foundation Commits $32.65M to Advance L2 Efficiency and Education, published on CryptoPotato.
