This programme funds open-source, public-good projects that advance the Web3 ecosystem, including research, developer tooling, and community education. It exists to provide non-dilutive capital to early-stage builders, validate impactful contributions, and serve as a stepping stone to larger funding rounds.

- Open-source code and public goods (research papers, freely available tools) are heavily favored - Demonstrated impact (especially for retroactive funding) or clear potential for ecosystem benefit - Alignment with specific focus areas: core protocol research, developer tools, Layer 2 scaling, ZK cryptography, community education - For Ethereum ESP: multi-phase review for large grants; streamlined process for small grants ($5K–$30K) - For Optimism RPGF: impact evaluated by badge holders; projects with 6+ months of demonstrable impact outperform - For Arbitrum: responding to published RFPs increases acceptance rates ~3x - For Solana: existing mainnet deployments receive priority; grants skew smaller ($5K–$50K) but approve faster - For Base: emphasis on onboarding non-crypto-native users and consumer-facing apps

The page does not list specific past winners, but typical archetypes include: open-source developer tooling projects (e.g., libraries, SDKs), ZK cryptography implementations, Layer 2 scaling solutions, community education initiatives, and DePIN infrastructure. Top Optimism RPGF recipients have exceeded $1.5M in a single round.

A builder or researcher with a track record of producing open-source, public-good outputs (code, papers, tools) that directly benefit a Web3 ecosystem. The ideal applicant has demonstrable impact over 6+ months, aligns with a specific foundation's focus areas, and can clearly delineate open vs. proprietary components.