Crypto Grants for Builders: A Practical Guide

TL;DR

Crypto grants are non-dilutive funds from foundations, DAOs and ecosystems to help you build things that move their networks forward, infra, tooling, dApps, education, security, and local adoption.

This guide shows who qualifies, how selection works, where to apply, and a step-by-step application playbook, with a builder’s checklist and examples.

What Grants Usually Support

Every ecosystem has its priorities, but some themes repeat across almost all programs. Grants often target the development of core infrastructure, things like explorers, wallets, SDKs, or other developer tools. Education is another big one, whether it’s better documentation, open dashboards, or training workshops that help onboard new builders.

Open-source research and security initiatives also get strong backing. If you’re publishing cryptography research, building analysis tools, or contributing to security audits, many foundations want to fund you.

Finally, community adoption efforts, from hackathons and meetups to regional developer programs, remain a reliable category that gets attention.

Who Can Apply

You don’t need to be a seasoned startup founder to win a grant. Individual developers often secure them, especially if they already have a proof of concept or a working prototype. Researchers and auditors are also strong candidates, since their work usually benefits the entire community.

Content creators and educators shouldn’t be overlooked either. A high-quality tutorial series, a dashboard that simplifies complex on-chain data, or a course that helps non-technical users understand blockchain, all of these fall under the kind of “public good” most programs are willing to fund.

That said, early-stage startups with MVPs or proofs-of-concept are still the most common recipients. If you can show clear progress and an alignment with the priorities of the chain you’re building on, your chances are high.

How the Process Usually Works

Most programs follow a fairly similar flow. First, you’ll need to identify a grant program that actually funds your type of project. This sounds obvious, but it’s where many applications stumble. Next, you submit a proposal, usually a short dossier explaining your objectives, milestones, budget, and timeline.

From there, your project goes to review. Sometimes that means a foundation committee evaluates it; other times it’s a DAO vote or even a mix of both. If your application is accepted, funding typically arrives in stages. You’ll receive the first tranche up front, and the rest as you deliver milestones. Almost all programs will expect public updates, open-source code, or at least transparent reporting.

The main things reviewers look for are the same everywhere: impact on the ecosystem, alignment with their roadmap or governance priorities, evidence you can actually deliver, and transparency in how you work.

Examples of What Gets Funded

If you’re wondering whether your idea is “grant-worthy,” it might help to look at what has worked before. On the infrastructure side, block explorers and RPC routing tools have consistently attracted funding. In security, tools like revoke.cash, which lets users quickly revoke token approvals, have received grants because they improve safety for everyone.

Education is another area where relatively small projects can win. Dashboards built on Dune Analytics or hands-on tutorials often secure grants, especially if they target under-served communities or emerging ecosystems. On the adoption front, local hackathons or regional conferences regularly get funding to help grow the builder community.

Some of the Major Programs

The Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) is pausing open grant submissions, moving to a curated funding model. Devs will still get support, but priorities will now be tightly aligned with Ethereum’s scaling and UX roadmap.

A Builder’s Playbook

From the outside, applying for a grant might feel daunting. In reality, it comes down to clarity and proof. Start by framing your project in the context of the chain’s own roadmap, “why this, why now.” Ecosystem foundations love when builders quote their governance posts or highlight how their work unlocks a roadmap goal.

Next, show rather than tell. Even a small demo, CLI tool, or hosted preview goes further than a polished PDF. Milestones should be written like acceptance tests: objective, measurable, and easy for a reviewer to check.

Finally, quantify your impact. If you can provide usage numbers, npm downloads, request counts, dashboard views, or workshop attendance, you’ll stand out.

Budget realistically, add a maintenance plan, and publish updates in the open.

Those few steps will put you ahead of most applicants.

Closing Thoughts

Crypto grants give builders breathing room to ship, experiment, and prove value, without losing ownership. They aren’t always fast to secure, and they do come with public accountability, but for many teams, they’re the bridge between an idea and a product.

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If you’re considering applying, start small, be clear about your milestones, and tie your work directly to the ecosystem’s priorities. And if you want to speed up the process of getting a demo live, you can start today: grab a free Tatum API key, plug into our RPC Gateway, Data API, and Notifications, and show reviewers something real this week.